MILLIONS of children will benefit from healthier, more nutritious, tasty meals at school as the government today [Monday 13th April] sets out its plans to overhaul the School Food Standards for the first time in over a decade.
One in three children are leaving primary school overweight or obese, while tooth decay from diets high in sugar is the leading cause of hospital admissions for kids aged 5 to 9 – all while sugary treats and deep-fried food continue to feature on school menus.
The move comes after parent polling revealed three quarters are concerned by the food their children are eating. The government is tackling this head on – with our proposals including limiting food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar and putting more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains on every child’s plate.
Today’s consultation launches as over 500 new Free Breakfast Clubs begin to open their doors this month, offering places up to 142,000 children. We have already rolled out free breakfast clubs in 750 schools – helping save parents up to £450 a year and gaining up to 95 hours precious time back a year.
The new standards have been developed alongside nutritionists and public health experts and will apply to all breakfasts and lunches served by schools. Under the plans, schools will no longer be able to offer unhealthy ‘grab and go’ options like sausage rolls and pizza every day, while deep fried food will be banned completely. Fruit will also need to be served instead of sugar-laden treats for the majority of the school week.
Sample menus include a colourful range of tasty, health-packed meals – including spaghetti Bolognese, Mexican style burritos, cottage pie with root-veg mash, jerk chicken with rice and peas and roasted chickpea, vegetable and mozzarella wrap.
The government has today launched a nine‑week consultation on the healthier options with parents and children, alongside a new national enforcement mechanism to monitor the new standards and ensure they are applied consistently.
These changes are supported by food campaigners, charities and nutritional experts including Bite Back, Tom Kerridge, Chefs in Schools, Emma Thompson and Henry Dimbleby. Many schools are already leading the way with delicious, nutritious meals that children love – proof that higher standards are both achievable and popular. But while many are already serving healthy school dinners, these new standards level the playing field so that every child – no matter where they live – gets good-quality food at school.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
Today we are launching the most ambitious overhaul of school food in a generation, and it is long overdue.
Every child deserves to have delicious, nutritious food at school that gives them the energy to concentrate, learn and thrive – meals that children will actually recognise and enjoy, backed by robust compliance so that good standards on paper become good food on the plate.
From our Free Breakfast Clubs to extending Free School Meals to over half a million more children, this means good-quality food from the moment children arrive at school to the end of the day.
Health Minister Sharon Hodgson said:
Children are consuming twice the recommended amount of free sugar and offering more nutritious meals at school is a great way of ensuring they eat healthier food.
We’re determined to reduce the child obesity epidemic and the new School Food Standards represent another piece in a jigsaw of measures designed to help raise the healthiest generation of children ever.
This delivers on change parents and campaigners have been calling for. New polling shows 74% of parents have at least one concern about their child’s nutrition – from too much sugar (43%) and too many fatty foods (24%), to not enough fruit and vegetables (30%).
The new School Food Standards also include new dedicated breakfast standards to ensure every child begins their day with food that sets them up to learn and thrive.
To ensure schools follow the new standards, the government is committed to developing a robust national enforcement system including monitoring schools’ compliance. Full details will be announced this September, with enforcement in place from September 2027.
The government also wants every school to appoint a lead governor to be responsible for school food, as well as asking every school to publish their food policy and menus online. With 50% of parents in England saying they don’t get enough information about what their child is being served, this means parents, pupils and communities can hold schools to account.
Dame Emma Thompson, Actor and Food Foundation Ambassador said:
I am absolutely thrilled that the government is changing the School Food Standards to make sure that every child has delicious, nutritious school food that they deserve.
School meals are a golden opportunity to support children’s health, learning and wellbeing — and getting this right means children across the country can truly thrive. This is a landmark moment for families, for the NHS, and for the future of our young people.
Jamie Oliver, Chef and Campaigner said:
Twenty years ago, dog food had higher standards than school dinners. I’ve been banging the drum ever since because I refuse to accept our kids being fed anything less than proper, nourishing meals.
School food is the UK’s most important restaurant chain. From September, during term-time schools will provide two-thirds of a child’s daily diet – a massive opportunity to improve health at scale. My Good School Food Awards prove that world-class meals are possible right now, and every child deserves that same quality.
So, I’m delighted this government is now updating and enforcing these standards.
Henry Dimbleby, former government food tsar, author of the Independent National Food Strategy and co-founder of Bramble Partners and Leon, said:
Today we have a rare chance to reset school food: wider access to free school meals, higher standards – with proper monitoring to help schools improve what ends up on the plate. September can mark the start of a new normal, where every child can count on a lunch that is both delicious and nutritious, and every parent can have real confidence in what’s being served.
Done right it will boost children’s health, their academic outcomes and their chances of success in later life. But it will only work if the government sticks to the timetable set out today – and if schools and caterers are backed to deliver, and held to it.
Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive at Chefs in Schools, one of the lead partners of the School Food Project said:
We are pleased to see the first update to school food standards in over a decade, and a commitment to monitoring that means these measures will have real impact. Suggested changes will see a shift towards more freshly prepared and delicious meals that are packed full of nutrition. More fruit and veg and fibre will be served so that young people get all the goodness they need to grow up healthy and thrive.
To make the most of this opportunity and ensure our young people are getting the lunch they deserve, we’re also hugely excited to announce the philanthropy funded School Food Project. This coalition of the UK’s leading food and education organisations, including Bite Back, Chefs in Schools, Jamie Oliver Group, School Food Matters and The Food Foundation have joined forces to offer schools practical support to transform school food and improve food education.
There will be a phased approach for some changes in secondary schools – giving schools time to develop recipes, update menus and train staff. However, schools who are ready to adopt the new standards are encouraged to do so straight away.
Hilary Priest, Headteacher at The Grove School in Devon, said:
At The Grove, we believe a healthy mind and a healthy body go hand in hand, and that starts with what children eat.
We’re incredibly proud to be the first school in Devon to partner with Chefs in Schools, who are doing remarkable work to transform school food across the country. Every meal here is freshly prepared on site, with a daily choice of main or alternative, a varied salad bar, fresh fruit and water always available.
We’re changing our whole school culture around food — from the curriculum to the kitchen garden, where children will grow produce for their own meals and meet the local producers who supply us. By offering healthy, tasty meals every day, we’re showing children that good food is something to enjoy, explore and be proud of.
Today’s announcement builds on the government’s extension of Free School Meals to every child from a household in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026 — reaching over half a million more children and lifting 100,000 out of poverty. Together, these reforms represent the biggest expansion of school food provision in a generation.
