You might have seen in the news that the Government is planning some changes to the way Ofsted inspects schools. That means monitoring of how schools provide good food and promote healthy eating to children will change a little too.
School governors and councils are still responsible for making sure that school meals follow the healthy national standards, and Ministers say all children should be able to eat healthy, nutritious food at school.
But your views of the food at your child’s school have never been more important. As a parent, your influence can be very powerful in demanding that every child has a good experience at lunchtime. It’s vital that you use it – because how children feel about lunch can often determine how they feel about their entire day at school.
Here are some simple questions that you can use at different times when you might be visiting your child’s school. They will all help you find out about how the school’s catering works, and to check that you’re satisfied your child will have a great experience at lunchtime.
If you are….
Visiting a potential new school for your child:
- Do you cook hot meals from scratch in your own kitchens?
- Where will I find your menus?
- Can I come in and try a meal?
- How do pupils choose what to eat?
- How much is a school meal?
- Do you run any special offers?
- Do you have a cooking club?
- Do you have Healthy Schools Status?
Worried about your child’s diet:
- How do you encourage fussy children to try new foods?
- Do you reward children if they pick a healthy option?
- (for primary schools) Can we pre-order from the menu so that I know what my child is choosing?
- How do you make sure my child’s eating some fruit and veg at lunchtime?
- Can my child have seconds?
Worried about what your child says about the food at school or the dining room set up:
- Is there someone on the PTA or board of governors who leads on school food? How do I contact them?
- (for secondary schools) Are students allowed to go off the school site for lunch?
Worried that your child keeps asking for less healthy foods that he or she sees in friends’ packed lunches:
Still not reassured? How to take things further:
- Ask your questions on parents’ evening, or ask for a meeting with whoever leads on school food for the school’s senior leadership team
- Find out if other parents have similar concerns; raise them together at your PTA
- Talk to a school governor and ask them to raise your concerns with the board
- Visit our FAQs or get in touch: ““info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk(info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk)”:mailto:info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk
When to be worried….
- Your child says the lunch queue’s too long or that they can never get a seat
- Your child says certain food options are regularly running out before he/she gets to the front of the queue
- Your child keeps asking for a packed lunch instead, or for money to go out at lunchtime
- Your child says they’re hungry in the afternoons
- Your child doesn’t want to go into the canteen at all
Questions we ask schools about their food!
Here are just some of the many questions that we ask schools about their food. These might also give you food for thought if you’re talking to your child’s school about their approach to healthy eating:
- Can you provide your evidence that your school meals follow the national standards for school food?
- How many of your children eat school meals? What proportion of your children who are registered for free school meals actually take them?
- How often does your head teacher meet with your head cook?
- How many staff eat in the dining room?
- Do children have a say on the food that’s served? How do you get their feedback?
- What are you doing to encourage more pupils to buy school meals?
- What does your dining room look like? Are you doing anything to improve the look and feel of the canteen?
- What are you doing to reduce queue times?
- Do you reward children for making healthy choices?
- If you don’t have facilities to cook hot meals from scratch, are you working towards having your own kitchen? How are you doing this?
Useful Background
Do you cook hot meals from scratch in your own kitchens?
Our research shows that children are more likely to eat healthy school meals in areas where more primary schools prepare food from scratch on the premises. Official figures show that more than one in five primary schools either have hot food delivered or re-heat the food in mini kitchens. And our data for 2009-10 shows that in areas where more primary schools had poorer catering facilities, take up of school lunch was typically lower than in areas where schools were better-equipped. Other factors linked with lower take-up in primary schools included areas where more schools were only able to offer cold food.
Where will I find your menus?
Some schools display menus throughout school, on their websites or they may send the menu home in their newsletters. In some places, schools use Twitter to ‘tweet’ their menus to parents.
Can I come in and try a meal?
This is always a good idea, as school food has changed so much since we were at school! Many schools have regular opportunities for parents to come in and eat with their children; others might do tasting sessions or will be happy to arrange a visit for you.
How do pupils choose what to eat?
Every school is different; some might do a pre-ordering system where children choose their meal for the day at registration; others will send home menus for you to look at with your child and pre-order their preferences; pupils will choose when they get to the dining room in other schools or may even have the option of self-service.
How much is a school meal?
Prices vary from school to school and in every different area of the country. Our annual survey of school lunch take up in England found that average prices for the 2009-10 year were £1.83 in primary schools catered for by their local authority and £1.94 in secondary schools.
Do you run any special offers?
