8.1 Scottish Nutrients Standards for School Lunches were set out in Hungry for Success, and can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/05/17090/21742. They set clear expectations for the nutritional content of school lunches. The Standards were set so that an average school lunch would provide around one third of the daily requirements of key nutrients. The Standards for some nutrients, which are found to be low in the diets of Scottish children and young people, were set at a higher level with the aim of helping to address this deficiency.
8.2 Overall, LAs continued to make good progress in producing menus to achieve the Scottish Nutrient Standards. Analyses of menus showed that the Nutrient Standards for sodium, iron and saturated fatty acids were proving consistently challenging to achieve, in both the primary and secondary school sectors. In primary schools, there were also problems achieving the Standards for non-milk extrinsic sugars and carbohydrates. In some secondary schools, the Standards for calcium and folate were not being achieved.
8.3 The quality of the food was good in most schools inspected. It was a key factor that pupils considered when deciding whether or not to have a school lunch. Improvements in food preparation and choice of cooking methods had also helped to improve food quality and nutritional value of meals. In a few schools, the quality of food was too variable or was poor overall. Sometimes the quality of food served was adversely affected by the transportation of meals from the kitchen in which they were cooked to a servery in another school. In some schools, pupils had raised issues of food quality with catering services through pupil councils or school suggestions boxes. Examples of issues raised included:
Features of good practice: Improvements in school meal provision |
In following up progress made by a school and its local authority to improve school meal provision, HMIE found notable improvements. Pupils in the school were now able to make healthy choices from a varied menu. They had been consulted about school meal provision and were positive about the changes in the range and quality of food. School and catering staff had worked productively together to introduce changes in provision. They had shared menus with parents, as well as a leaflet on ‘Working together to encourage healthy eating’. Pupils had introduced a healthy tuckshop which sold fruit at break time. |
8.4 Pupils in almost all schools inspected felt that they had enough to eat at lunchtime. A few secondary schools were providing over-large portions of chips or other fried potato products. Some primary schools offered second helpings to pupils, usually on a first-come, first-served basis. Most of these schools used a sensible approach by limiting the foods and size of portion served, as well as expecting pupils to have eaten all of the food from their first serving. A few schools, however, gave inappropriate second helpings of fatty or sugary foods. In many primary and special schools, the range of meal items decreased before the end of service. This meant that pupils near the end of the queue did not receive their preferred choice of meal. Some schools had made effective use of previous sales information or introduced a pre-ordering system to prevent such problems recurring. Pupils in almost half of the secondary schools inspected also felt that there was often less choice for those queuing longest, and that the most popular items ran out quickly.
8.5 Almost all LAs planned menus for primary schools centrally. For secondary schools, some menu planning was done centrally and some at school level. Menu cycles ranged from three weeks to six weeks. They were changed, for example termly or annually, to introduce greater variety. In menu cycles which included set meals, the combination of items to form these meals was not always appropriate or compatible. For example, pizza served with pasta provided inappropriately high levels of carbohydrate. Some LAs consulted with groups of school catering staff to plan their menu cycles. In a few LAs, cooks in individual schools planned their own menus, which could change as frequently as every four weeks. Where this approach was used, monitoring by the LAs of how well the menus met the Nutrient Standards was not always sufficiently rigorous.
8.6 All LAs used nutritional analysis software to analyse their menus. Almost all used the ‘H4S’ software which had been produced by ‘Nutmeg’ for the Scottish Executive. HMIE requested a nutritional analysis for every school inspected. An analysis was received for the majority of primary and special schools, but for less than half of secondary schools inspected. Variations in the approaches used by LAs to analyse school meals provision affected the accuracy of the nutritional analyses and the extent to which they could be used for evaluation.
8.7 LAs had adopted two different methods of analysis. Some analysed their menus using data on actual sales from a particular school or group of schools. This method was more accurate as it represented what pupils actually selected from the menu. Other LAs analysed their menus by estimating the uptake of each menu item. This estimate reflected the caterer’s knowledge of the popularity of each dish. Figures used for analyses carried out using this approach were sometimes unrealistic. They did not always reflect the meal items being selected by pupils in school, particularly in relation to uptake of fruit and vegetables, which was often less than estimated. Other recurring difficulties in relation to nutritional analyses, using either method, included the following.
8.8 Some secondary schools included popular items to attract pupils to take school lunches, but limited the amounts of these items available. Inevitably, this meant that pupils were disappointed when their preferred choice of meal was no longer available. This approach was also used by some LAs to help achieve the Nutrient Standards.
8.9 Almost all of the primary and special schools had removed table salt from the dining room. In contrast, less than half of secondary schools inspected had completely removed table salt. Where salt was provided, it was normally available in sachets. Sauce portions were still available for pupils to purchase at an additional cost in most secondary schools.
