Healthier school dinners as government delivers major reforms
Government updates school food standards for first time in over a decade, backed by Chef Jamie Oliver, actor and campaigner Dame Emma Thompson and parents.
Healthier, tastier school dinners will be on the menu for millions of children across the country as the government delivers the biggest overhaul of school food in a generation.
The changes to the school food standards will see more fresh fruit and vegetables, fibre-rich foods and nutritious balanced meals that help children stay focused, energised and ready to learn throughout the school day.
The standards have been rigorously tested with schools, caterers and sample menus to make sure schools across the country will be able to provide exciting, healthy and nutritious meals that kids enjoy - from sweet chilli stir fry, to lasagne, to chicken or veg curries.
The school food revolution follows major reforms to give families breathing space with the cost of living, including a cap on the number of branded school uniform items. Three million children from families receiving Universal Credit are now eligible for free school meals and thousands of free breakfast clubs are operating across the country, thanks to government action.
Developed alongside nutritionists and public health experts, the new school food standards are backed by campaigners, charities and nutritional experts, including Chef Jamie Oliver and Dame Emma Thompson.
While many schools are already leading the way with excellent food, these reforms will ensure every child, wherever they live, benefit from the same high standards.
Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, said:
These are once-in-a-generation changes that will transform school food for children across the country.
From our historic expansion of free school meals to the rollout of free breakfast clubs and new school food standards, we are making sure that every child has access to the healthy meals we know children need to learn, grow and succeed.
No child should spend the school day hungry, and no family should have to struggle to put food on the table. This is what change looks like: healthier food, fuller stomachs and a fairer start for every child.
With one in three children leaving primary school overweight or obese, and tooth decay linked to high-sugar diets remaining the leading cause of hospital admissions among children aged five to nine, the case for change is clear. When asked what they would change to school dinners, parents called for the same changes we are making - with 36% wanting more fruit and vegetables in school meals, 38% wanting limits on fatty foods and 33% wanting less sugary food and drink.
Jamie Oliver, Chef and Child Health Campaigner, said:
Back 20+ years ago when I started School Dinners I could not believe that we had standards for dog food but not what we serve our children at school! And I’ve never stopped banging that drum. Because it’s massive - 190 days of the year 70% of our kids’ nutrition is in the hands of their school. So, it’s got to be great. It’s got to fill them up with all the good stuff they need to learn and grow.
So, it’s brilliant to see new School Food Standards based on the latest science, to make sure the food children get at school is actually supporting their health and helping them thrive. And, that those standards won’t just live on paper, but have proper monitoring to make sure they’re followed, so we know where we need to deploy care, love and support.
Sure, there’s always more to do, but after 25 years of campaigning, today is a brilliant day.
Dame Emma Thompson, Actor and Food Foundation Celebrity Ambassador, said:
For years, campaigners, parents and experts have called for school food standards to be updated, so I am thrilled to see this moment finally arrive.
Every child deserves access to healthy, nutritious food at school. Good food helps children learn, grow and flourish, and these new standards have the power to make a real difference to children across the country.
This is a milestone worth celebrating and an investment in a healthier future for the next generation.
Sarah Orves, Headteacher of Ilketshall Lawrence Primary in Suffolk, said:
Lunchtimes used to be just a moment to refuel and get back to the day, but it was our pupils themselves who told us they wanted change.
We started the journey of transforming our school food a year ago, introducing ‘Try it Tuesday’ and family taster sessions to bring both children and families on board, and now lunchtimes are something the kids genuinely feel excited about.
We’re only halfway through that journey, but we’re already noticing the difference: children are more social and settled at lunch, more focused in class, and genuinely excited to try new foods and engage with being healthy.
To give parents greater confidence in school meals, schools will be expected to publish their food policies and menus online and nominate a school food governor, helping parents, pupils and communities understand and hold schools to account for the food on offer.
To help schools implement the new standards, the government will provide training, resources and guidance. The Department for Education will work with the Food Standards Agency on an approach to monitoring school food, with more details in the coming months.
Alongside the historic expansion of free school meals and the rollout of free breakfast clubs, these changes represent the most significant package of school food improvements in a generation, giving parents confidence that their child is receiving healthy, nutritious food throughout the school day and helping children focus, learn and succeed at school.
Additional Quotes:
Anna Taylor, Executive Director, The Food Foundation, said:
Today marks another massive step on the journey to improve children’s health across the country. Good school food standards are critical to making that happen and the School Food Project is there to help schools train up their kitchen teams and work with pupils to improve menus. This all needs to be underpinned by a robust approach to monitoring and supporting schools to improve.
Over the coming year, in the run-up to enforcement in September 2027, parents and children can expect to start seeing real improvements.
Every child deserves the best possible start in life - and that means school food that packs a nutritional punch while bringing genuine pleasure and wellbeing to every child’s mealtime.
Bite Back campaigner, Zainab (19), said:
I was in Year 10 when I joined Bite Back, and since then I’ve campaigned alongside other young people for better school food. Bite Back exists to make sure young people are heard on decisions affecting our health, so it means a lot to see the Government listening.
