Strengthening School Food Standards: Evidence-informed considerations for policy

Key messages

• School food standards can improve dietary quality, but provision alone may not change consumption.
• Behavioural approaches can increase children's acceptance and consumption of healthier foods.
• Nutritional adequacy should be considered when replacing dairy foods.
• Effective implementation is essential to reduce inequalities.

The importance of School Food Standards

Children's diets remain a major public health challenge in the UK. Many children consume more free sugars, saturated fat and salt than recommended, while fruit, vegetable and fibre intakes remain below recommended levels. UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data indicate that children consume around twice the recommended intake of free sugars¹. Excessive free sugars intake is associated with adverse health outcomes, including dental decay, which remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among children aged 5–9 years. Poor dietary quality is also an important contributor to childhood overweight and obesity.

Nutritional adequacy remains a concern for some nutrients and population groups. Intakes of key micronutrients, including iodine and vitamin D, are suboptimal among many UK children¹. Poor dietary quality is evident across all socioeconomic groups. However, dietary inequalities are pronounced, with children from more disadvantaged backgrounds often experiencing poorer diet quality and worse health outcomes than those from less deprived backgrounds¹. Together, these findings highlight the important role that School Food Standards can play in supporting healthier diets and improving children's health.

The UK Government's proposed updates to the School Food Standards provide an opportunity to improve the dietary quality of school food provision and better align school meals with current nutritional guidance and public health priorities. The proposals include restrictions on desserts and sugary drinks, limits on foods high in free sugars, saturated fat and salt, restrictions on the use of cheese as a main ingredient, and updated requirements for dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives.

While these objectives are strongly supported by current evidence, the effectiveness of policy changes will depend not only on what food is offered but also on what children choose to eat. Consideration of nutritional science, eating behaviour and practical implementation will be essential if improvements in provision are to translate into meaningful improvements in dietary intake and health outcomes.

Evidence-informed considerations for policy

This briefing examines how proposed changes to the School Food Standards may influence children's dietary intake and health outcomes, drawing on expertise in nutritional science and eating behaviour. It highlights evidence-informed considerations for maximising policy impact, maintaining nutritional adequacy and minimising unintended consequences.

Reducing free sugars and improving dietary quality

The proposal to reduce children's consumption of free sugars through restrictions on sugary drinks and desserts in schools is well aligned with current dietary recommendations and public health priorities. As the standards are updated, it will be important to ensure that measures to reduce free sugars contribute to wider improvements in dietary quality while maintaining nutritional adequacy. This broader perspective is particularly relevant given persistently low intakes of fruit, vegetables and fibre among UK children.

Supporting healthier food choices

Fruit and vegetable consumption among UK children is worryingly low, with fewer than 1 in 5 eating the recommended 5 portions a day². Low fibre intakes are also a significant concern, with most children failing to meet dietary recommendations¹, despite the important role of fibre in supporting long-term health.

The proposed increases in fruit, vegetables, pulses and higher-fibre foods therefore have the potential to improve dietary quality, but increasing availability alone does not necessarily guarantee increased consumption. Children's food choices are influenced by familiarity, taste preferences, presentation, accessibility, peer influences and the broader food environment. Without attention to these behavioural factors, healthier foods may be selected less often, consumed less frequently and contribute to greater food waste.

Applying behavioural science in school food settings

Evidence from behavioural nutrition research indicates that repeated exposure, familiarity and supportive food environments can increase children's acceptance and consumption of healthier foods over time. Consequently, implementation strategies that incorporate behavioural science principles may enhance the effectiveness of revised School Food Standards.

This may be particularly important when introducing less familiar foods, such as pulses and other plant-based protein sources. Changes in provision may require gradual implementation and appropriate menu design to support acceptance among children, particularly those who are more selective eaters³. Evidence suggests that acceptance of unfamiliar foods often develops gradually through repeated exposure. Combining different protein sources, for example incorporating pulses alongside dairy or meat within mixed dishes, may provide a pragmatic approach to supporting both nutritional balance and acceptability.

Dairy foods and nutritional adequacy

Maintaining nutritional adequacy will be an important consideration as dairy and plant-based requirements are updated for schools. The proposed restrictions on cheese as a main ingredient, alongside other measures to reduce foods high in fat, sugar and salt, are intended to reduce saturated fat intake and are aligned with broader public health objectives.

When foods are restricted or removed from school menus, consideration should be given to the nutrients they contribute and the nutritional quality of replacement foods. Dairy foods are recognised as important contributors to intakes of calcium, iodine and high-quality protein in UK diets⁴. As standards evolve, it will be important to ensure that replacement foods provide an appropriate nutritional contribution so that improvements in one aspect of dietary quality do not unintentionally reduce intake of key nutrients. Increasing evidence suggests that the health effects of some foods may not be fully explained by saturated fat content alone, highlighting the importance of considering food structure, composition and overall dietary context alongside nutrient-based classifications⁵. A broader dietary perspective may therefore support the development of standards that achieve public health objectives while maintaining nutritional adequacy.