Some schools may run ‘meal deals’ – like those you might find on the high street – for choosing certain healthy combinations on their menu, or price incentives to encourage more children to try school meals. They might also offer loyalty schemes – so a child might buy four meals and get one free, for example. The Education Bill- which is currently being debated in Parliament has proposed plans to make it easier for schools to offer price promotions.
Do you have a cooking club?
More than 4,000 schools have already joined our Let’s Get Cooking network, which is a great way to make healthy cooking part of school and family life.
Do you have Healthy Schools Status?
The National Healthy Schools Programme is a joint initiative between Department for Education and Department of Health. For a school to gain Healthy Schools Status means they are promoting a ‘whole school/whole child approach’ to health. One of the requirements for gaining – and keeping – Healthy Schools Status is that the school meets the national standards for healthy school food.
How do you encourage fussy children to try new foods?
School meals can be a fantastic way to encourage children to try new things – sitting with their friends and seeing what they eat is often all the encouragement they need. And in a recent poll with parents, most of those with children who eat school meals said their youngsters had experimented with new foods at school. Donna, a mum from Norwich, told us how school food has helped her 5 year old son Connor broaden his food horizons – click here to read her story.
Do you reward children if they pick a healthy option?
Here’s an example of one school that does this – every school will have a different approach, but it can work well!
(for primary schools) Can we pre-order from the menu so that I know what my child is choosing?
Here’s an example of one school that does this. Some schools pre-order at registration, others might send home menus for you to look at with your child.
How do you make sure my child’s eating some fruit and veg at lunchtime?
The national standards for school food guarantee that a portion of vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit is available for every child having school meals, every day. Cooks and lunchtime supervisors are fantastic at getting to know their children’s likes and dislikes; they will often let children have little tasters of new foods and will often encourage them to try a just little of everything. Some schools offer self-service so pupils can choose their own fruit and veg, and this tends to work very well as they value the independence it gives them and can control their own portion sizes. Cooks also have lots of techniques for packing vegetables into sauces and popular dishes – where children don’t even notice!
Can my child have seconds?
There is nothing to stop schools from offering seconds – each school will make its own decision. However, it’s important to remember that the national school food standards are there to encourage children to make healthier choices. For example, schools are asked to provide extra bread to encourage children who are still hungry to fill up this way rather than, for example, having an extra dessert. Schools might also encourage children to choose bigger portions of self-serve items from salad bar, or they may adjust portion sizes offered to different aged pupils to make sure they all get a portion that’s right for them.
Is there someone on the PTA or board of governors who leads on school food? How do I contact them?
School governors are legally responsible for making sure your child’s school is meeting the national standards for school food, and Ministers say that every child should be able to have a nutritious lunch at school. If you’re not satisfied that this is happening or if you have questions about the service on offer, this is a good place to start.
(for secondary schools) Are students allowed to go off the school site for lunch?
Many schools ask their pupils to stay on the school site for lunch. This can have lots of benefits – not just for encouraging pupils to choose a healthy lunch from the canteen rather than going to the local chippy, but also for the pupils’ behaviour, punctuality and performance in afternoon lessons, and for the school’s relationships with the local community. Some schools tell us that keeping children on site at lunchtime reduces complaints about litter and noise around the school, and saves staff time in having to deal with those complaints. Our research has also found that in areas where more secondary schools had a ‘stay on site’ policy at lunchtime, more pupils tend to take their free school meals when they’ve registered for them.
Do you give advice about what foods children can bring in as part of a packed lunch?
All the evidence shows that school meals are typically healthier than packed lunches. In fact, one study found that only 1 per cent of packed lunches would meet the nutritional standards that are set for school meals. You might find that your school has a ‘packed lunch policy’ to make sure that all pupils – whether they have a school lunch or bring their own – are getting a consistent message about eating healthily at school.
How many of your children eat school meals? What proportion of your children who are registered for free school meals actually take them?(
The national average is 41.4% of pupils in primary schools and 35.8% of pupils in secondary schools. However, some schools have more than 80% of pupils eating lunch in school every day. What proportion of your children who are registered for free school meals actually take them? The national average is 79.3% of primary school children who are registered and 68.4% of secondary school children who are registered.
What does your dining room look like? Are you doing anything to improve the look and feel of the canteen?
We know from our research that where children eat is even more important to them than the food. If the canteen is noisy, cramped, unattractive or has long queues, children simply won’t want to eat there. We launched a project called Canteen Rescue to help schools find their biggest canteen issues are and how to find solutions to them, and our specialist team provides tailored advice to individual schools wanting to turn their canteens and kitchens from dull to dreamy.
