What the experts say…
WILL THE NEW SCHOOL FOOD STANDARDS REALLY SAVE THE NEXT GENERATION FROM THE UK’S HEALTH CRISIS?
Comment by ED WRIGHT, Innovation and Growth Director at AVE S
chool dining rooms up and down the UK have come a long way since the ‘good old days’ of turkey twizzlers, chips with everything, and barely a vegetable in sight. Lunchtime offerings for the nation’s pupils may have shifted significantly, with the likes of Jamie Oliver highlighting the importance of nutritional balance, but it’s clear that there is still more to be done to support children to make healthier food choices. Enter the Government, and a plan to revamp School Food Standards.
The new guidelines were the subject of a recent consultation, with an announcement expected this September ahead of implementation in time for the 2027/28 academic year. But there have already been concerns raised around exactly how effective the future standards will be when it comes to positively impacting the next generation, or whether the worsening UK health crisis means a much wider campaign will be needed to change the future prospects of the nation’s children.
More choices do not equal better choices
Few people would argue against a wider variety of nutritional meals being made available to children – with the proposals as they stand incorporating additional wholegrains and vegetables whilst reducing food high in fat, salt and sugar. If the proposals are formally adopted, higher-sugar sweetened baked products or desserts will become a once-a-week treat, fruit juices and smoothies will be removed from menus, and cheese-based options will be reduced to twice weekly.
Yet, there are many ways children may be able to circumvent these nutritional choices. Older students allowed off-site during lunchtimes can easily pick up fast food and confectionery outside the school gates. Bringing in food from home may become a more popular choice, as lunchbox contents are almost impossible to ‘police’. Indeed, while it was a limited six- week study, a trial at a school in Brighton commissioned by the Department for Education saw school meal take-up drop by 15% during a ‘new School Food Standards’ pilot. And, perhaps the worst option of all, students may simply choose to skip their midday meal altogether and wait until they get home to consume foods they are more familiar with or drawn towards.. It’s absolutely true that the Government has to start somewhere, and reforming school meals is much easier than trying to influence what children are offered for breakfast, dinner, at weekends, and in the 13 weeks of holiday they enjoy every year.
But without an impactful supporting health campaign running simultaneously, they may find their best intentions do little in the way to change the mindset of children. Because without understanding the impact of the food on their plates; without the support of their caregivers who control access to the majority of their nutritional intake during their formative years; and if they are not motivated to make healthier choices for themselves, then simply offering a student more vegetables does not necessarily equate to any real impact on their long-term health and wellbeing.
The wider health picture
We cannot look at lunches in isolation. Young people have caregivers who they spend the majority of their time with, who may well undermine or contradict the ‘healthy choices’ message.
According to NHS England, two thirds of adults in the UK are either overweight or obese, and 49% have a long-term health condition, a proportion of which can be linked with lifestyle factors such as diet. The trickle-down impact through the generations is clear: when children begin their schooling aged four, 22% are already overweight or obese (and this
24
www.education-today.co.uk September 2026 rises to 36% by the time they finish primary school).
We know that these children are five times more likely to be overweight in adulthood than their peers – but we also know it’s not only attitudes towards nutrition which can contribute towards health issues. Government data shows obesity prevalence is almost double among children living in the most deprived areas, and the spike in food poverty and food insecurity has undoubtedly impacted the way families eat. Around 15% of children are impacted by food insecurity, with the Food Foundation reporting that 53% of households experiencing financial concerns cut back on fruit, and 40% on vegetables.
ONS data shows us that – despite multiple changes such as the so- called sugar tax – ‘healthier’ foods are nearly twice as expensive per calorie than less nutritionally-balanced offerings, and this gap is currently the largest it has been in over a decade. Indeed, such is the contrast between recommendations and reality, that the same Food Foundation research found the most deprived 20% of households with children would need to spend 85% of their income to follow Government dietary guidelines.
A fruitless task
If we add peer influence, convenience, advertising and taste preferences amongst financial and family influences, it paints a stark picture: one where offering up more wholegrains is unlikely to undo all of the messaging and circumstantial factors which affect children’s choices and attitudes from the moment they begin consuming food.
Without a fundamental shift, redesigning school menus is likely to have little impact on the overall nutritional choices of today’s children. And with the warning from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health that the UK is “on track to raise one of the unhealthiest generations of children in decades”, there really is a pressing need for a wider long-term, large- scale campaign around the choices they make, alongside wholesale policy shifts to ensure that guidelines are attainable, especially for those already experiencing financial hardship.
Ensuring menus align with nutritional guidelines is a step in the right direction – but it is just one small step in what may well be a marathon effort to reverse the health crisis across the UK, and support improved outcomes for the children in today’s classrooms.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
