Every child deserves food at school that helps them feel good, learn well, and thrive.
A nutritious breakfast or a good-quality lunch can make a real difference to children’s concentration, behaviour, and long‑term health. That is why the Government has made school food a priority and why they have launched a national consultation on updated School Food Standards in England.
The current standards, set more than a decade ago, no longer reflect the latest nutritional guidance or the preferences of children today. Too many children are consuming too much sugar and too little fibre, and health inequalities remain stubbornly wide.
They are proposing updated, modern School Food Standards that:
- Support healthier breakfasts and lunches across the whole school day.
- Increase fibre, reduce sugar and restrict foods high in fat, sugar and salt.
- Remove the reduced set of standards for maintained nurseries and nursery units within primary schools, where the early years foundation stage nutrition guidance applies.
- Promote healthy, nutritious and appealing food.
- Are inclusive of children with different needs, cultures, allergies and diets.
- Work practically for schools, caterers and governors.
These new standards build on the government's extension of Free School Meals to every child from a household in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026 - reaching over half a million more children and lifting 100,000 out of poverty. Together, these reforms represent the biggest expansion of school food provision in a generation.
They want to hear from those who know school food best: children and young people, parents and carers, schools and governors, caterers, health professionals and the wider food sector. Your insight will help ensure the new standards are workable, inclusive, and sustainable, and that they make a real difference in classrooms and communities across England.
The consultation is now open and runs until 12 June 2026.
You can read the proposals and submit your views here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework
You can read the press notice here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-scraps-high-sugar-food-from-school-menus