Deep-fried and high-sugar items like ice cream are to be removed from school menus under long-awaited new food standards, ministers have announced. The reforms, the first update to the school food standards in more than a decade, will be accompanied by a new national enforcement regime intended to ensure schools comply with the rules. Schools will also be asked to make their food policies and daily menus publicly available to allow for parent scrutiny. The changes reflect growing concern within government about children’s diets and their long-term impact on public health. Officials claimed one in three pupils leave primary school overweight or obese, while tooth decay linked to excessive sugar consumption is the leading cause of hospital admissions among children aged five to nine. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Every child deserves to have delicious, nutritious food at school that gives them the energy to concentrate, learn and thrive – meals that children will actually recognise and enjoy, backed by robust compliance so that good standards on paper become good food on the plate.” Deep-fried items banned Under the proposals, deep-fried items will be banned outright, as will high-sugar products like ice cream, waffles and drinks. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar – including desserts and popular “grab and go” options such as sausage rolls and pizza – will be limited. Schools will instead be required to provide more fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and pulses. Sample menus include spaghetti bolognese, Mexican style burritos, cottage pie with root-veg mash, jerk chicken with rice and peas and roasted chickpea, vegetable and mozzarella wrap. The new standards have been developed alongside nutritionists and public health experts, the government said, and will apply to all breakfasts and lunches served by schools. A nine-week consultation on the reforms will be launched tomorrow (April 13). The government said it will publish its response in September 2026. The proposed changes will apply to maintained schools, academies and free schools in England. Schools will need to make changes by September 2028 Secondary schools will have until September 2028 to make changes around healthier drinks, introducing pulses such as chickpeas to meals, limiting cheese-based main dishes and restricting desserts to allow them more time to “improve the quality of grab-and-go options”. Ministers aim for the food standards to be consistently implemented so will introduce of a formal monitoring system. Full details will be announced this September and are due to take effect from the 2027-28 academic year. The government also wants every school to appoint a lead governor to be responsible for school food, as well as asking every school to publish their food policy and menus online. Health minister Sharon Hodgson said: “Children are consuming twice the recommended amount of free sugar and offering more nutritious meals at school is a great way of ensuring they eat healthier food. “We’re determined to reduce the child obesity epidemic and the new school food standards represent another piece in a jigsaw of measures designed to help raise the healthiest generation of children ever.”