School food standards have been reintroduced in all primary and secondary schools since 2013. Research indicates that these standards have significantly improved the quality and nutritional value of school meals, thereby enhancing the diets of the children who consume them.
This blog explores the current school food standards and their nutritional requirements, highlighting how they benefit your child. Additionally, it offers practical tips for parents to encourage healthy eating habits at school.
What are the food school standards?
The School Food Standards are designed to ensure children get the best nutrition for the school day by establishing key nutritional requirements for the food served. These standards specify the types of foods that should be offered and their frequency, as well as identifying foods that are prohibited or should be limited.
The current standards, established by the Department of Education (DfE) in the UK, must be followed by all primary and secondary schools (last updated in September 2024). However, academies are exempt from these requirements. The DfE is responsible for the 2014 school food regulations.
In the UK, school food standards differ for lunch and meals served at other times of the day (such as snacks or breakfast).
What are the differences between the lunch standards and other meals standards?
Lunch Standards – There are specific nutritional requirements for the food served during school lunches, ensuring they are nutritionally balanced. These standards include requirements for portion sizes, the inclusion of certain food groups and specifics on the drinks served to children (see below for the details).
Other Meals (e.g breakfast & snacks): Meals outside of lunch, such as snacks and breakfasts, are subject to less stringent regulations but still emphasize promoting healthy options and adhering to general healthy eating guidelines. Schools are encouraged to provide nutritious snacks, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while limiting sugary or processed foods.
How the standards can help children
- They can help ensure children get essential nutrients in the school day and research shows an improved overall diet and nutrient intake when schools adhere to them.
- They benefit children from all socio-economic groups by providing free school meals to certain groups such as those on benefits and younger children in reception to year 2.
- The standards, if followed, ensure that all children, regardless of their background,have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school.
- Expose children to a variety of healthy foods at school which can encourage children to develop lifelong healthy eating habits.
- Proper nutrition is linked to better concentration, memory, and cognitive function, helping children perform better academically.
These benefits highlight the importance of maintaining high nutritional standards in school meals to support children’s growth and development.
Key nutritional requirements for UK school lunches
Vegetables: At least one portion of vegetables or salad each day, including 3 different types each week.
Fruit: One or more portions of fruit every day including 3 different types each week
Starchy foods: At least one or more portions of starchy food each day, such as bread or pasta. There needs to be at least three types of starchy foods each week, with at least one whole grain type. They can use wholegrain varieties of starchy foods such as using a 50:50 mix for pasta and rice. Use at least half wholemeal or granary flour when making bread, puddings, cakes, biscuits, batters and sauces.
Dairy: A portion of food from this group should be provided every day such as milk, cheese or yoghurt. Dairy free milk alternatives should be provided such as plain soya, rice or oat milks enriched with calcium.
Meat or poultry: At least one portion of meat or poultry on three or more days each week. This could include foods such as chicken, beef, lamb or pork.
For vegetarians: they must include a portion of non dairy protein on three or more days a week. E.g. soya and tofu. They can also include a mycoprotein- based meat substitute once or twice a week. As well as cheese and eggs once or twice a week.
Oily fish: At least once or more every three weeks. This includes fish such as salmon, herring, anchovies, sardines and mackerel.
Other considerations
Healthy drinks: Water should be the main drink and provided still or carbonated but also lower fat milk should be available for drinking at least once a day. Lactose reduced milk should also be available.
Fruit and vegetable juice can be offered (150ml) as well as some other healthy drinks including;
- Dairy free alternatives such as soya, rice or oat drinks (enriched with calcium)
- Combination drinks are limited to 330mls, allowed to contain added vitamins and minerals and the fruit or vegetable juice must be at least 45% fruit or vegetable juice.
The combination drinks could include:
- fruit or vegetable juice with plain water that is still or carbonated, with no added sugars or honey.
- Combinations of fruit juice with lower fat milk or plain yoghurt, soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium; cocoa and lower fat milk; flavoured lower fat milk, all with less than 5% added sugars or honey.
A detailed tea towel of the School Food Standards can be found below here.
Foods high in fat, salt and sugar
What Can the Lunch Standards Include?
- Desserts, Cakes, and Biscuits: These can be served as long as they do not contain any confectionery.
- Savoury Crackers or Breadsticks: These can be served alongside fruit, vegetables, or dairy foods.
