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School food standards and labelling requirements: governors' role

Understand what the food standards are and how you can monitor compliance, including what questions to ask. Plus, get to grips extra requirements for the early years, and with Natasha's Law and allergen labelling requirements.

Updated
on 25 June 2025See updates
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 39843
Contents
  1. Make sure your school meets the school food standards
  2. School food standards: requirements 
  3. Extra requirements for nutrition in the early years
  4. Natasha's Law: allergen and food labelling requirements 
  5. How to monitor compliance with food standards and labelling

Make sure your school meets the school food standards

This requirement is set out in 7.10.2 of the academy trust governance guide and section 7.8.2 of the maintained schools governance guide. You should also encourage your school(s) to build a whole school culture of healthy eating and support pupils to make healthy eating choices.

School food standards: requirements 

There are legal standards for school food, set out in The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. The legislation specifies which types of food and drinks should be served at school and how often.

These regulations are compulsory for:

  • All maintained schools
  • Certain academies depending on when they were opened (check your funding agreement)

Academies that don't have these regulations covered in their funding agreements, are only expected to comply with them.

They cover food and drink provided to pupils on and off school premises up to 6pm

This includes:

Lunches provided to other people on a