From January 2015 all maintained schools and academies and free schools that signed funding agreements from last month, must adhere to the revised food standards.
To help schools and caterers prepare for the change, the Children’s Food Trust has introduced a new menu-checking service, which will see expert nutritionists check that a school’s meals comply with the standards and provide the energy and nutrients children need to do well.
As part of the service, nutritionists will recommend improvements that can be made to schools' menus to support them in offering the best service possible.
Claire Wall, senior nutritionist at the Children’s Food Trust, said, ‘The Trust was involved in setting the original school food standards and have been closely involved in revising them. We have a wealth of expertise and experience in this area and we are here to help.
‘Food served in schools can have a major impact not only on improving nutrition but also in helping to create healthy eating habits. As well as being healthy, school food needs to be tasty and tempting. We know how much work goes in to making sure menus are a success and we want to make it easier for schools to keep children coming back day after day.
‘Being able to show your menus have been checked by the Children’s Food Trust is a really positive thing for schools as it shows the pupils and their parents the school is committed to providing great meals as well as improving the health and wellbeing of their students.’
- For more information about the Children's Food Trust's Menu Checking Service email info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk or call 0114 299 6901
