Schools


General FAQs

These are questions we frequently answer about who the standards for school food apply to, and when they apply.

Who the standards apply to and when they apply

Questions from parents

Why have standards for school food been introduced?

Research (see below) has shown that children were not making healthy food choices at lunch time and that school meals did not meet their nutritional needs.

The standards were developed to increase children’s intake of healthier foods, to restrict junk foods high in fat, sugar and salt, to improve the quality of food and set minimum levels for the nutritional content of school meals.

Research quoted:

School Meals in Primary Schools in England
www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/RR753

School meals in secondary schools in England
www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/RR557

What are the standards for school food and when did they start?

The school food standards were introduced in stages between September 2006 and September 2009. The introduction of the standards is now complete, and all local authority maintained primary, secondary, special schools, boarding schools and pupil referral units are required to meet:

  • Final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches
  • Food-based standards for food other than lunches.

As the School Food Trust is no longer a Non Departmental Public Body, does that mean that the national school food standards are changing or being removed?

No. The coalition Government has made clear that it recognises the importance of healthy food in schools; its role in improving children’s readiness to learn and their behaviour at school, and that it can also help to establish healthy eating habits for life. Statutory standards for school food became fully implemented in September 2009, and the Government has said that these need to be given time to settle in. Ministers are considering when it would be timely to review the standards but at present, have no plans to repeal the standards.

For academies, their responsibilities are set out in their funding agreement. For those set up since September 2010, there is no requirement for them to comply with the school food standards, and they will be able to promote healthy eating and good nutrition as they see fit. Existing academies that move to the new model funding agreement will also promote healthy eating and good nutrition as they see fit.

However, it is unlikely that schools seeing the benefits of healthier school meals would want to stop. There is increasing evidence that both the food on offer in schools, and the food selected by pupils for their lunch, is healthier since the introduction of the school food standards. Research under taken by the Trust also shows that eating a healthy lunch in a decent environment improves behaviour and focus in class. Using the national school food standards will enable academies to promote healthy eating and good nutrition, and the Trust is confident they will see the benefits of this for their pupils.

The Trust led the work to help schools understand and implement the legislation, and our nutritionists are always here to help any school looking for advice.

The Trust has produced guides to the Government’s standards. Are they statutory or guidance?

The Trust guides are an interpretation of what the School Food Regulations (2007) mean. They are primarily aimed at schools and caterers and have been written to help them put the standards into practice. Schools are required to meet the standards by law.

Where can I get more information about the standards for school food?

You can download information about the standards for school food on this website:

In April 2007 the Trust produced a guide to introducing the food-based standards for all school food other than lunches:
Guide to the new food-based standards for food other than lunches

In November 2007 the Trust produced a guide to introducing the final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches, which was then updated for secondary schools in 2008:
Guide to introducing the nutrient-based and final food-based standards for school lunches

There is a summary of the resources that the Trust has produced to support the implementation of the school food standards available to download from here:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/individualnutrientbasedstandards

There is a set of four posters that have been designed to display information about the nutrient-based standards for school lunches for cooks and caterers, pupils, parents and Head teachers available to download from here:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/resources/nutrientstandardposters

Departmental advice on school food in England is also available from the Department for Education website, and includes downloadable documents to give overviews of the food-based standards, nutrient-based standards, and responsibilities for school food. This information is available from:
www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/advice/f00197541/departmental-advice-for-school-food-in-england

How are the standards for school food being funded?

The Government initially allocated £220m to support the improvement of school food between 2005 and 2008. These funds were given to local authorities and individual schools.
In September 2006, a new multi-million pound package of measures was announced. The School Lunch Grant included £240 million of funding over three years (April 2008 to March 2011) to focus on increasing school lunch take-up, specifically by helping to keep down the price of a school lunch. £2 million of this package was used to establish a network of training kitchens and a specific fund for building kitchens.
The School Lunch Grant could only be used in four ways:

1. To pay for ingredients for schools lunches;
2. To pay labour costs of catering staff;
3. To buy small pieces of kitchen equipment, for example, microwaves, ovens, combi-ovens, mixers etc;
4. To pay for the nutrient analysis software required to assess whether a menu meets the nutrient-based standards for school lunches, and the expertise to operate the software.