- Pastry: No more than two portions of pastry should be served each week.
- Deep-Fried, Battered, and Breadcrumbed Foods: These should be offered no more than twice a week. This includes foods like nuggets, fish fingers, and chips prepared in this way.
What Are the Lunch Standards NOT Allowed to Include?
- Snacks: Only nuts, seeds, vegetables, and fruit with no added salt, sugar, or fat are permitted throughout the entire school day.
- Confectionery and Chocolate: No confectionery, chocolate, or chocolate-coated products are allowed at any time during the school day.
Find further detailed information on the standards here.
What parents can do to help their children make healthier choices at schools
- Review the menus together – new to school or change of menu? Then review the menu together so they know what everything is and can help them make their choices.
- Empower with Knowledge – Equip your child with knowledge about nutrition. Explain why certain foods are better choices and how to read food labels. This empowers them to make informed decisions.
- Set Clear Expectations – Set clear expectations about what kinds of foods are the most balanced options. Discuss the school guidelines with your child so they know what the recommendations are and how they could choose their meals wisely.
- Try similar meals at home first – If your child is fussy but nervous about trying new foods at school then try recreating some of the meals at home first.
- Role-Model Healthy Choices -Be a role model by making healthy choices yourself. When children see their parents prioritising nutrition, they are (eventually) more likely to follow suit, even when you’re not around.
- Provide nutritious snacks – Whether the kids have them at home or at school, ensuring that you’re offering 1-2 healthy snacks that they enjoy can stop them from going hungry and top up their daily nutrition intakes.
- Talk to the school – if there are issues around serving of school food don’t be afraid to raise them with the school. It shouldn’t be a barrier to accessing school food.
By implementing these strategies, you can help your child develop the skills and confidence to make healthier choices at school, even when you’re not there to guide them.
What can schools do to make school food more appealing
- Presentation – schools can increase the uptake of meals by ensuring they are varied, use lots of colour and present them attractively.
- Growing their own food – where possible, such as vegetables in an allotment. Getting children involved in this process starts to build a connection with the foods and are more likely to try them in meals.
- Improve the lunch time experience – ensuring queues are not long and making school dining halls an enjoyable place to sit and eat together.
Where the standards don’t go far enough…
As a Nutritionist who has been working in this field for a long time, I’m very aware that the nutrition guidelines for school haven’t really been changed for a number of years. However our society has changed a lot, we went through an epidemic and health and obesity concerns continue to rise, additionally we’re presented with a LOT of misinformation around foods online and we also have access to more Ultra Processed Foods than ever.
I think these guidelines don’t go far enough. I think in some instances they don’t offer good enough guidance, so here are my take homes on things I’d like to see changed:
- Puddings – children don’t need to have sweet cakes and puddings every single day. These guidelines don’t go far enough in recommending what’s on offer for puddings at school.
- Dairy free alternatives – we need to be more specific about what these dairy replacements are and what they are fortified with. Calcium alone isn’t enough if children are having 1-2 of their “dairy” portions a day at school. These should be recommended to be fortified with Calcium, B vitamins, Vitamin D and Iodine as a minimum.
- Rice milks – it’s a little confusing to parents that this is one of the dairy free milks of choice, as it’s not recommended for children under 5 years of age? Many children at school will be 4 years old (some for almost a year, like my daughter) so this seems to go against the Government’s own guidelines around rice milk and young children. Why not focus on Soya, Pea and Oat milks?
- Wholegrains – Personally, if we want children to be eating MORE in the way of fibre and wholegrains, we need to be encouraging them to be offered from a young age. School is a great place to do this, but current guidelines suggest that they only need to be offered as a minimum of 1x a week. In my opinion that isn’t enough.
- Iron – we know iron is such an important nutrient for growing children, and yet iron rich foods only need to be offered 3x a week in a school setting. More variety of vegetarian proteins would be preferred too, and not just relying on processed meat alternatives. Plant based options such as chickpeas, lentils, beans would be beneficial from multiple points of view.
Sweet Drinks – The recommendations on sugary drinks are confusing for schools. Why not simplify it by making the drinks available milk or water (or at a push 10% pure juice with 90% water? Kid’s don’t NEED sweet drinks or flavoured drinks and this will be best for promoting dental health which statistics around child dental health will prove is very much needed.