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Schools Food Panel first survey of head teachers

February 2007
School Food Trust’s first headteachers panel survey reveals numbers holding firm after introduction of new standards for school dinners.

New research from the School Food Trust has revealed that, seven months after the introduction of new standards for school meals, headteachers in both primary and secondary schools have reported no overall downturn in numbers. The findings confound the many critics who said that introducing new standards would lead to a disaster for the school food service.

In primary schools, one third reported an increase in take up, one-half showed no change, and less than one-fifth reported a decrease. In secondary schools, equal percentages (30%) reported a decrease or an increase in take up, and 40% reported no change. Over half of schools said that the increase or holding steady was due to a combination of providing healthy options and maintaining prices. The overall impression is that take-up is either increasing or holding steady – not declining.

Michael Nelson, Head of Research at the School Food Trust, said:

“Obviously these findings show that despite the scale of the changes the school food service has risen to the challenge. However, we are not complacent; we know that there are schools and local authorities who are finding it more difficult than others and we will continue to support their endeavours. This means actively communicating with parents and children about the benefits of eating healthy school meals to ensure the school food service has a viable future.

“What was also interesting is that most headteachers believed that improving the meal experience – the physical dining environment; length of lunch period, management of queuing etc – would result in increases in take-up.”

Full versions of the Schools Food Panel reports and Appendices (incorporating questionnaires) are available on the School Food Trust website: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/surveysandmonitoring#schoolsfoodpanel.

Printed copies of these findings are available from:

Erin Needham
School Food Trust
Geraldine Hall Suite
Moorfoot
Sheffield
S1 4PQ

 

Schools Food Panel First survey of head teachers - February 2007 (Adobe pdf doc 272KB)
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Schools Food Panel First survey of head teachers - February 2007 Appendices (Adobe pdf doc 206KB)
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