The School Lunch Grant is still available. However, as of April 2011, the grant is no longer ringfenced. Instead, it now forms part of schools’ baseline budgets from the Department for Education. It’s important for schools to continue to invest in good food for children because of the return it offers for their learning, behaviour and health. As schools take more control of their budgets, it’s an opportunity to make sure their catering services work well for them. We’re here to help any school wanting advice on getting the best possible value for children from their school meals service.
Further information can be found on the Department for Education website here:
www.education.gov.uk/b0065551/what-does-the-spending-review-mean-for-me/schools

Who the standards apply to and when they apply

 

Are existing and new academies required to comply with the school food standards?

The funding agreements for current open academies include a requirement that food and drink provided must comply with the school food standards. The relevant clause states:
All food and drink provided by or on behalf of the Academy shall comply with legislation governing the provision of food and drink in maintained schools as this applies from time to time. In particular, the Academy shall ensure that school meals (breakfasts, lunches or other meals); and food and drink available on the Academy premises through other outlets such as tuck shops and vending machines comply with the relevant standards set out in regulations.

New academies, set up from September 2010 are not required to comply with the school food standards, and are free to promote healthy eating and good nutrition as they see fit.

Open academies will be given the opportunity to move to the new Model Funding Agreement during the course of the academic year beginning September 2010. These schools would then not be required to comply with the school food standards and will also be free to promote healthy eating and good nutrition as they see fit.

There is increasing evidence that the food on offer in schools, and food selected by pupils for their lunch is healthier than before the introduction of the school food standards, and that eating a healthy lunch in a decent environment has a positive impact on learning behaviour in the classroom after lunch. Providing food and drink that is compliant with the food-based and nutrient-based standards would enable academies to promote healthy eating and good nutrition in their schools, and we are confident they will see the benefits of this for the health and wellbeing of their pupils.

Do the school food standards apply to nursery schools and nursery units within primary schools?

Maintained nursery schools and nursery units within primary schools are not required to comply with the food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches or the food-based standards for school food other than lunches that are mandatory in maintained primary and secondary schools.

Maintained nursery schools and nursery classes within maintained primary schools are instead required to meet the mandatory food-based standards for school lunches outlined in Schedule 5 of the School Food Regulations (2007). This states: “One item from each of the four food groups (fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, meat, fish and alternatives and milk and dairy foods) should be provided for each pupil at lunchtime each day”. These regulations do not apply to settings other than maintained nurseries or to food provided at times other than lunch.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, revised for implementation from September 2012, applies to all registered early years providers, and includes welfare requirements which state: “Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, these must be healthy, balanced and nutritious” and “Fresh drinking water must be available and accessible at all times”. There is more information about the EYFS framework available from:
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs

The Trust has been commissioned under the Department for Education’s Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) grant to produce practical guidance for early years providers and practitioners providing meals, snacks or drinks to children aged one to five years, to help them to meet the welfare requirements of the EYFS. A practical guide, including details of the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings, and practical support tools are available to download free of charge from: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/eatbetterstartbetter

Planning menus to meet the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines will help settings to meet both the EYFS welfare requirement for food and drink, and the requirements of the School Food Regulations (where applicable).

Do the school food standards apply to day care settings?

The School Food Regulations (2007) do not apply to settings other than maintained schools, and therefore do not apply to day care settings.

Since September 2008, all Ofsted registered childcare providers have been required to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), a revised framework for which was published in March 2012, for implementation from September 2012. The EYFS applies to all types of settings that offer provision for children aged from birth until the end of August following their fifth birthday.

The EYFS welfare requirements states that where meals, snacks and drinks are provided, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious, that fresh drinking water must be available and accessible at all times, and that those responsible for the preparation and handling of food are competent to do so. In addition, providers must record and act on information from parents and carers about a child’s dietary needs.

Ofsted carry our regular inspections to evaluate the overall effectiveness of early years provision in line with the principles and requirements of the EYFS.

More information about the EYFS can be found at:
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs

Do after school clubs run by private providers have to comply with the standards?

