Research conducted by LACA and ParentPay, reveals that the majority of parents (92%) want to see all schools abiding by a set of nutritional standards laid down by the UK government for school food.
They also say they want to see an independent body to monitor schools to ensure the standards are met. The poll findings also show parental backing for many of Jamie Oliver’s School Meal Manifesto ideas.
The celebrity chef said: “It’s blatantly clear from the outcome of the LACA/ParentPay survey-which is a direct representation of what busy parents in this day and age actually think-what a humungous impact health has on our lives.”
With more than 12,000 parents responding to the 2012 Survey, this year’s poll is the biggest of its kind to date into parental views of school food services and lifestyles. The survey found that while parents might want all schools to be compliant with nutritional standards, awareness of whether their own child’s school currently abides by them was low.
Less than half (41%) said they knew that their child’s school was meeting them and a greater proportion (57%) said they did not know. State maintained schools have been required to follow nutritional standards by law since 2008-2009, while academies and free schools are expected by the Government to comply with them voluntarily.
Interestingly, 92% of academy parents said they, too, want to see all schools legally required to abide by nutritional standards. But as with state maintained school parents, they did not know if their child’s school was currently following the standards.
Meanwhile, an even greater number of parents than in last year’s survey indicated their satisfaction with school meals. Just over 90% were very happy or happy with the service, compared to 89% last year. And nearly three quarters (72%) put the quality of the food as the most important criteria when buying a school meal.
Although almost all parents (97%) claimed they had sufficient information about the link between food and good health, nearly half (46%) still said that if they had better information it would be benefit their family.
Among other poll findings, 82% want to pay on line for school meals, with convenience given as the top reason, while knowing the money is spent on school meals was important for 75% of parents.
Source: Laca
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024