New School Food Standards Explained

The Department for Education has now published its response to the consultation on the new School Food Standards, alongside guidance and resources for schools and caterers. The revised standards are expected to come into force from September 2027 for primary schools, subject to Parliamentary approval, with some secondary-school requirements phased in later. The full guidelines and supporting materials can be found here: DfE - School Food Standards: updating the legislative framework. 

 

If you missed it, our more detailed allergen labelling for schools guide covers how the School Food Standards fit alongside Natasha's Law and Benedict's Law. This post focuses on what's actually changing in the standards themselves and what it means for school catering compliance. 

 

Why are the School Food Standards changing? 

 

The current School Food Standards are over ten years old and no longer reflect up-to-date nutritional advice. The updated school food guidance is designed to bring school meals standards into line with current nutritional evidence and public health priorities. The revisions aim to: 

  

• Improve children's health and reduce obesity.
  
  
• Increase fibre intake.
  
  
• Reduce sugar and foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS).
  
  
• Improve consistency across schools.
  
  
• Reflect updated dietary guidance and current evidence on children's health.
  
  

  

Beyond compliance, the health of England's children is at stake. Roughly a third leave primary school overweight or obese, and tooth decay linked to high-sugar diets is one of the leading reasons children aged five to nine end up in hospital. For schools and caterers, meeting these standards can play a meaningful role in changing that path for the pupils they feed every day.  

 

Do these School Food Standards apply across the UK?  

  

The standards only apply to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own school food regulations and nutrition standards. 

  

• Scotland: Scottish Government Healthy Eating in Schools Guidance
  
  
• Wales: Welsh Government Healthy Eating Regulations 2025
  
  
• Northern Ireland: Department of Education Northern Ireland Nutritional Standards
  
  

  

When do these School Food Standards come into effect?  

  

Now that the guidance has been published, implementation follows a phased timeline: 

• September 2027: the new standards take full effect for primary schools, and most of the changes apply to secondary schools too.
  
  
• September 2028: a small number of requirements specific to secondary schools are phased in separately, giving secondary caterers longer to adjust. These cover limiting cheese-based main dishes, restricting sweetened baked products and desserts, and introducing the healthier drinks list.
  
  

This timeline has been designed to give schools, and secondary school caterers in particular, more time to update menus, retrain staff and work through supplier and labelling changes.  

 

For school caterers, September 2027 is the date to plan around for the bulk of the work, with a smaller second wave of secondary-specific changes to prepare for a year later. Starting the groundwork now by reviewing recipes, suppliers and labelling processes will make the transition far less stressful when the new standards come into effect. 

  

What could change under the new School Food Standards? 

  

Here is a breakdown of what the changes mean for food menus: 

 

• More fruit and vegetables: The revised standards will require schools to offer more fruit and vegetables, with greater variety, making them a bigger part of everyday menus rather than an occasional addition. 
  
  
• More wholegrains: Expect a stronger emphasis on wholemeal bread, wholegrain pasta, brown rice, oats and higher-fibre cereals, aimed at increasing fibre across the whole school day.
  
  
• More pulses: Beans, lentils and chickpeas will be offered at least once a week alongside main meal options. (Secondary schools have a transition year in 2027/28, with pulses required once a fortnight before the full weekly requirement applies from September 2028.)
  
  
• Less sugar: One of the largest shifts, covering fewer sugary desserts, less confectionery, lower-sugar breakfast choices and tighter rules on sweet snacks. 
  
  
• Fewer HFSS foods: Tighter restrictions on pastries, cakes, processed snacks and sugary drinks.
  
  

Cutting deep-fried food: Deep-fat frying of the final dish in school kitchens will no longer be permitted. The practical application of this requirement still needs some clarification. A manufactured product fried earlier in production is not necessarily prohibited, provided it meets the wider requirements and is prepared appropriately in school. 

New breakfast standards: For the first time, breakfast clubs will have their own dedicated standards, focused on wholegrains, fruit, lower-sugar cereals and healthier drinks.

Better grab-and-go choices: Secondary schools relying on grab-and-go food will be encouraged to offer sandwiches, salads, wraps, fruit and yoghurt, with less HFSS content.

