Background
Methods
Ethics
Survey design
Recruitment and participants
Data analyses
Results
Stakeholders | Nation | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland (NI) | |
(n = 509) | (n = 213; 42%) | (n = 281; 55%) | (n = 5; 1%) | (n = 10; 2%) |
Headteachers | 54 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Teachers | 22 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
Parents | 121 | 261 | 2 | 10 |
Pupils | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Headteachers, teachers and pupils
Survey question | Category | Tally | % |
---|---|---|---|
What are some examples of good practice in the school food system you are aware of? (n = 40 eligible responses) | Healthy food/choices | 11 | 28 |
Availability of fruit and veg | 9 | 23 | |
Encouraging children to try new tastes/textures | 7 | 18 | |
Healthy eating whole school ethos | 7 | 18 | |
Breakfast clubs | 6 | 15 | |
Flexible/ trained and communication/ consultation of providers/ kitchens | 6 | 15 | |
Variety | 4 | 10 | |
What are the major challenges you or others face when it comes to the school food system? (n = 46 eligible responses) | Cost/funding to parents/school | 21 | 47 |
Unsatisfactory catering providers/staff | 10 | 22 | |
Food quality | 8 | 17 | |
Children not liking/trying foods | 7 | 15 | |
Food access during holidays/Covid closures | 3 | 7 | |
Unhealthy packed lunches from home | 2 | 4 | |
Portion sizes | 2 | 4 | |
None | 2 | 4 |
Survey question | Category | Tally | % |
---|---|---|---|
What are some examples of good practice in the school food system you are aware of? (n = 19 eligible responses) | Good choice/variety of foods | 8 | 42 |
Provision of fruit (free for some) | 6 | 32 | |
Breakfast club/provision | 4 | 21 | |
Pre-ordering of meals from home | 4 | 21 | |
None | 2 | 11 | |
What are the major challenges you or others face when it comes to the school food system? (n = 24 eligible responses) | Children’s reluctance to eat/try foods | 8 | 33 |
Portion sizes | 7 | 29 | |
Packed lunches | 4 | 17 | |
Cost/funding | 4 | 17 | |
Time to eat | 4 | 17 | |
Waste | 3 | 13 |
Survey question | Category | Tally | % |
---|---|---|---|
What works well (n = 18 eligible responses) | Delicious/ good food/ healthy | 7 | 39 |
Cashless payment system | 4 | 21 | |
None/ nothing | 4 | 21 | |
Hot meals | 2 | 11 | |
Choice | 2 | 11 | |
What does not work well? (n = 19 eligible responses) | Lack of variety/choice/bad food | 18 | 95 |
Over-priced/ expensive | 7 | 37 | |
Long queues | 2 | 11 | |
Lack of breakfast club | 2 | 11 | |
What would be an ideal food system? (n = 17 eligible responses) | More food variety/ better options | 11 | 65 |
Cheaper options/ better value | 4 | 21 |
Headteachers
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A range of healthy options are available to pupils including breakfast clubs.
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Schools encourage a whole school healthy eating ethos.
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Pupils are encouraged to try new and unfamiliar foods but can be reluctant.
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Good working relationships with catering providers and staff highlighted as important.
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Costs and funding of school foods presents challenges to both schools and parents.
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Unsatisfactory catering providers/staff can be an issue.
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Schools are concerned over pupil access to food during school holidays and the recent Covid-19 closures.
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Portion sizes are not always age appropriate.
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Ensuring that packed lunches brought from home are healthy can be challenging.
Teachers
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Pupils are provided with good food choice, including breakfast, fruit snacks and lunch.
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Getting pupils to try/eat new foods can be challenging and can lead to waste.
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Portion sizes are not always age appropriate.
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Ensuring that packed lunches brought from home are healthy can be challenging.
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Costs and funding of school foods presents challenges to both schools and parents.
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Daily time constraints impact length of time pupils have in dining room.
Pupils
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Pupils were provided with a choice of delicious, healthy food with hot meal options.
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The use of cashless payment systems was liked.
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There could be a lack of variety or ‘bad’ food options available to pupils.
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Some options were felt to be expensive and not good value.
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Long queues impacted pupils’ dining experience.
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Breakfast clubs were not available to all pupils.
