CATERING & NUTRITION
in London more than five years ago, Nourish has supported over 100 schools to strengthen their food culture and improve the school food environment. An independent evaluation found school food culture and pupil engagement improved when food was embedded across school life, rather than treated solely as a catering issue.
This year, Nourish is expanding beyond London, supporting schools in Birmingham, Cumberland, Hertfordshire and Worcestershire, helping more communities benefit from a whole school approach to food.
This expansion comes at a crucial moment. As the revised standards approach, schools across the country are asking not just what they need to change but how they can make those changes achievable and sustainable.
Building national support for schools That is also why School Food Matters has joined forces with Bite Back, Chefs in Schools, Jamie Oliver Group and The Food Foundation to launch the School Food Project.
people. For example, schools might establish school food ambassadors, run menu tasting sessions or make changes to the dining environment, such as creating an accessible- height salad bar. Food education is a central pillar of this approach, valued as a key curriculum subject and life skill, not an optional extra. Through Nourish, School Food Matters supports schools to develop tailored food action plans and policies that reflect their own context and priorities. Schools are encouraged to identify achievable changes that build momentum over time.
Against a backdrop of rising food and labour costs, increasing child food insecurity and growing concern about children’s nutrition and health, tightening standards without implementation support risks placing schools under strain. A whole school approach provides a more practical and sustainable route forward but updated standards will only improve children’s experiences if schools are both supported and expected to implement them consistently in practice.
Lessons from secondary schools While whole school approaches to food are increasingly recognised as good practice, evidence has often focused on primary settings. Secondary schools present a very different challenge.
Large and complex environments, shorter lunch breaks, greater pupil autonomy, multiple food outlets and strong external influences can make change harder to achieve. Yet adolescence is also a critical period for shaping lifelong eating habits.
That is why School Food Matters recently partnered with the University of Birmingham to explore how Nourish could be adapted for secondary settings. The resulting Nourish Secondaries research identified several conditions for success:
• One of the clearest findings was the importance of a “slow and steady” approach. Secondary schools responded more positively to incremental, manageable changes than intensive short-term interventions. Schools need time and flexibility to embed change in ways that work for their own structures and pressures.
• Meaningful student engagement is also critical. Young people told researchers they wanted a stronger voice in shaping school food and could quickly identify when consultation felt tokenistic. When students see their feedback leading to visible change, engagement increases.
• The role of catering teams is also crucial. In many schools, catering staff remain disconnected from wider school decision making, despite playing a central role in children’s daily experience. Nourish Secondaries found that schools were more successful when catering teams were involved in planning, recognised as part of the school community and supported through training.
• The research reinforced the importance of external partnerships. Schools benefit from access to specialist expertise, practical resources and opportunities to learn from one another. Local authorities, academy trusts, charities and caterers all have a role to play in supporting implementation.
• Finally, celebrating progress and sharing success across school communities was also highlighted as important in sustaining engagement, motivation and momentum over time.
Scaling what works
The encouraging news is that schools want to engage with this agenda. Since starting
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The government-backed coalition has been created to support schools as the revised standards are introduced, while also advocating for a whole school approach to food, with food education recognised as an integral part of the wider school food culture and environment. Through a system of beacon and cascade schools, the organisations will provide practical support, share resources and insight, and champion the role that good food plays in children’s long-term health and wellbeing. The School Food Project recognises that introducing revised standards is only one part of improving children’s experience of school food. Schools need realistic funding, strong monitoring and accountability, and opportunities to learn from one another if improvements are to be sustained.
With the right backing, this moment presents a real opportunity for the sector to work together to improve children’s health, wellbeing and readiness to learn by giving every child access to nutritious, delicious and sustainable school food.
An opportunity schools should seize The revised standards are a starting point, not an end. Schools that adopt a whole school approach are not simply responding to policy requirements, they are creating environments where children can thrive, build positive relationships with food and enjoy nutritious meals that help them concentrate, focus and engage fully in learning.
The schools we work with show that meaningful change is possible when schools are supported to take small, achievable steps. Progress does not require perfection, but a commitment to start, involve the whole school community and build over time.
As September approaches, schools should not feel they are acting alone. Good school food is about more than what is served at lunchtime. It is about creating a culture that puts children’s nutrition, wellbeing and future health first. And that is something worth investing in.
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