Plant-based alternatives

The proposed inclusion of fortified plant-based alternatives to dairy supports dietary inclusivity, but these products vary substantially in protein content, micronutrient fortification and overall composition. For example, some soy-based drinks provide protein levels closer to those of cow’s milk, whereas oat- and rice-based drinks are typically lower in protein. Levels of calcium, iodine, vitamin D and other added micronutrients can differ considerably between products depending on fortification practices. This is particularly relevant given evidence of suboptimal intakes of nutrients such as iodine and vitamin D among UK children¹. Cow’s milk has a relatively consistent and well-established nutrient profile; however, nutritional equivalence between dairy and plant-based alternatives cannot be assumed. Differences in nutrient content, protein quality and fortification practices may affect their nutritional contribution to the diet. The proposed fortification requirements are welcome, but more consistent compositional standards relating to factors such as protein content and overall nutritional profile may help ensure that plant-based alternatives support nutritional adequacy when used in place of dairy products.

Implementation considerations

Implementation will play a critical role in determining whether policy changes achieve their intended benefits. Factors such as dining environments, time available to eat, staff capacity, school resources, cost pressures and children's acceptance of healthier foods will all affect outcomes. Differences in implementation capacity between schools may also influence the extent to which policy changes reduce or unintentionally widen dietary inequalities.

Taken together, these considerations highlight the importance of combining nutritional standards with behavioural and implementation strategies to maximise the impact of school food policy.

By combining strong nutritional standards with evidence-based implementation strategies, the revised School Food Standards have the potential to improve dietary quality, support nutritional adequacy and reduce health inequalities among children.

Policy recommendations

1. Adopt a whole-diet approach. Evaluations of the School Food Standards should consider children's dietary intake across the whole day, account for potential substitution effects, and assess overall dietary quality and nutritional adequacy. Consideration should also be given to how food and drink provision is structured across breakfast clubs, break times and lunchtime to support healthy eating patterns throughout the school day.
2. Focus on consumption as well as provision. School food policy should aim to influence what children select and consume, not only what schools provide. Implementation guidance should incorporate behavioural approaches that encourage the selection and consumption of foods that support healthy diets.
3. Ensure nutritional adequacy when foods are replaced. Alongside the proposed fortification requirements, more consistent compositional standards for plant-based alternatives are needed. Consideration should also be given to the nutritional quality of replacement foods within school menus.
4. Support consistent implementation across schools. Schools require adequate resources, infrastructure and practical support to deliver revised standards effectively. Implementation guidance should also consider the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with sensory sensitivities and restrictive eating behaviours.
5. Monitor outcomes beyond compliance. Evaluation should include dietary intake, nutritional adequacy, acceptability, food waste, and impacts on health inequalities to understand real-world effectiveness.

Key evidence sources

1. Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2019 to 2023: Report. London: Department of Health and Social Care; 2025.
2. NHS England. Health Survey for England 2022 Part 1: Children's health and health-related behaviours. Leeds: NHS England; 2024. Available from: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2022-part-1/childrens-health-and-health-related-behaviours
3. Spill MK, Johns K, Callahan EH, Shapiro MJ, Wong YP, Benjamin-Neelon SE, et al. Repeated exposure to food and food acceptability in infants and toddlers: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2019;109(Suppl 1):978S–989S.
4. Witard OC, Bath SC, Dineva M, et al. Dairy as a source of iodine and protein in the UK: implications for human health across the life course, and future policy and research. Front Nutr. 2022;9:800559.
5. Pradeilles R, Norris T, Sellem L, Markey O. Effect of isoenergetic substitution of cheese with other dairy products on blood lipid markers in the fasted and postprandial state: an updated and extended systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials in adults. Adv Nutr. 2023;14:1579–1595.

About the authors

Dr Oonagh Markey is Senior Lecturer in Nutritional Sciences and Registered Nutritionist. Her research focuses on dietary strategies to promote cardiometabolic health across the lifecourse, including the role of dietary components, food structure and food reformulation, alongside consumer acceptance. Through randomised controlled trials and evidence synthesis, she has advanced the evidence base on nutrition and cardiometabolic health and contributed to dietary guidance and nutrition policy aimed at improving population health.

Prof Emma Haycraft is Professor of Psychology and Public Health. Her research focuses on understanding how children and adolescents develop healthy eating behaviours, and how parents, caregivers, and professionals can best support this development. Through her work, she has advanced the evidence base on child feeding, eating behaviour, and healthy development, and has translated this research into practical public health interventions that help families and professionals promote healthier eating and lifestyle behaviours.