« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Nutrition in Schools: Scottish Nutrient Standards for School Lunches
Foreword
In January 2002, Scottish Ministers established an Expert Panel on School Meals to make recommendations that would form the framework of a national strategy for school meals. The Panel's remit was to provide costed recommendations and a fully developed implementation strategy to:
- establish standards for school meals
- improve the presentation of school meals to improve general take-up
- eliminate any stigma attached to taking free school meals.
In February 2003, Hungry for Success, the report of the Expert Panel on School Meals, was published. This report sets out the Panel's vision for a revitalised school meals service in Scotland and presents a number of far-reaching recommendations connecting school meals with the curriculum as a key aspect of health education and health promotion. Ministers have announced their acceptance of all the Panel's recommendations including the national nutrient-based standards for school lunches.
These standards are the first of their kind in the UK. They form a key part of the Scottish Executive's campaign to improve Scotland's health record by improving the nation's diet. The Executive's Healthy Living Campaign and the Scottish Diet Action Plan seek to increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in our diet and reduce the high consumption of fat, sugar and salt. The standards offer us the opportunity of achieving major and lasting improvements to the health of Scotland's children by ensuring that children across Scotland have access to high-quality school meals.
In their recommendations the Panel sought to set out a system of National Standards under local, partnership-operated control. Local authorities working in partnership with catering professionals, schools and the school communities - teachers, parents and pupils themselves are the key agents of success in implementing these standards.
Achieving the standards in all primary and special schools by December 2004 and in all secondary schools by December 2006 will be a challenging task for everyone, but I know from discussions with key stakeholders that these reforms are very much welcomed and that there is energy, enthusiasm and a will to make the changes happen.
Gillian Kynoch
Scottish Food and Health Co-ordinator
« Previous | Contents | Next »