“There is not a lot of variety, for an example you can only have a few fillings in your panini and wraps” (pupil).
“Portion size means many older children do not select meals [set meal of the day], they are still hungry after” (teacher).
“Some parents prefer to give packed lunches so children can eat less healthy choices” (headteacher).
“Local Authority food providers seem to focus on providing a cheap meal rather than healthy, nutritionally balanced meal” (headteacher).
Parents
Survey question | Category | Tally | % |
---|---|---|---|
What works well? (n = 363 eligible responses) | Selection/ variety of choices | 105 | 29 |
Ease of ordering/ payment | 72 | 20 | |
Ability to see menu/ order in advance | 61 | 17 | |
Free school meals | 37 | 10 | |
Child-friendly/ liked foods | 20 | 6 | |
Hot and cold choices | 23 | 6 | |
Halal and vegetarian options | 11 | 3 | |
Not much/ nothing | 10 | 3 | |
Availability of packed lunch option | 10 | 3 | |
School healthy eating policy/ education | 7 | 2 | |
Healthy/ balanced meals/ food | 12 | 3 | |
School lunch | 9 | 2 | |
Breakfast club | 6 | 2 | |
Everything/ all works well | 6 | 2 | |
Quality of food | 3 | 1 | |
What does not work well? (n = 378 eligible responses) | Poor choices/ variety/ options | 84 | 22 |
Poor food quality | 48 | 13 | |
Small portion sizes | 42 | 11 | |
Children not liking choices/complaining | 42 | 11 | |
Lack of special dietary options | 25 | 7 | |
Too many unhealthy choices/ junk foods | 31 | 8 | |
Food running out/ pre-ordered choice not available | 22 | 6 | |
Lack of healthy choice | 18 | 5 | |
Time to eat | 18 | 5 | |
Lack of allergen/ nutrition information | 12 | 3 | |
Unavailability of salad/veg sides | 16 | 4 | |
Lack of school healthy eating policy | 13 | 4 | |
Cost | 15 | 4 | |
Pre-ordering system/ App | 14 | 4 | |
Inflexible menu ordering system | 15 | 4 | |
Availability of snacks/ fruit | 10 | 3 | |
Nothing/ not sure | 10 | 3 | |
Plastic waste | 8 | 2 | |
Changes made during Covid restrictions | 6 | 2 | |
Lack of information about/ on menus | 7 | 2 | |
Repetitive menus | 4 | 1 | |
Lunch hall environment | 4 | 1 | |
No juice/ alternatives to milk/ water | 3 | 1 | |
Food being reheated | 5 | 1 | |
Too many vegetarian options | 4 | 1 | |
Long queues | 5 | 1 | |
No breakfast club provision/ unaffordable | 3 | 1 | |
Ham sandwiches no longer allowed | 5 | 1 | |
What would be an ideal school food system? (n = 304 eligible responses) | Range of healthy/ balanced options | 73 | 24 |
Variety | 37 | 12 | |
Fresh/ home-cooked food/ made on site | 37 | 12 | |
Provision of fruit and veg | 27 | 9 | |
Quality produce/ ingredients | 25 | 8 | |
Pre-ordering App/ cashless system | 24 | 8 | |
Less convenience/ processed foods | 22 | 7 | |
Current system fine/ no changes | 19 | 6 | |
Child-centred approach/ consultation of children | 16 | 5 | |
Not reheated/ gone cold food | 16 | 5 | |
Caters for all dietary requirements | 12 | 4 | |
Good/ age-appropriate portion sizes | 13 | 4 | |
Whole school approach to health eating | 12 | 4 | |
Free school meals for all | 13 | 4 | |
Provision of sandwich options | 6 | 3 | |
Don’t know | 6 | 3 | |
Calm, social dining rooms/ eating ethos | 6 | 3 | |
Food that children like/will eat | 9 | 3 | |
Provision of healthy snacks | 8 | 3 | |
Sustainable/ ethical ingredients/ food | 6 | 3 | |
Choice of sides/ desserts | 8 | 3 | |
Soup option | 5 | 2 | |
Breakfast clubs/ provision | 7 | 2 | |
Buffet style of foods | 5 | 2 | |
Adequate time to eat | 6 | 2 | |
Options to mix/match menu choices | 4 | 1 | |
Growing fruit and veg in school gardens | 4 | 1 | |
Reasonable/ manageable costs | 4 | 1 | |
Trained teachers/ staff in healthy eating/ cultural diversity | 4 | 1 | |
Food that is edible | 4 | 1 |
What works well? | What does not work well? | What would an ideal food system look like? |
---|---|---|
