School food blogger and campaigner, Jackie Schneider, wrote to us and other supporters of good food in schools recently about the Government's policy that academies aren't required to follow the National School Food Standards. Here's our reply:
28th November 2011
Dear Jackie
Many thanks for your email and for your support of the national school food standards. As the charity which championed the national standards from the very start, we share many of your concerns. That’s why our advice to Government on this has been consistent from the beginning: all the evidence shows that the standards make an enormous impact on the food that children eat at school, their behaviour and their attainment. We want to see every school – including all academies – using the standards; it’s a basic that we should expect of all schools, because it helps pupils to reach their full potential in the classroom.
However, as you will all remember only too well from Jamie’s original school meals campaign, activities to influence a change in policy will only be successful if they are supported by robust evidence of the problem.
At the moment, we are all hearing anecdotal stories of academies beginning to drop the standards, but as yet there is no meaningful evidence of which schools these are, where, and exactly how their food policies are changing. That’s why, on our advice, Government has agreed to examine the issue more closely with a study of a sample of academies, both new and old. We have also issued a call for evidence from anyone with concerns about the food being served in an academy – from parents to teachers, and from cooks to national campaigners. We are collecting intelligence through our own research channels, and will pull all of this data together to feed into Government in the coming months.
I would urge all of you to share any concrete examples of academies dropping the standards with us, so that together we can put a comprehensive picture of the impact of this policy change to Government, and offer these schools the nutritional advice and support that they clearly need.
Finally, let’s not underestimate the power of a head teacher who understands the importance of good food for children during the school day. Politicians come and go, but school leadership leaves a lasting legacy. We must all continue the work with head teachers and cooks at schools all over the country, including academies, to help them understand the huge benefits of using the national school food standards and how to implement them successfully.
Kind regards,
Rob Rees, Chairman
School Food Trust
