Three-quarters of secondary schools in England are breaking healthy eating rules on the food being offered to pupils, according to a report from a charity set up by the chef Jamie Oliver. Bite Back said it discovered “alarming” and “shocking” breaches of school food standards at nearly 400 schools, said The Guardian.
What rules are being flouted?
After investigating 391 state schools, the researchers found that three out of four were breaching the guidelines in at least one respect. More than half (53%), were selling products with levels of fat, sugar or salt that are banned, including crisps, biscuits, chocolate bars and pastries. Under current rules, schools are allowed to sell fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as snacks.
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No fewer than 224 secondary schools (57%) were offering processed meats such as burgers, nuggets, sausages and goujons more regularly than the twice-a-week frequency that the standards allow. Fried potato products, such as hash browns, were appearing on school menus more frequently than the same recommended limit in 144 schools (37%). At 123 schools (31%), chocolate was included in desserts or baked items, even though its use is not permitted.
In a more positive finding, only eight schools (2%) were flouting the ban on selling sweets as snacks and only three schools (1%) were selling banned sugary drinks.
Why is this a problem?
One in three children are overweight or obese when they leave primary school, and this is leading to more cases of type 2 diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure in children, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Diet is also linked to behavioural issues, said The Food Foundation. A significant majority of teachers agree that what children eat at school has a direct impact on behaviour and concentration. In a survey of more than 6,000 primary and secondary school teachers across England in May, 80% said unhealthy lunch or snack food can lead to disruptive behaviour, and 85% said diet affects classroom concentration.
What is the new overhaul?
Along with expanding the provision of free school meals to all pupils from a household where someone is receiving universal credit, the government is to further tighten healthy eating guidelines, after years of lobbying by child health and anti-obesity groups. From this month, there is a total ban on deep-fried food, such as chicken nuggets and chips, while high-sugar desserts will be restricted to once a week. Fruit-based options will largely replace puddings like doughnuts, cakes and ice cream.
The “ambitious overhaul” will make sure children have “access to healthy, balanced meals”, and are “protected from the harms of eating too much ultra-processed food”, said a spokesperson from the Department for Education.
“We know not every school is following these standards, which is exactly why we will introduce a strengthened enforcement regime, alongside requiring every school to publish their food policy and menus online to improve transparency for parents”, they added.
But a caterer revealed in April that a six-week pilot of England’s new school food standards led to a 15% decline in uptake of meals, with children rejecting healthier options in favour of a packed lunch. This has “prompted concerns” that these proposals, “though well-intentioned, could end up having a negative impact on children’s health”, said Sally Weale, The Guardian’s education correspondent. After all, as food writer and campaigner Bee Wilson told Positive News: “It doesn’t matter how healthy a lunch is if most of it goes in the bin.”
