Food served at free breakfast clubs must meet the School Food Standards. The standards set out the types of food that should be served and how often and are designed to help children develop healthy eating habits and ensure they receive the nutrition needed for the school day.

The government is committed to half of all food served in public settings being either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards.

The School Food Standards allow school chefs and cooks creative freedom to adapt to the preferences of the children at their school, source seasonal or local food, and take advantage of price fluctuations.

We recently consulted on proposed changes to the School Food Standards in England. We are now reviewing the responses and feedback, and we will consider guidance for the new standards in due course.

Presently, schools can voluntarily follow the Government Buying Standards for food and catering, which includes advice around sourcing their school food.

The department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.

The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and we have recently consulted on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning.

As part of our proposals, we have consulted on changes to increase fibre, reduce sugar and further restrict foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

The consultation sought views on the practical impact of the proposed standards, including on bread products that meet the proposed fibre threshold but contain small amounts of oil for functional manufacturing purposes. We will now consider these consultation responses.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the nutritional standards of school food.

Mr Speaker, I know that looking at me you would never guess that my children are now well past school age, but when they were at school—long past Jamie Oliver’s campaign against turkey twizzlers—the school food served was still not as healthy as it should have been, so I am delighted by the Minister’s assurance that the Government have consulted on the first update to school food standards in a decade. I am, however, slightly puzzled by the phased approach to improving the drinks served in secondary schools until September 2028. Will the Government consider speeding up the timetable and moving towards alignment with primary schools, so that we do not miss a crucial opportunity to improve the health of our young people?

I recently visited Ralph Allen school in my constituency and saw how students were leading the way in improving the standard of their food. They have created a vegetable bed in an empty space, and are now offering vegan and vegetarian choices. How will the Department support schools in pupil-led improvements to their food?

I am delighted to see the enthusiasm for our reforms to school food. We want children to enjoy eating tasty, healthy food at school. That is why we are updating school food standards for the first time in a decade and putting young people’s voices at the heart of our plans. We will publish the new standards in September alongside our record expansion of free school meals, driving down poverty and delivering a revolution in school food.

The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They are designed to ensure children receive the energy and nutrients they need during the school day, while giving schools flexibility to design menus that work for their pupils and local circumstances.

Since the School Food Standards were introduced in 2014, the dietary recommendations on free sugar, fibre and sweeteners have changed and the proportion of children living with obesity is high. The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever, so we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including ‘grab and go’ options, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

As part of our proposals, we are proposing that ‘grab and go’ options must also contain or be accompanied by vegetables or salad.

We are committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards, closing on 12 June. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

As part of our public consultation, we are asking schools what support they need to comply with updated School Food Standards. With the planned implementation approach, we are giving schools more than two terms’ notice, which will help them prepare effectively.

We are also working with the sector, including caterers and governing bodies, to develop guidance and identify and share best practice. We will also signpost to useful resources available externally.

We are committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards, closing on 12 June. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

As part of our public consultation, we are asking schools what support they need to comply with updated School Food Standards. With the planned implementation approach, we are giving schools more than two terms’ notice, which will help them prepare effectively.

We are also working with the sector, including caterers and governing bodies, to develop guidance and identify and share best practice. We will also signpost to useful resources available externally.

We are committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The School Food Standards are being updated because they are over a decade old and no longer fully reflect the latest scientific advice on children’s diets. In summary, the changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

As part of ensuring the standards reflect the latest evidence in practice, our proposals have been developed through close consultation with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and were also informed by an advisory group and key stakeholders in the food, catering, nutrition, and health sectors. The public consultation now provides a further opportunity to assess the proposals.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils from the most disadvantaged households will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.

We are ensuring that the proposed updated School Food Standards fully support the provision of free school meals. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.

We are consulting on the proposed updates to the School Food Standards and the consultation will run until 12 June 2026. Details of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

The department recognises that access to nutritious school food plays an important role in supporting children’s health and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink in state‑funded schools, ensuring pupils receive the energy and nutrients they need while developing healthy eating habits. This is why we are taking action to update the Standards and are consulting on the changes to ensure they better reflect current nutritional guidance. Nutritious school food, alongside education on healthy eating, supports wider efforts to improve health outcomes.

The consultation is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/.

The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They are designed to ensure children receive the energy and nutrients they need during the school day, while giving schools flexibility to design menus that work for their pupils and local circumstances.

Since the School Food Standards were introduced in 2014, the dietary recommendations on free sugar, fibre and sweeteners have changed and the proportion of children living with obesity is high. The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever, so we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

Strong standards must be backed by strong compliance. That’s why we are proposing greater transparency, including a lead school food governor and published menus.

The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They are designed to ensure children receive the energy and nutrients they need during the school day, while giving schools flexibility to design menus that work for their pupils and local circumstances.

Since the School Food Standards were introduced in 2015, evidence on sugar, fibre and childhood obesity has changed significantly and childhood obesity prevalence has increased. We are committed to raising the healthiest generation ever, so we are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning. Details of the consultation are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.

We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and support children’s health, wellbeing and learning. Details of this consultation are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework We will consider guidance for the new standards in due course.

The government remains committed to our ambition that half of all food served in public settings is either locally sourced or certified to higher environmental standards and we are open to considering all lawful means of achieving this. We are working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as they develop the Good Food Cycle vision.

We are consulting on proposed updates to the school food standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation will run for nine weeks, closing on 12 June 2026. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

We have worked with the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health and Social Care and consulted health and academic experts on the issue of ultra-processed foods, to ensure all changes are evidence-based. We know that many products classified as ultra-processed foods are often high in free sugars, saturated fats and/or salt, and it is levels of these which we are trying to reduce, including processed meats, confectionery and savoury snacks.

The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and breaking down barriers to opportunity.

We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. We are taking decisive action to drive down poverty by ensuring that over half a million disadvantaged children receive the support they need in school to be healthy, get the most out of their education, and enjoy lifelong success. This action will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets.

The government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Free breakfast clubs remove barriers to opportunity by offering primary school children, no matter their circumstance, a supportive start to the school day.

These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.

Additionally, we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to add support for the outcomes of their Government Food Strategy.

The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is an inherited scheme from the previous government and the contract will end in July 2026. The contract with the supplier Family Action stipulates that all food available for schools to purchase must meet the School Food Standards, which already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low-quality reformed or reconstituted foods. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with experts across the sector.

This government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. All NSBP schools with primary-aged pupils will have the opportunity to transition onto the free breakfast clubs programme from September 2026. NSBP secondary schools will be provided with continued support at an equivalent value to what they receive on the NSBP for the 2026/7 academic year. Further details for secondary schools will follow shortly.

The National School Breakfast Programme is an inherited scheme from the previous government and the contract will end in July 2026. The contract with the supplier, Family Action, stipulates that all food available for schools to purchase must meet the School Food Standards. ​

The School Food Standards already restricts foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. However, to ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are revising the School Food Standards. We are engaging experts across the sector, such as nutritionists, and are developing our plans to consult on the changes.  ​

This government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Since April 2025, we have funded 750 schools to offer a free breakfast club as early adopters, delivering seven million meals so far. We are moving into national rollout, investing a further £80 million into the programme to fund an additional 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027. Schools delivering free breakfast clubs have autonomy in how they procure their breakfast food, which must meet the School Food Standards.