8.10 In almost all of the primary and special schools inspected, additional free bread was provided for pupils having a school meal, and was usually a popular accompaniment. Bread was particularly popular when speciality breads or freshly prepared varieties were on offer. Free bread was available in the majority of secondary schools. However, in some secondary schools, bread was offered only with soup. Not all primary or secondary schools providing free bread were promoting its availability to pupils.
8.11 Meal deals were available in more than half of secondary schools inspected. They had been developed to encourage choice of particular menu items, to encourage fruit and vegetable uptake, and to offer better value for money. In a few schools where meal deals were linked to incentive schemes, some pupils valued the points accrued more than the content of the meal, and parts of the meal were not eaten.
8.12 The availability of fruit and vegetables in primary school lunches was good overall and in some cases it was very good. It varied in the secondary schools inspected where less than half of the schools actively promoted and encouraged the uptake of vegetables, salads and fruit. Schools which did promote these foods positioned them well, with clear signage, at the servery and used pricing incentives, in addition to catering staff encouraging pupils to take these items. Such action had resulted in higher uptake of vegetables and salad. A few schools had disincentives to pupils to select meals with vegetable accompaniments where vegetables were charged at an additional cost to a meal or sandwich. For example, a ham salad sandwich could be more expensive than a ham sandwich.
8.13 A few LAs had reviewed pricing structures to encourage the uptake of lunches and healthier choices. One LA had reduced considerably the price of whole and chopped fruit and this action had achieved a notable increase in uptake.
8.14 Examples of strengths and areas of improving practice included:
Examples of weaknesses included:
Special Diets and Allergies
8.15 Hungry for Success recommended that LAs should develop policies to deliver appropriate provision for children and young people with medically prescribed diets. Almost all of the LAs now had an appropriate policy in place or were finalising their policies and procedures. Most LAs worked in partnership with schools, catering staff, dieticians, nutritionists or other health professionals when developing their special diet policy. Provision for pupils with nut allergies had improved through the sourcing of nut-free ingredients and products as well as through recipe development.
8.16 The majority of primary schools and almost all secondary schools inspected had procedures to provide a medically prescribed diet where this was required. Appropriate provision was made in the special schools inspected. Schools had often developed their own procedures in addition to adopting LA policies. Increasingly, school staff took account of pupils with special dietary requirements when planning food-based activities in classrooms. Schools which did not have a policy or procedures lacked consistency in dealing with pupils’ special dietary needs. In some schools which did have a policy, some staff did not understand fully the reasons for specific dietary requests.
8.17 In secondary schools, it was appropriate that pupils were expected to take more responsibility for meeting their own special dietary requirements. Some schools had developed strategies to assist pupils in making dietary choices appropriate to their needs, using:
8.18 For pupils wishing to follow a vegetarian diet, a daily choice was available in all schools inspected, although sometimes only on request. Pupils often found the choice and variety available to be limited, and the dishes often relied too heavily on cheese as a source of protein.
8.19 Most LAs were able to provide Halal meat if requested. However, most had received very few requests for Halal meat and pupils generally chose to select a vegetarian meal. Pupils and staff were not always aware that Halal meat could be provided. Where Halal meal options were available regularly, these items were not always highlighted on menu displays or on product packaging.
Children and Young People with Additional Support Needs
8.20 In all schools inspected, children with additional support needs were fully integrated with other pupils in the dining room arrangements. Often these pupils were able to access the dining room earlier than the rest of the school. In some instances, pupils chose to eat elsewhere. Where required, pupils benefited from additional help in the dining room during the lunch period from support staff.
Training
8.21 A wide range of training had been undertaken to support the implementation of Hungry for Success. Many headteachers and caterers had attended general briefing sessions arranged by LAs. Almost all catering staff felt they had had sufficient training to be able to carry out their day-to-day duties competently. They had received more detailed information on menus, recipes, food presentation and other specific issues at local meetings with other catering colleagues. Increasing numbers of staff were attending nutrition training courses, such as the Royal Environmental Health Institute for Scotland (REHIS) Elementary Food and Health course. Almost all found these courses to be relevant and helpful to their role in implementing Hungry for Success. One LA had offered places on the REHIS course to the owners of local food vans that operated close to secondary schools, with the aim of encouraging them to sell a healthier range of products. LAs had also trained caterers in cooking skills, special diets, nutritional analysis and customer care. One LA had organised training for staff to facilitate cookery groups for pupils and their parents. Training for catering assistants and support staff working in dining rooms was less evident. Some staff felt that further training on special diets would be welcome. In a few schools inspected, catering or dining room staff had not been offered any training related to Hungry for Success.
8.22 Hungry for Success included a recommendation that education authorities should consider the introduction of incentive schemes for staff to recognise innovation and celebrate success. Some LAs had implemented small-scale reward or incentive schemes for catering staff such as an ‘away day’ or an annual awards ceremony. A few LAs offered gift vouchers as incentives for specific promotions such as increasing the uptake of fruit and vegetables or of meal deals in their schools. The majority of LAs, however, had not taken this recommendation forward.