The Foundation for Education Development (FED) brought together leaders and experts from across education, school food, research, policy and the wider food sector for a two-day consultation exploring how nutritious, appealing food can better support children and young people.
“If food is nutritionally compliant on paper yet culturally unfamiliar, visually unappealing, or rejected by students, have we actually achieved our policy goals?” was the key panel question that kicked off the consultation.
Titled ‘Appealing Nutrition for Effective Attendance, Wellbeing, Learning and Inclusion in Schools’, the consultation explored the relationship between children’s nutrition, their enjoyment of nutritious food and outcomes including attendance, behaviour, emotional regulation and readiness to learn.
Impact Food Group (IFG) was proud to sponsor the event, which was organised and led by the FED at St George’s House, Windsor Castle on 1–2 October.
The programme combined panel discussions, keynote conversations, workshops and collaborative table sessions, giving participants the opportunity to share evidence, practical experience and different perspectives from across the sector.
The consultation brought together school and academy leaders, researchers, academics, policymakers, charities, consultants and school food specialists from organisations including Chefs in Schools, School Food Matters, The Food Foundation, Bite Back, the National Education Union, The School Food People and Impact Food Group.
Brad Pearce, National Chair of The School Food People, said:
“Good school food is about much more than nutritional compliance. It needs to be appealing, accessible and work for children within the reality of the school day. This consultation gave us a valuable opportunity to look at the whole experience, share what is working well and be open about the challenges the sector still needs to address.”
Discussion across the two days explored five interconnected areas: nutrition quality, choice and impact; mealtime culture and dining environments; access, equity and inclusion; community voice and innovation; and the influence of policy and funding.
Professor Greta Defeyter, Northumbria University said:
“School food sits at the intersection of children’s health, education and social equality, which is why this conversation is so important. Access to nutritious food can make a meaningful difference to children’s wellbeing and their experience of school, but the strongest solutions will be those shaped by evidence and through the authentic inclusion of the voices of children, families and schools themselves.”
Richard Taylor, CEO of Impact Food Group, said:
“We were proud to support this FED-led consultation and to contribute alongside such a broad range of voices from education, research, policy and the school food sector. For IFG, the value was in listening, learning and sharing our experience as part of a much wider conversation.
“We see every day the difference that nutritious, appealing food can make to a young person’s experience of school, but we also know the challenges are complex and no single organisation has all the answers. Bringing together different perspectives in this way is an important step in identifying practical ideas that can support schools and improve outcomes for children and young people.”
A recurring theme throughout the consultation was the importance of looking beyond nutrition in isolation and considering whether food is also appealing, accessible and inclusive enough for children to choose and enjoy it.
Hazel Wale, Chief Operations Officer, Scholars’ Education Trust, said:
“I was delighted to attend the FED event, which brought together education leaders committed to improving outcomes for all pupils. We recognise that nutritious, high-quality food plays a vital role in supporting pupil wellbeing, attendance and academic achievement, so it was valuable to explore the practical implications of implementing the new school food standards.
A key message from the event was the importance of ensuring healthy food is not only available, but also appealing and accessible to students. This is particularly important for our disadvantaged pupils, where increasing uptake of free school meals can have a significant impact on health, wellbeing and educational outcomes. As a result, we are undertaking a Trust-wide analysis of meal uptake across key pupil groups to identify opportunities to increase participation and then go on to ensure every child benefits from the support available.”
Sessions examined issues ranging from menu appeal and School Food Standards to dining environments, meal uptake, financial stigma, breakfast and after-school provision, and the role of pupil and parent voice in shaping school food experiences.
Dr Carl Ward, Founder and Chair of the Foundation for Education Development, said:
“This consultation brought together evidence, experience and different perspectives to explore what needs to change. The strength of the two days was in the breadth of insight shared and the willingness to challenge existing thinking. Those insights will now help shape FED’s forthcoming Nutritional Inclusion report and its recommendations for practical, systemic change.”
The consultation also placed strong emphasis on the realities facing schools and the importance of ensuring any future recommendations are practical as well as ambitious.
Helena Marsh, Principal, Linton Village College
“It was rather surreal and special to spend 24 hours inside the walls of Windsor Castle to join a consultation at St George’s House on the topic of the role that nutrition and school food plays in supporting students’ attendance, wellbeing, learning and inclusion.
It was a privilege to be amongst such passionate and experienced specialists. I feel enriched in many ways from the experience and look forward to what comes next.
Schools are being asked to deliver on many different priorities, so recommendations need to be workable in practice. School food has to fit within the realities of the school day, work for staff and students, and be sustainable for schools to deliver. The real value of the consultation was in exploring how ambition can translate into solutions that genuinely work in school settings.”
The conversations will now be taken forward by FED, with insights, outcomes and recommendations from the consultation informing a forthcoming FED Futures Nutritional Inclusion report, due to be published in Spring 2027.
The report will build on the evidence, experience and perspectives shared during the consultation and seek to identify recommendations that can inform future policy and practical change across the school food system.