● Food offered is healthy/balanced with variety of hot/cold child-friendly options ● Good options for those with additional dietary requirements ● Parents like access to menus and pre-order school lunches ● Straightforward, online pre-payment systems ● Some awareness of their child’s school healthy eating policy or that pupils receive healthy eating education as part of curriculum ● Free school meals for the younger children | ● Pupils given too many unhealthy ‘junk’ food choices ● Lack of healthy options available ● Lunch choices can be restrictive and lacking in special dietary options/alternative options ● Pupils complain of not liking/enjoying food provided and report small portions ● Inflexible pre-ordering system ● Sometimes pre-ordered choice is not available on the day. ● Menus do not provide enough information including allergen and nutritional information and often repetitive ● Pupils experience long queues and not enough time to eat ● Lack of school healthy eating policy ● Too much reliance on single-use plastic ● Cost of school lunches and breakfast clubs | ● School food would focus on a wide range of healthy, fresh, home-cooked options prepared in school kitchens. ● School caterers would use quality, sustainable/ethical ingredients with schools growing own fruit and vegetables ● School lunch pre-ordering system would be a cashless payment App ● Parent/child would have the option to mix and match food items instead of being restricted to fixed menus ● A whole school approach to healthy eating, with a focus on pupil involvement and consultation ● School lunches free for all or provided for a manageable cost to families ● School lunches would cater for all dietary requirements whilst serving age-appropriate portions. ● School staff would be trained in healthy eating/cultural diversity ● The dining hall would have a calm, social atmosphere with pupils having adequate time to eat without feeling rushed |
What works well?’
‘Different variety of food as non-veg, veg and halal.’ ‘Good variation in hot meals each day. Like that there is always soup available too - healthy and popular!’
What does not work well?
‘Food is not of a high quality, does not provide well for alternative diets. Portion size [sic] not enough, seems to be no effort to reduce sugar or use more healthy ways to add sweetness to puddings or snacks.’
‘The school meals are not School Food Standard compliant. I’ve raised it a few times and they change for a while and then the following term go back to processed potato products 4x a week. There are only ever 3 vegetables used throughout the 3x week menu - and one of those is baked beans, which is even served with roast dinners. Sweet puddings served most days. I’m aware that these ‘may’ be fruit based and SFS compliant, but it’s really unhelpful in creating a level playing field when the packed lunch policy asks parents not to send cakes in’.
‘Menus aren’t great, separate items would be better to select.’
‘It is difficult for them to mix and match food available, menu often set [sic].’
‘No nutrient information provided to parents to enable a fully balanced diet.’
‘Lack of information about ingredients, allergens, accompaniments and alternatives for allergies and intolerances.’
‘My child states that the portion for lunch is small and she is still hungry.’
‘Portion sizes are not enough for older children e.g. year 5 and 6 as these are the same portion sizes as for reception children.’
What would an ideal food system look like?
‘Grown locally, cooked on the premises. Homemade goujons. Homemade steak pie. Soups and healthy puddings. Fresh fruit and crudités.’
‘Homemade, non-processed, balanced meals on offer.’
‘Extend free school meals to ALL children.’
‘Free school meals for all Primary children.’
‘Teachers have proper food knowledge and lead by example by eating with the children, reference good food and making good food the natural choice. The food provided in school is nutritious and delicious. Children have access to healthy food before, during and after school as required. There are school gardens and orchards and learning food growing and cooking skills is integrated into the curriculum.’
‘They [pupils] need to be active citizens in their school food system. Schools should be the gold standard of what we want to see across the rest of society and we need to develop a culture in a generation of children where enjoying eating healthily, enjoying eating fruits, vegetables and new foods is the norm.’
‘The children don’t always have enough time to finish their dinner however, which isn’t ideal.’
‘A noisy, messy, and rushed dining environment.’
‘One [ideal school food system] that ensures that every child has the opportunity to access good quality healthy food choices.’
‘Caters for every religion background, [and] dietary needs.’