School Food Standards: New Regulation
New Regulations Regarding School Catering Announced by the DFE
Our catering providers, Innovate, welcome the government’s intent to improve School Food Standards: getting more nutritious food into children and making sure school meals continue to play a positive role in health, wellbeing and the school day.
What This Means for Schools and Families
The consultation is now open and we strongly encourage parents and carers to read the proposals and have their say.
This is particularly important given the additional compliance expectations being introduced for schools, including greater oversight of School Food Standards, a lead governor for school food in every school, increased visibility of menus and food policy, and the need to consider how packed lunch policies support a consistent approach to healthier choices across the school day.
While most changes are expected from September 2027, the consultation is an important opportunity to help shape what comes next.You can read more and respond to the consultation here.
How Impact Food Group Is Preparing
Our catering providers are confident in the progress already made across their menus and in the direction they have been taking for some time. Through their Impact+ approach, Innovate focus on creating mealtime experiences that support energy, concentration and wellbeing, while still being appealing and relevant to students.
Many of the principles now being discussed are already reflected in our offer. Across our menus, Innovate already provide fruit every day as an alternative to more traditional desserts, have introduced more plant-rich dishes, and reduced sugar, fat and salt across their range. Innovate continue to prioritise baked rather than deep-fried items, with dishes prepared without fat where possible, while strengthening nutritional balance through more fibre and healthier everyday choices.
Innovate have also made our menus more transparent, improving the way dishes are named and described to better showcase ingredients and support understanding of more nutritious, plant-forward options, such as lentils in bolognaise and chickpeas in curries. This helps schools, pupils and families make more confident choices around allergens and dietary needs, while also building familiarity with healthier ingredients and encouraging openness to trying new dishes. Innovate's teams are also being trained to support schools confidently through the changes ahead.
Making the Changes Work in Practice
At the same time, any changes must protect the popularity of school meals as well as their nutritional quality. If the offer becomes less appealing to children, there is a real risk that more pupils will move towards packed lunches and other alternatives, which often contain more salty, sugary snacks and offer less positive nutrition overall.
Innovate believe that any recommended changes must be properly funded. Higher expectations can deliver real benefits, but only if schools and caterers are given the support needed to implement them successfully and sustainably.
As part of this wider conversation, Innovate are actively involved through The School Food People, which works closely with the Department for Education on school food matters. As Vice Chair of The School Food People, Bryan Lygate of Innovate is keen to ensure that schools’ views are reflected as these proposals develop, and that the final framework is both practical and workable for school caterers and schools alike.
Innovate remain committed to working closely with school partners to deliver food that is nutritious, appealing and trusted by pupils, supporting both healthier choices and a strong, well-used meal service.