With the exception of nursery units within primary schools, the standards apply to all local authority maintained primary and secondary schools. Food and drink provided to pupils on school premises on a school day by local authorities, school governing bodies, or anyone else providing food on school premises (under an agreement with either the local authority or governing body) before 6 pm must meet the standards. Therefore, after school clubs and breakfast clubs on the school premises must comply with the food-based standards for school food other than lunches.

A booklet ’Recipe for Success: Afterschool Club Recipes and Tips’ featuring information and tried and tested recipes suitable for after school snacks can be downloaded from our website here:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/resources/recipesforsuccess

Do the school food standards apply to holiday clubs run on school premises?

The standards apply to the provision of food and drink on a school day, and therefore do not apply to holiday clubs, even those located on school premises. However, we would encourage schools to adopt a ‘whole school approach’ to healthy eating and encourage consistency in terms of the food and drink served on their premises by providing healthier food at holiday clubs.

Does the food and drink provided to sixth form pupils have to comply with the school food standards?

The standards apply to all sixth forms which are part of a secondary school.  So food and drink provided to sixth form pupils, in this case, must comply with the standards as their phase of education is classed as secondary.   The standards would apply even if the sixth form section of the school was located in a separate building or on a separate site.

The standards do not apply to Colleges of Further Education (sixth form colleges).

Do the standards apply to teachers and other adults in schools?

The standards for school lunches apply to pupils, and also to any other person on school premises. Therefore food and drink provided to teachers as part of a school lunch is required to meet the standards.

The food-based standards for all school food other than lunches apply to pupils but not to anyone else on school premises. Therefore food and drink provided to teachers and other staff members is not required to meet the standards. However, schools can choose to reinforce the whole school approach to healthy eating, and promote consistent messages about food choices, by choosing to provide food that meets the standards to role models including teachers and other members of staff.

Does the food and drink provided on a school trip need to comply with the standards?

The standards apply to all food and drink provided by local authorities or school governing bodies to pupils on and off schools premises, during an extended school day (up to 6pm), including school trips. Therefore, food and drink provided to pupils by the school (e.g. a packed lunch provided by the school) is required to comply with the standards. Food and drink provided to pupils on school trips by an external provider (e.g. a café in a museum) is not required to comply with the standards.

For residential school trips, the standards only apply where it is the local authority or school governing body that provides the accommodation and food to pupils.

Do the school food standards apply to Residential Outdoor Centres?

The school food standards apply to all food and drink provided by local authorities or school governing bodies to pupils on and off school premises, during an extended school day (up to 6pm), including school trips. However, food provided on a residential school trip where the provider of the accommodation (not the local authority or governing body) also provides the food, is not required to meet the standards.

Therefore, residential centres run by the local authority would need to comply with the standards. In practice, this would mean that food and drink provided to pupils at lunchtime needs to comply with the final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches.Food and drink provided throughout the day (up to 6pm) is required to comply with the food-based standards for all school food other than lunches.

Does the food and drink provided during canteen theme days or one off events have to meet the standards?

The final food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches must now be met in all local authority maintained schools. The standards apply to all food and drink provided during a planned menu cycle as part of a school lunch.

However, the Government believes it to be sensible and practical to allow exemptions for legitimate ‘occasional’ events held on school premises. These include occasional theme days (e.g. a French day to compliment a school trip, or meals provided for a cultural occasion such as Christmas). Therefore, food and drink provided as part of an occasional theme day is not required to meet the nutrient-based standards, and catering providers would not be required to enter details of the food and drink provided during occasional events into their nutrient analysis.

We would encourage catering providers to provide food and drink during occasional events that complies with the food-based standards to promote a consistent whole school approach to healthy eating.


Are local authorities required to provide lunches to pupils who have been excluded from school and are instead attending a college?

The obligation to provide pupils with school food only relates to pupils registered at a school maintained by the local authority. If a pupil has been excluded from school and is not registered at any other school maintained by the authority, (for example if they are instead attending a college) the local authority is not required to provide the pupil with lunch.

If a pupil has been excluded from school, and is attending a college, but is still registered at the school, then the local authority would have to provide the pupil with lunch if the pupil (or somebody acting on their behalf) requested a school lunch and they were eligible for free lunches, or it would not be unreasonable for the authority to provide the lunch. Where lunches are provided to pupils, they are required to comply with the school food standards.

