{"id":247515,"date":"2026-06-11T23:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T22:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=247515"},"modified":"2026-06-12T20:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:47:16","slug":"minister-suggests-ofsted-could-inspect-new-school-food-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/minister-suggests-ofsted-could-inspect-new-school-food-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister suggests Ofsted could inspect new school food standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

New school food standards \u201cwill have to be monitored<\/span>\u201d<\/span> by Ofsted, a<\/span> health<\/span> minister has suggested<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Department for Education <\/span>(DfE) <\/span>did not confirm whether the watchdog would be involved, stating plans were \u201ccurrently being worked through\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

The g<\/span>overnment unveiled its new proposed school food standards<\/a> in April, which would see high<\/span>–<\/span>sugar and deep-fried items removed from menus. The consultation ends today<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The D<\/span>fE<\/span> said it would create a \u201crobust national enforcement mechanism\u201d to track whether schools <\/span>were<\/span> complying with the new standards.<\/span> Ofsted does not currently look at school food, as c<\/span>ouncils<\/span>\u00a0carry out food safety checks.<\/span><\/p>\n

H<\/span>ealth minister Sharon Hodgson was asked by the health and social care committee <\/a><\/span>last week on <\/span>how the new standards would be enforced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She<\/span> said: \u201cThey will be the new food standards. They will have to be monitored by Ofsted, and they will have to be abided by.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The minister added<\/span> that<\/span> she w<\/span>ould<\/span> \u201c<\/span>certainly be keeping a very close eye on them<\/span>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Natasha Burgon, health improvement director at the Department for Health and Social Care, said the enforcement of standards \u201cwill be part of the consultation response\u201d, out in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Robust enforcement’<\/h2>\n

Schools Week<\/span><\/em> asked for clarification from DHSC<\/span>, <\/span>the <\/span>DfE and Ofsted<\/span> on whether this would happen. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ofsted said there was no planned updates to the inspection toolkit on school food.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The DfE said it was \u201ccommitted to developing a robust national enforcement mechanism <\/span>which <\/span>ensures that all schools are meeting the new standards. This is still currently being worked through.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The DfE did not confirm or deny whether Ofsted would play a part.<\/span> The DHSC said it could not comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hodgson has campaigned on school food standards for several years since becoming <\/span>an <\/span>MP in 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2025 she led the all-party parliamentary group <\/span>(APPG) <\/span>on school food, where she wrote to <\/span>Ofsted <\/span>chief inspector Martyn Oliver urging the watchdog to include school food in its inspection framework.<\/span><\/p>\n

The APPG reported that Ofsted\u2019s response was \u201clacklustre\u201d, as they \u201cemphasised that inspection time is limited and the primary focus remains on the quality and safety of education for pupils, completely sidelining school food\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report said: \u201cWithout systematic monitoring and enforcement, these standards risk being inconsistently applied, undermining their intended benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Ensuring that school food standards are met is not about adding burdens to schools or inspectors; it<\/span> i<\/span>s about fulfilling our commitment to children’s health and education.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ofsted declined to comment on the report.<\/p>\n

Other proposals in the food standards <\/span>include <\/span>schools <\/span>having to <\/span>appoint a lead governor in charge of implementing the changes and publish<\/span>ing<\/span> their menus online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But the Department for Education did not confirm watchdog’s involvement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":315335,"featured_media":245240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"post-theme":[2378],"class_list":["post-247515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post-theme-ofsted"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t