A survey of more than 70,000 parents by education technology provider ParentPay Group, in partnership with school catering body The School Food People, found that taste (69%) and nutrition (68%) are the factors parents most strongly associate with a high-quality school meal. Freshness was also important, with more than half (54%) of parents identifying it as a key indicator of a good school meal.
The Parental Engagement Report also found that just over half (52%) of parents are satisfied or very satisfied with the food at their child's school, while 14% are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied and a further 35% are undecided. Schools and caterers have an opportunity to build confidence in school meals by focusing on what parents value: taste, nutrition and freshness.
The findings also highlight a link between perceptions of quality and value for money. Parents who rated school meal quality highly were less likely to consider school meals too expensive. With food inflation and rising labour costs continuing to put pressure on school catering services, the findings reinforce the importance of helping parents understand the quality and value of school meals.
A large majority of parents surveyed (87%) cited their own children as their primary source of information about school meals, while 42% said they receive too little information about school food. Together, these findings indicate that schools and caterers could do more to keep parents and carers informed about the food served at school.
We know from our Nourish school food transformation programme that involving parents and carers is an important part of a whole school approach to food. Parent and carer coffee mornings, school lunch tastings and family cooking sessions can help schools gather feedback, build relationships and strengthen communication between families, school staff and catering teams.
As schools prepare for the introduction of the new school food standards, engaging parents and carers can help schools build support for changes to school food. The School Food Project sees School Food Matters joining forces with Bite Back, Chefs in Schools, Jamie Oliver Group and The Food Foundation to support schools to deliver high-quality food and meaningful food education in line with the new standards. Schools and parents can access a range of free resources, training and events by registering on the School Food Project Hub.
Read the full Parental Engagement Report here.
