Support for Healthy Eating // May 21st, 2012 // Constituency News
Gisela Stuart has signed EDM 54: School Food Standards
The full wording of the EDM is as follows:
That this House recognises the impact of unhealthy eating and obesity on children’s health and well-being; expresses its concern that academies and free schools opened since September 2010 are not required to adhere to the mandatory standards for school food; welcomes the joint Jamie Oliver Children’s Food Campaign, Food for Life Partnership, Local Authority Caterers Association and School Food Matters Save Our School Food Standards campaign; and calls on the Secretary of State to amend the Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007 to require academies and free schools to adhere to the standards for school food so that the one million children now attending these schools can benefit from this commitment to their health and well-being.
Keith Birch, UNISON Parliamentary Officer explains that:
“UNISON is supporting the Schools Food Standards Campaign, led by Jamie Oliver, which aims to ensure that all children have healthy and nutritious school food available wherever they go to school.
In 2007, the last Labour Government introduced nutritional food standards that applied to all English schools, including Academy schools, after a national outcry about the poor quality provision of school food. Unfortunately, as part of the Academies Acts 2010, all Academy and Free Schools established since September 2010, around 1800 in total, are exempted from these standards, which has resulted in many academies failing to adhere to the nutritional standards expected in state schools. A recent survey of 100 Academies by the School Food Trust (here) found that half were selling cereal bars – banned from schools under the national standards because they are often as high in sugar as confectionary; 1 in 4 was selling crisps and savoury snacks and 1 in 6 was selling confectionery.”
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