Parents of school-aged children want greater influence over the meals their children have at school lunchtimes, as well as the introduction of healthier choices and more British food.
That's according to a new YouGov report, which found that 84 per cent of parents it questioned would like school lunches to contribute to their child’s 5 A DAY.
The findings of the report alsoshow that almost four in ten parents whose children are in primary or secondary education would like to know what their child has chosen to eat if they have had a school dinner.
A third, meanwhile, would like to try the meals that the school offers in order to be more informed about what their children are eating every day, with 30 per cent of parents surveyed wanting direct influence on what is served.
And one in five would like to take the choice out of the child or school’s control, and decide in advance what their child will have to eat.
However, there is a question of how this can be achieved, with over a quarter of those questioned saying they have no way of communicating with their child’s school on this issue.
One area of concern is the ubiquity of fast food and the potential for that industry to dominate school meals catering.
Just under half of parents who responded said that their foremost concern would be seeing fast food brands in schools.
James McCoy, research director at YouGov, said: “The report shows that schools should work with parents to create a school meals programme with a focus on healthy and locally-sourced products.
'The trouble is, many of the parents we surveyed do not feel that there are existing channels for them to communicate with school authorities on this issue, and so the first order of business must be opening the lines of communication.”
The results come on the back of the government announcing thatnutritional guidance – setting out the levels of vitamins and minerals in lunches – is to be be axed because the rules are too complicated.
Reforms are being made as part of a new package of measures aimed at helping schools prepare the introduction of free meals for all infants from September.
Currently, schools must test food to ensure it contains the right amount of fibre, protein, iron and vitamin C, while also cutting down on fat and sugar.
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