September 2026 series: What does good school food look like?

The new school food standards offer an important opportunity to improve the quality of food available to children. But after many years of working with schools, I’ve learned that good school food is about more than what’s on the menu. It’s about food that is nutritious, delicious and appealing, served in a dining environment where children feel comfortable and welcome. 

The quality of school food matters because it affects far more than what children eat at lunchtime. Nutritious food supports children’s growth, development, concentration and wellbeing, and helps them build a positive lifelong relationship with food.  

"Good school food means seeing our young people genuinely enjoying great meals together, from our morning breakfast club right through to our after-school provisions. We know firsthand that there is no point extending Free School Meals to more children if the food isn't appealing or the dining hall isn't welcoming! In practice, it’s about providing tasty, nutritious food in a dignified environment"- David Littlemore, Executive Headteacher at two secondary schools in Reading and Bracknell

Making the most of the updated school food standards 

The revised standards bring school food more closely in line with current nutritional guidance. Children will see more fruit and vegetables across the school day, stronger requirements for fibre and wholegrains, greater use of pulses, healthier breakfast provision, and tighter restrictions on foods high in fat, sugar and salt. 

These changes matter because children’s diets are currently falling short in several key areas. Low fibre intake remains a concern, while many children consume too much sugar and saturated fat. Increasing the availability of vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains can help address these gaps while supporting children’s long-term health and development. 

The standards also place greater responsibility on schools for the food they provide. They will be required to publish their school food policies and menus online and nominate a governor with responsibility for school food, while a new national framework will monitor compliance. 

The revised standards should help create greater consistency in the quality of school food across the country. Clearer expectations for schools and caterers, backed by stronger monitoring, should help reduce this variation and ensure more children have access to nutritious food, regardless of where they live. 

However, meeting the standards shouldn't be about simply ticking boxes. Schools should consider what children are actually eating, not just what appears on the menu. Successful schools encourage children to choose and enjoy a wider variety of foods by making nutritious options appealing and accessible. 

What does good school food look like in practice? - a London secondary case study 

Through Nourish, our school food transformation programme, I’ve seen how small changes to menus, presentation and dining environments can have a significant impact on whether children choose and enjoy nutritious options. 

At a large secondary school in the London Borough of Newham, students were involved in improving the salad offer at lunchtime. Following a session with the head chef, students became food ambassadors, preparing, serving and promoting the salads to their peers. 

The result was strong uptake of a more nutritious option. It was a great reminder that involving children in shaping food provision can help make nutritious food more appealing and increase uptake. It also highlights that the success of the new standards will depend not just on more nutritious food being available, but on children choosing to eat it. 

Good school food is about creating balanced menus that combine familiar favourites with nutritious options children enjoy eating. Success comes when vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrains are a normal and enjoyable part of everyday meals, rather than an addition that can be declined at the counter. 

What we've learned through Nourish 

Working with schools across all settings, we’ve seen that the schools making the greatest progress don’t necessarily have the biggest budgets. They have the clearest vision and a shared commitment from the whole school community to making food a priority. 

Food responsibility can’t sit with the catering team alone. Strong leadership from senior staff, close collaboration between kitchen teams, teachers and families, and a recognition that nutritious food supports children’s wellbeing, behaviour and ability to learn all make a difference. A kitchen team that is passionate about its work and given the freedom to be creative can be key to unlocking great quality school food that children enjoy. 

Making school food a success 

Strong standards only matter if they are implemented effectively. Schools will need practical support to translate the standards into better meals and better experiences for children, including clear guidance, training, recipe ideas and opportunities to learn from what is working in other schools. That's why it is encouraging to see the government introduce stronger monitoring and accountability measures alongside the revised standards.  

We have also joined forces with Bite Back, Chefs in Schools, Jamie Oliver Group and The Food Foundation to form the School Food Project. Schools can sign up to the School Food Project Hub to access free resources, training and guidance to help them make the most of the new standards. 

In our final blog in this series, we’ll explore how to help children benefit from these school food changes in practice.