Government has revealed that high-sugar and deep-fried food items will be removed from school dinner menus with the intention of tackling obesity.
The School Food Standards will be overhauled for the first time in over a decade as part of the new plans.
According to Government, one in three children are leaving primary school overweight or obese, while tooth decay from diets high in sugar is the leading cause of hospital admissions for kids aged five to nine.
Parent polling revealed that three quarters were concerned by the food their children were eating, as Government announced it would limit food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar and put more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains on children’s plates.
Government went on to say that polling showed 74% of parents had at least one concern about their child’s nutrition – from too much sugar (43%) and too many fatty foods (24%), to not enough fruit and vegetables (30%).
The new standards have reportedly been developed alongside nutritionists and public health “experts”, and will apply to all breakfasts and lunches served by schools. Under the plans, schools will no longer be able to offer options like sausage rolls and pizza every day, while deep-fried food will be banned completely. Fruit will also need to be served instead of sugary treats for the majority of the school week.
Sample menus include meals like spaghetti Bolognese, Mexican style burritos, cottage pie with root-veg mash, jerk chicken with rice and peas and a roasted chickpea, vegetable and mozzarella wrap.
A nine‑week consultation on the healthier options has been launched with parents and children, alongside a national enforcement mechanism to monitor the new standards and ensure they are applied consistently.
To ensure schools follow the new standards, Government said it is committed to developing a “robust” national enforcement system including monitoring schools’ compliance. Full details will be announced in September 2026, with enforcement in place from September 2027.
Government aims to “reduce the child obesity epidemic” by reducing sugar consumption
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Today we are launching the most ambitious overhaul of school food in a generation, and it is long overdue.
“Every child deserves to have delicious, nutritious food at school that gives them the energy to concentrate, learn and thrive – meals that children will actually recognise and enjoy, backed by robust compliance so that good standards on paper become good food on the plate.”
Health Minister Sharon Hodgson stated: “Children are consuming twice the recommended amount of free sugar and offering more nutritious meals at school is a great way of ensuring they eat healthier food.
“We’re determined to reduce the child obesity epidemic and the new School Food Standards represent another piece in a jigsaw of measures designed to help raise the healthiest generation of children ever.”
“The huge potential of school food to nourish and energise the next generation is finally being recognised.”
Henry Dimbleby, author of the Independent National Food Strategy and co-founder of Bramble Partners and Leon, said: “Today we have a rare chance to reset school food: wider access to free school meals, higher standards – with proper monitoring to help schools improve what ends up on the plate. September can mark the start of a new normal, where every child can count on a lunch that is both delicious and nutritious, and every parent can have real confidence in what’s being served.
“Done right it will boost children’s health, their academic outcomes and their chances of success in later life. But it will only work if the Government sticks to the timetable set out today – and if schools and caterers are backed to deliver, and held to it.”
Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: “With Government announcing higher school food standards, which will also be monitored, and rolling out universal breakfast clubs and wider access to free school meals, the huge potential of school food to nourish and energise the next generation is finally being recognised.
“This must be the moment the whole sector pulls together to make school food delicious and nutritious, and embed food education into the school day. We have a unique opportunity to initiate a seismic shift in child health, and we are excited to drive this forward with our partners at the School Food Project.”
