School Food

Healthy, nutritious school food is an excellent way to improve the health of school-age children.

Anecdotal evidence from individual schools also supports a link between children who are well fed and improvements in attendance, concentration and attainment. In addition, better school meals and eating environments improve social and conversation skills among children.

Yet the quality and take-up of school food in many British schools is poor.

The National Heart Forum has campaigned for many years for nutrient-based standards for school food, and for school food policies that ensure consistent messages about nutrition and healthy eating in the learning environment.

Nutritional standards

The minimum nutritional standards for school meals in England and Wales have recently been reviewed by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Evidence collected in 2004 by the Food Standards Agency and the DfES, of catering practices and food provision in 79 secondary schools in England, has shown that the current national nutritional standards fail to encourage children to select combinations of food that contribute to healthy diet.

In 2005, National Heart Forum (NHF) collaborated with the Caroline Walker Trust (CWT) to update Nutritional Guidelines for School Meals (1992). The new report, Eating Well at School: nutritional and practical guidelines, is a detailed, evidence-based summary of factors associated with eating well in school. It updates the nutrient-based standards to reflect new scientific evidence and advice. The report goes further than the original 1992 publication in looking at food and drinks across the school day and brings the arguments for an improved school food system up to date. A short summary of the guidelines and recommendations , Nutrient-based standards for school food is also available.

The NHF and CWT advocate that these nutrient-based standards should become compulsory for all school-aged children in England and Wales. Nutrient-based standards based on Caroline Walker Trust guidelines already apply in Scotland following the Hungry for Success report (2002).

Government school food initiatives for 2006

The School Food Trust was created in late 2005 to support schools in making the transformation to healthy meals, giving independent support and advice to schools and parents. Alongside this a toolkit will enable parents to work with schools and the School Food Trust to improve the quality of their child's school meal.

A School Meals Review Panel has been created and is made up of expert dieticians and nutritionists; school headteachers, governors and support staff; and catering and industry professionals. Their report Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food is available on the Department for Education and Skills website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations

New qualifications and training are being developed for school caterers. A new vocationally related qualification (VRQ) has already been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and is available through a number of examining bodies (e.g. City & Guilds, ASET) to help school cooks understanding of what makes a healthy meal, and importantly, how to market them to encourage young people to eat them.

The new Ofsted inspection framework will expect schools to present evidence to Ofsted about their general approach to food and healthy eating as well as more specifically about the standard of school lunches. Ofsted will always comment on the school's success in promoting healthy eating and drinking and will report on any issues which arise out of the self assessment or as a result of their inspection report.

New school food standards for 2006

On 19 May 2006, the Secretary of State announced a suite of new nutritional standards for school lunches, as well as food and drink served at other times of the day.

These standards combine the recommendations of the School Meals Review Panel (SMRP) and the School Food Trust (SFT).

New regulations for school lunches will mesh the existing standards in the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2000. The first set of standards, the food-based standards for lunch, come into force from September 2006 and apply to all local authority primary, secondary and special schools in England. A subsequent set of regulations will set out the final food and nutrient-based standards which will apply to food served at other times of the day. 

The School Food Trust advised ministers that schools should stop selling confectionery and fizzy drinks with no nutritional benefits, to prevent childhood obesity spiraling out of control and to improve children's health through a better balanced diet.

The government endorses the recommendations of the School Meal Review Panel on the nutritional standards that should apply to school lunches with some minor amendments.

This means that there will be two sets of standards for school lunches:

a)      Food-based, which will define the types of food that children and young people should be offered in a school lunch and their frequency; and

b)      Nutrient-based, which will set out the proportion of nutrients that children and young people should receive from a school lunch.

Timetable for introduction:

• Nutrient-based standards for school lunches from September 2008 (primary schools) and September 2009 (secondary and special schools) 
• Food-based standards for school lunches from September 2008 (primary schools) and September 2009 (secondary and special schools)

The government believes that similar standards should apply to all school food 'other than lunches', as recommended by the School Food Trust. This means that:

• No confectionery will be sold in schools;
• No bagged savoury snacks other than nuts and seeds (without added salt or sugar) will be sold in schools;
• A variety of fruit and vegetables should be available in all school food outlets. This could include fresh, dried, frozen, canned or juiced varieties;
• Children and young people must have easy access at all times to free, fresh drinking water in school.

The only other drinks available will be:

• Water (still or sparkling)
• Milk (skimmed or semi-skimmed)
• Pure fruit juices
• Yogurt and milk drinks (with less than 5% added sugar)
• Drinks made with combinations of the above
• Low calorie hot chocolate
• Tea and coffee

For further information visit: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conresults.cfm?consultationId=1319

Nutrient-Based Standards for School Food for England and Wales were launched in June 2005 by the Caroline Walker Trust and National Heart Forum. They were the only nutrient-based standards available incorporating the latest scientific evidence. This preceded the publication of CWT and NHF's Eating Well at School practical and nutritional guidelines for schools in September 2005. These were completed in time to influence the Government's commitment of £280 million to urgent improvements. TV chef Jamie Oliver's Feed me Better school food campaign had also helped to push school food up the public agenda.

School Food Trust: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/

Caroline Walker Trust: http://www.cwt.org.uk/

TeacherNet: www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/healthyliving/

The Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2000 www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2000/20001777.htm

Free school meals

Free school meals are an extremely important public health measure for many children from low income families. Fear of social stigma and lack of awareness about entitlements prevent many eligible children from getting the free meals they should receive.

About 1.8 million children and young people are entitled to free school meals, or 16% overall, but this applies to over half of all children and young people in social classes D and E. [1] Approximately one in five children fail to take up this provision in primary schools and about a quarter in secondary schools. In Wales, 14% of primary pupils and nearly a third (32%) of secondary school children do not take up their free school meal entitlement. [2]

The NHF advocates that schools should remove stigma by introducing cashless payment systems (which enable pupils to receive free and paid for meals using smart cards or equivalent technology).

Local authorities should also agree on a standard amount of money per meal to be delegated to schools for free meals. That amount should reflect the average amount required to supply a good-quality two-course meal and a drink and should be implemented universally.

In some areas, free school meals for all could be a cost-effective public health measure. Hull City Council has introduced free meals for all primary-age children and achieved an uptake of 80%.

The Child Poverty Action Group (Scotland) is spearheading a campaign for free school meals for all children in Scotland and is currently consulting on proposals for a bill to extend entitlement. Find out more about the Campaign for Free School Meals.

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