Ofsted
Food in schools: encouraging healthier eating
New interim standards for food in schools came into force in September 2006. Our survey aimed to evaluate the progress schools were making in meeting these standards and to identify strategies helping pupils and families understand healthy eating. This report considers a range of food-related issues, including the new food standards, the quality of dining areas, the take-up of school meals, and pupils’ understanding of food and healthy eating.
Healthy Eating in Schools
This report is Ofsted’s response to the increasing public concern about the
quality of children’s diets, rapidly increasing rates of child obesity and dietrelated
diseases, and low consumption of fruit and vegetables by children.
As preparation for a major survey of food in schools to be carried out in
2006/07, Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI), accompanied by
nutritionists appointed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), undertook a small
scale survey, including visits to 10 schools from clusters of primary and
secondary schools in three local authorities. Additional evidence was gathered
from over 50 reports of school inspections that had been conducted under the
new framework for inspection, from reports on personal, social and health
education (PSHE) and from reports on schools visited as part of a survey on
learners’ health and well-being.1 Unless otherwise stated, when proportions of
schools are referred to in the report, they apply to this wider evidence base.
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