Will there be standards and guidance for packed lunches?

Any packed lunches provided by schools, whether free or paid for, will need to meet the school food standards.

There are no plans to introduce standards for packed lunches that are brought from home. However, the Trust has produced tips for parents on how to provide healthier packed lunches – see the packed lunch section of our website here.

The Trust advocates the introduction of Packed Lunch Policies to support healthier eating, and has developed a step by step guide to provide information, advice and guidance to schools on how to develop a healthy packed lunch policy.

By providing information and links to specific resources, tips and tools, we hope to help schools to use a consistent approach to healthy school lunches, both school and home provided. Developing this toolkit and the associated menus aims to ensure that parents and pupils have access to the knowledge and skills to select a healthy packed lunch. The step by step guide to developing a packed lunch policy is available to download from here.

Do the regulations specify what should be included in a free school meal? Does it have to consist of a complete meal, or can pupils select individual items?

The School Food Regulations (2007) do not require pupils receiving free school meals to select a complete meal (i.e. a main course, dessert and drink) and they may select individual items from the lunchtime provision in the same way a pupil paying for their lunch is able to. However, we would encourage schools and catering providers to promote meal deals (containing either a hot main course, cold main course or sandwich along with a dessert option and a drink) to encourage all pupils to select a balanced lunch rather than individual items. This will also help the overall lunchtime provision to meet the nutrient-based standards for school lunches. Meal deals should be priced at or below the value of a free school lunch, to enable pupils who qualify for free school lunches to select them. The value of a free school lunch should also be sufficient to allow pupils to select a lunch that meets the food-based and nutrient-based standards (for example containing a portion of fruit and a portion of vegetables/salad).  

Pupils should not be permitted to use any of the free school lunch ‘allowance’ at times other than lunchtime, unless the food is intended to be eaten as their lunch (e.g. grab bags selected at mid-morning break to allow the pupil to take part in lunchtime activities).  This is because the definition of a school lunch within section 512 of the Education Act 1996, as amended by section 201 of the Education Act 2002, is ‘food available for consumption by the pupil as his midday meal on a school day’.  This ensures that pupils have the opportunity to choose their lunch from foods that comply with the mandatory school lunch standards.

How do the school food standards apply to maintained boarding schools? Do both lunches and evening meals need to meet nutrient-based standards?

Local authority maintained boarding schools are required to meet the school food standards. Food provided as part of a school lunch is required to meet the food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches. There is more information about these standards in a guide available from:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/nutrientbasedstandards

Food provided at other times of the school day (including breakfast, mid-morning break services and after school snacks) is required to meet the food-based standards for food other than lunches, but is not required to meet nutrient-based standards. There is more information about the food-based standards for food other than lunches available from:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/resources/2007a

The food-based standards for food other than lunches apply to all food and drink provided before 6 pm on a school day. In practice, and prior to 1 September 2011, this has meant that maintained boarding schools could not serve items such as cakes and biscuits as part of the evening meal if that meal was served before 6pm.

An amendment to the School Food Regulations came into force on 1 September 2011 allowing maintained boarding schools to serve cakes and biscuits, items of confectionery and snacks as part of an evening meal, even if this is provided before 6pm. Food and drink provided as part of an evening meal before 6pm will still be required to meet the remaining food-based standards (including restrictions on provision of deep-fried foods, meat products and starchy foods cooked in fat or oil).
This amendment is available to download from:
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1190/made

Food provided after 6pm on school day or at weekends is not required to meet the school food standards. Independent boarding schools are not legally required to meet the school food standards.

Questions from parents

What is a whole school food policy?

A whole school food policy is a document that is developed through wide consultation it sets out ways in which the school aims to promote healthy eating by the whole school community. This may include a packed lunch or snacking policy, including suggestions for items that should be included in a packed lunch or brought into school to be eaten as snacks. These can help to ensure consistency between food that is provided by the school, and food that can be brought into school by pupils.

Some schools have policies relating to selection of food at lunchtime which may state that a pupil may not buy more than one dessert per lunchtime, or that pupils can only buy chips as part of a set meal and not as a single item.

