A new report explores the barriers some children face in eating a healthy, balanced meal at school, and what can be done about it. Nick Hughes reports.
School food has received some long overdue policy attention in the early days of 2022. Last month’s levelling up white paper included a series of new government initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes through food and diet – almost all of which were targeted at education settings.
But before ministers give themselves too many congratulatory slaps on the back, a new research project based on conversations with school-age children shows there is much still to do to ensure all pupils, regardless of their circumstances, benefit from positive health outcomes when eating school food.
Produced by the Child Poverty Action Group, the ‘Cost of the school day in England: pupils’ perspectives’ reporthighlights some of the barriers that children and young people, in particular from low-income families, face in being happy and fully participating in school that often go unrecognised and overlooked. School food is identified as a key contributor.
Here are five key takeaways and recommendations for policy makers and those involved with school catering.
1. School meals are not always a great leveller
Policies and practices relating to school food mean that children experiencing poverty often miss out on having the same adequate, balanced meal during the school day as their fellow students. CPAG’s research found that many children experiencing poverty are ineligible for free school meals under the current qualifying criteria. Once universal entitlement ends at Year 3 in England, the cost of a cooked school meal each day can often be unaffordable meaning many children move onto a packed lunch, the contents of which may not meet their nutritional needs. Those who do take up their free school meal entitlement face additional challenges: in some schools, students receiving a free school meals allowance are only able to use it at lunchtime and are excluded from using the credit at breakfast or break time. The research also found that if students do not use all of their allowance or are absent, the money is often removed from their account, meaning they are unable to use it on subsequent days.
2. Payment policies create stigmas
The way school lunch money debt is dealt with can affect children’s experience of the school day by creating stigmas and causing anxieties. In the most extreme cases, children in some primary schools reported being provided with just a sandwich rather than the full range of lunch options if they did not have any money on their lunch account. Some secondary school pupils said they had been asked to put food and drink back on the shelves in the dining hall or canteen if the balance on their electronic payment accounts didn’t cover the cost. The research also found some children are themselves involved in the process of resolving the lunch debt, which in turn makes them worry about money matters while at school and creates anxiety about their peers finding out about their family’s financial situation.
3. Children lack a voice
The research found that while the quality of food and range of options available to pupils in schools in England is variable, children often lack the ability to give meaningful feedback on their lunchtime experience or the food options provided. Pupils of all ages complained that meal options were often unappealing and not sufficiently filling, which increase the risk of children being hungry at school. Some would choose instead to have packed lunches or resort to eating food outside of school. The research concluded that when menus are designed without input and involvement from students, pupils risk missing out on a hot, balanced meal each day and the improved educational and health outcomes that result from it.
4. There is a better way
The report highlights Lyng Hall School in Coventry as an example of how a school can develop a range of food policies that encourage school meal up-take and reduce food-related stigma. Students eligible for free school meals can use their allowance at any time throughout the school day, and any unspent money is rolled over to the following day. Free food is provided for families on open evenings and parents evenings, which has the added benefit of creating an opportunity for the school catering team to speak to families about school meals and encourage take-up. Students are also regularly asked for feedback on school lunches through informal dining hall conversations and twice-yearly surveys.
5. Policies can drive change
The report also provides a number of recommendations for government to ensure children receive a balanced meal during the school day. These include the extension of universal free school meals to all school-aged children in England so that pupils have equitable access to food while at school. Policy makers are also asked to provide new statutory guidance to schools on how school debts should be dealt with to ensure children do not miss out on school lunches, and that an adequate level of support is given to families struggling with these costs.
