2022 England School Meals Report
Taken directly from the ParentPay, Cypad and LACA report as below. ''The aim of this research is to understand the parental view on the school meal service and offering available to their children. Building on the success of the 2021 survey, ParentPay, Cypad and LACA have again conducted one of the largest studies ever undertaken with parents on school meal provision in the UK. The survey attracted an overwhelmingly positive response of over 267,047 survey completions, providing an extremely robust overall sample size''.
Link to the report ParentPay School Meals Report 2022
Summary
1. The majority of parents continue to feel that school meals are priced correctly, despite an increase in the cost of living, meaning school caterers are still managing to produce good value-for-money meals.
2. While caterers continue to work tirelessly at improving school meal provision, some topics raised by parents show there is more work to be done in terms of communicating information on key issues that include: • allergen management • variety of meals on offer • healthy and nutritious menu choices
3. For over 50% of parents, it’s still an important factor for them to consider the sustainability and ethical sourcing of ingredients when choosing school meal provision.
4. Parents want to be involved in what their children are eating. They have shown interest in having ways of viewing the menu ahead of time and online, information on what their child has eaten, and better visibility of nutritional information.
Recommendations
1. Engage with parents and pupils to provide relevant tools and information that reassures parents, including special diets and allergens.
2. Ensure the availability of good quality, School Food Standard-compliant meals, priced within the value of the Free School Meal Allowance. Food costs and wastage can be reduced using a digital meal management system.
3. Meal pre-ordering solutions greatly improve the chances of pupils receiving their first choice meal, increasing pupil and parent satisfaction and reducing food wastage.
4. Making time for lunch using designated spaces for meals is considered important by parents – aim to move meals out of the classroom post-Covid to help increase meal uptake.
5. Develop regular communications with parents to help promote healthy eating and the availability of nutritious meals within the school meal service.
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Useful Links to Further Information
- THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (BIFM)- Founded in 1993, BIFM is a professional body for facilities management, both individuals and organisations.
- FIRST POINT ASSESSMENT (FPAL)- Is a supplier management community supporting the European oil and gas industry.
- THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH (CIEH)- A charity that is the professional and leading voice for environmental and public health and safety.
- INSTITUTE OF HOSPITALITY- A professional membership group that provides support and information for those who work or study in the hospitality and tourism industries.
- FOOD STANDARD AGENCY (FSA)- The governmental department responsible for food safety and hygiene throughout the UK.
- THE UNIVERSITY CATERERS ORGANISATION (TUCO)- TUCO is a professional membership group for in-house caterers within the higher education sector, and is one of the leading organisations of its kind in the UK.
- BRITISH HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION (BHA)- An agenda-setter and members organisation for the hospitality and tourism industry that helps to promote the interest of operators, brands and owners across the hospitality and tourism sectors.
- ROYAL SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH (RSPH)- An independent and multi-disciplinary charity who’s mission is to improve public health and wellbeing.
- INTERNATIONAL FACILITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (IFMA)- An international association for facilities management professionals, supporting 24,000 members in 105 countries.