The whole school approach could also include learning about healthy eating or preparing healthy food in science or food technology lessons or by involving pupils in school growing projects. The policy could be widened to include involving parents and other members of the community in various healthy eating activities including gardening clubs, taster evenings or cookery sessions.

If you are unsure if there is a whole school food policy in place at your child’s school, you could contact the school to ask if such a policy is in place.

My son’s school has said that they do not want chocolate bars to be included as part of packed lunches – can they do this?

The school food standards do not apply to food brought into school by pupils (e.g. as packed lunches). The improvements which have been seen in the nutritional quality of school lunches in recent years are not reflected in the nutrient content of packed lunches, which commonly include items which cannot be provided as part of a school lunch. Schools can introduce packed lunch policies, which offer clear guidance about the food and drink that, should be included in a packed lunch, and gives the opportunity to improve food consumed by all pupils. The Trust supports the use of these policies following full consultation in schools, and has developed a range of resources which schools can use to do this (e.g. a step by step guide to introducing a packed lunch policy) available from:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/packedlunches

Schools have a range of policies in place (including for things such as uniform), and it is for individual schools to decide whether they will have a packed lunch policy, and what this policy will include.

The school my child attends will only allow pupils to drink water throughout the day, and do not allow other drinks to be brought into school – is it the school food standards that require this?

The school food standards require schools to provide access to free, fresh, drinking water throughout the school day. Where drinks other than water are provided by the school, the standards require the provision of healthier drinks only. These include plain drinks such as low fat milk, and fruit juices. Combinations of these drinks (e.g. fruit juice and water, or flavoured milk) can also be provided throughout the school day. There is a table below which outlines the types of drinks that schools can provide.

The standards do not apply to food and drink brought into school from home. However, some schools may choose to adopt a packed lunch or snacking policy, to specify the types of drinks that they would prefer pupils to bring into school.

Any rules or policies regarding food or drink brought into school from outside are a matter for schools and parents to consider. The School Food Trust recommends the introduction of packed lunch and snacking policies (after proper consultation with pupils, parents and staff), as they offer clear guidance and an opportunity to improve food consumed by all pupils.

The food provided at my child’s school doesn’t seem very healthy, and I am concerned it doesn’t meet the standards, what can I do?

All food and drink provided in local authority maintained schools in England is required to meet the school food standards. Food provided throughout the school day is required to meet food-based standards. These standards require that certain foods (such as fruit and vegetables) are provided, and restrict the frequency that foods such as meat products and deep-fried foods can be provided. This means that items such as burgers and chips can be provided in schools, but they are restricted, and cakes and biscuits may only be provided at lunchtime.

School lunches are also required to meet nutrient-based standards which set minimum or maximum limits for the amount of energy and 13 different nutrients in an average school lunch. These standards are in place to limit the amount of fat, salt and sugar and increase the vitamin and mineral content of school lunches.

Schools and their catering providers should have evidence available to demonstrate that the food and drink provided in their school is compliant with these standards. As a parent, you could approach the school or ask to speak to the catering manager to see this evidence. If you are not satisfied with the response received you could raise your concerns with the school governors, head teacher or the local authority.

My child doesn’t want vegetables to be put on her plate at lunchtime but the school insists on this, can they do this?

The final food-based standards for school lunches require that a portion of fruit and a portion of vegetables or salad are provided every day for each pupil eating a school lunch. This could be in the form of vegetables within dishes such as stews or curries, or fruit in fruit-based desserts, or as a piece of fresh fruit or as a vegetable or salad accompaniment.

These standards relate to overall provision of food, and do not state that pupils must choose or eat the food that is provided by the school. In addition to the school food standards, schools or caterers may have their own policies in place stating that every pupil must be served with vegetables on their plate, or that providing vegetables for the pupils to select from the servery is sufficient.

Schools and caterers can use various strategies to encourage pupils to consume more fruit and vegetables such as taster sessions, salad bars, meal deals containing fruit. For more information on tried and tested approaches used by schools to encourage the consumption of fruit and vegetables, see the Trust’s webpage on fruit and vegetables:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/fruitandveg

Download

sft_summary_drinks_table.pdf

List and definition of drinks permitted in schools


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