  

What kind of food will be on the menu?  

 

The aim is to provide children with food they enjoy, using fresher, healthier ingredients and cooking methods. To give you an idea, the government's sample menus include dishes like spaghetti bolognese, Mexican-style burritos, cottage pie with root-veg mash, jerk chicken with rice and peas or a mozzarella wrap. 

  

How will schools be held accountable? 

  

The government is introducing stronger monitoring, clearer accountability and better enforcement, addressing inconsistent compliance under the current standards. There will be a new national system to track and enforce the standards, improving transparency for parents. These measures include: 

 

• Schools will be expected to appoint a lead governor for school food.
  
  
• Schools will be expected to publish menus and school food policy online.
  
  
• A new national approach to monitoring the standards.
  
  

 

What the new School Food Standards mean for caterers 

  

Meeting the new school food regulations will involve reviewing recipes, ingredients, supplier specifications, nutritional analysis, menu cycles, breakfast provision and grab-and-go ranges. For many schools and multi-academy trusts, this is unlikely to be a one-off update, but an ongoing process as recipes are reformulated to meet the new benchmarks. 

 

Effective school menu planning will become even more important as menus are updated to meet the revised nutritional requirements. For contract caterers and MATs, this may mean reviewing menus across multiple sites to ensure consistency and compliance. 

 

The changes could have implications well beyond menu planning. Schools and caterers may need to review procurement, product availability, recipe reformulation, staffing, kitchen equipment and supplier arrangements. For example, moving away from deep-fat frying could mean some kitchens need greater oven capacity. 

 

The knock-on effect for food labelling in schools 

  

The School Food Standards are about nutrition, not allergens specifically. But every recipe change has a labelling consequence. When caterers reformulate menus to meet the new school catering regulations, it's easy for allergen information, ingredient lists, nutritional values, calorie information, product descriptions and menu information to fall out of step with what's actually being served. 

  

As a rule, any recipe reformulation should trigger a review of all associated labels and nutritional data, not just the recipe card. 

  

Top takeaways 

  

Here are the key things schools and caterers should prepare for: 

  

• More fresh fruit, vegetables, fibre, wholegrains and pulses.
  
  
• Less sugar and fewer processed, HFSS foods.
  
  
• Healthier breakfasts and grab-and-go options.
  
  
• Greater transparency and stronger compliance monitoring.
  
  

Parliamentary approval is hoped for October 2026, with legislation expected later in autumn. The revised standards are expected to come into force for primary schools by September 2027 with additional time for secondary schools for some elements.  

 

How Planglow can help

  

With implementation approaching, school caterers will need to review recipes, suppliers and menus well ahead of September 2027.  

 

While the revised standards do not introduce new allergen requirements, they will mean more frequent recipe changes, and every one of those updates needs to be reflected accurately across labels and nutritional information. 

 

Planglow’s food labelling software, LabelLogic Live, helps school caterers keep recipe, ingredient, allergen and nutritional data in one place, so when a menu changes in response to the new standards, your labels and nutritional information update automatically rather than falling behind.  

  

Book a free labelling consultation today. 

 

FAQs: the questions our account managers hear 

  

Our account managers speak to school caterers every day. Here are some of the most common questions they're being asked about the new School Food Standards. 

  

Are the new School Food Standards mandatory? 

The government's response has now been published, confirming the direction of travel, but the new standards aren't law yet. The existing 2014 School Food Standards remain mandatory until the new legislation comes into force. The revised standards are expected to take effect from September 2027, subject to Parliamentary approval. 

 

Will the new standards change allergen labelling requirements? Will the new standards change allergen labelling requirements? 

No, the School Food Standards don’t introduce new allergen labelling requirements. However, changes to recipes, ingredients and menus may affect allergen information, nutritional data and food labels, so caterers will need robust processes to keep information accurate. 

  

Do the School Food Standards affect Natasha's Law? 

No, Natasha's Law and the School Food Standards cover different areas. Natasha's Law focuses on allergen labelling for Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS) foods, while the School Food Standards set requirements around the nutritional quality of food served in schools. However, both rely on accurate recipe, ingredient and allergen information.