Thousands of young people shared their experiences and ideas because we all want the same thing: great food in every school that helps children feel good, focus and thrive.
This announcement is an important step. We now look forward to working with the Government, schools and our partners to introduce the new standards successfully, monitor their impact and make sure they lead to real change in every school canteen.
Stephanie Slater MBE, founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, says:
We’re in schools every day and see the power of a nutritious school meal. We want to see delicious and nutritious meals in every school so today marks an important step towards equity in the school food system.
New standards and a framework for monitoring the quality of the food on offer will bring about the change we want to see: great school food that supports every child to thrive, wherever they live.
Naomi Duncan, CEO, Chefs in Schools, said:
Today is a huge day for children and young people. For far too long, excellent school kitchens serving fresh, tasty food have been competing with those serving up cheap, nutritionally barren junk. Today the government has drawn a line in the sand and committed to not just improving standards, but ensuring every single school kitchen is held to them.
We warmly welcome this action. History shows us that introducing higher standards leads in the long term to increasing uptake, when schools and caterers work together. Now the onus is on those of us who feed children every day in school to make sure that becomes reality again.
We’ve launched the School Food Project to support schools and caterers with implementation of these new ambitions, to protect and increase uptake and help to unleash the dynamism and creativity that we know exists in every school kitchen. We have a year to prepare and we shouldn’t waste a minute of it.
Charlotte Stirling-Reed -The Baby & Child Nutritionist:
I’ve been waiting a long time to see big changes happening once again with our school food.
It’s been over ten years since the School Food Standards were properly looked at, and in that time we’ve learned so much more about what children need to grow, develop and concentrate at school.
This feels as if it could be a pivotal moment for children’s health and I’m fully behind having clearer, more specific guidance around what foods should and shouldn’t be offered at school.
What I like most about these new school food recommendations is that the level of change being proposed seems just the right level - ambitious enough to make a real difference, but realistic enough for schools and caterers to actually put into practice with a little support.
With more children than ever now relying on free school meals, what’s served at school has never mattered more, and I really hope parents and schools get behind these changes and help push them forward, because the benefits will be felt by this generation of children and the ones who come after.
Professor Susan Jebb, Chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said:
The FSA welcomes the Department for Education’s commitment in the 10-year health plan to update the School Food Standards, and we fully support the ambition to ensure children can access healthier food in schools.
We want to see school food standards that are effective in practice, and schools appropriately supported to meet them. That’s why we’ve been working closely with DfE, offering our expertise on food regulation, assurance and the practical considerations involved in implementation.
Our aim is to help shape a future approach that is practical, proportionate and deliverable, and we look forward to continuing to work with DfE to ensure every school is offering pupils food that meets the nutritional standards.
Dr Helen Stewart, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Officer for Health Improvement said:
Childhood nutrition has never been more important. Our State of Child Health report highlights rising rates of childhood obesity, particularly among children in the most deprived communities, who are more likely to rely on school meals.
These changes are a welcome and long-overdue step towards ensuring all children have access to healthier food throughout the school day, helping to establish healthy habits that can last a lifetime. They also demonstrate the value of close collaboration between the health and education sectors in improving outcomes for children and giving every child the best possible start in life.
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance said:
This is a major and very welcome step towards giving every child the best start in life. With one in three children leaving primary school above a healthy weight, we cannot afford to ignore the important role that school food plays in shaping children’s diets and long-term health.
Cutting back foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, while putting more fruit and vegetables on the menu, will help make the healthier choice the easier choice for millions of children.
Good school food will play an important role in achieving the government’s ambition to become a more preventative state. The next step is making sure these standards are properly implemented and monitored, so that every child benefits, regardless of where they live or their family’s income.
Brad Pearce, National Chair of The School Food People said:
The School Food People welcomes the Government’s continued ambition to improve children’s nutrition through revised School Food Standards. Our members and their dedicated frontline teams want to provide children and young people with nutritious, exciting and freshly prepared food that they genuinely want to eat every school day.
As the new standards roll out, it is vital that we protect the strength and sustainability of the school food sector that will be responsible for delivering them. That means realistic funding, a practical and fully supported implementation plan, investment in the workforce and kitchens, and sufficient time for caterers and suppliers to adapt and reformulate products where necessary.
We must also keep a close eye on meal uptake. New revised mandatory school food standards, while very much welcome, can only actually improve children’s diets if pupils continue to choose school meals. We are absolutely committed to working with Government, schools, families and the wider sector to make these changes a success.
Dr Oosh Devalia OBE, BSPD President said:
BSPD warmly welcomes the Government’s overhaul of school food. Tooth decay remains the most common reason for children aged five to nine to be admitted to hospital in England, usually to have decayed teeth removed under general anaesthetic. Sugar is the main driver of that decay, and it is also a key contributor to childhood obesity, so cutting it from school meals is a win for children’s overall health as well as their teeth.
For many children, particularly in our most deprived communities where decay rates are highest, a school lunch may be the main meal of their day. Getting it right matters. Tooth decay is almost entirely preventable, and every child deserves a healthy mouth.