School Meals: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by Bite Back entitled Fuel us, don't fool us, published in July 2025; and what steps she is taking to strengthen compliance with the School Food Standards across all education settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
To ensure the quality and nutrition of school meals, the department is working with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
We are aware of Bite Back’s ‘Fuel Us, Don’t Fool Us,’ School Food report. We are engaging with stakeholders, including Bite Back, on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the school food standards and should work with the headteacher and senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
In November 2024, the department and the National Governance Association launched an online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This training is designed to improve understanding of the school food standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their-whole school approach to food.
As with all aspects of the school food standards review, we will keep our approaches to compliance under consideration.
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