Lucy Powell has announced new school meals standards for schools in England that will ban deep-fried food from 2027 and force changes to breakfast club menus from next September. The rules also tighten lunch requirements on fibre, wholegrains and dessert portions.
The Education Secretary called the changes "once-in-a-generation changes" that would "transform school food for children across the country". Schools will have a year to put the changes in place before the 2027 standards take effect.
England school meals rules
Under the new standards, deep-fried chips will have to be oven-baked instead. Processed meats such as ham, sausages and chicken nuggets will be reduced to once a week, while pasta dishes will need to be 50% wholewheat once a week. High-fibre bread will become a requirement, and sweet desserts like cake will be cut back to twice a week in secondary schools and once a week in primary schools.
Those desserts must now be served with a portion of fruit. Schools in England will also have to publish food policies and menus online, giving parents a clearer way to check what is being served and how often. The changes are being funded with existing money for schools.
Georgia Gould and breakfast clubs
From next September, breakfast clubs will also come under nutrition rules for the first time. Pastries and fried-eggs will be off the menu, cereals will face a sugar cap and the government said Coco Pops would no longer be an option. Chocolate spread was not permitted.
Schools Minister Georgia Gould said schools will be given a year to redesign menus affordably and said she was "absolutely determined to support schools". That leaves schools trying to fit new breakfast and lunch rules into current budgets while changing what can be served at both ends of the school day.
Pepe Di'Iasio on enforcement
Pepe Di'Iasio, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said parents would feel "reassured" by schools providing a healthy diet. He also warned against creating "another stick with which to beat head teachers", and said schools need "more investment" in catering facilities and "professional development" for school chefs.
The government says the reforms can be delivered within existing budgets, but ASCL says the practical test is whether schools can change menus, kitchen capacity and staff training without extra funding. The real pressure point is not the announcement itself; it is how schools will make the rules work on a weekday lunch line and at breakfast club from next year.
