'Lentils are tasty,' insists schools minister unveiling 'exciting' lunch reforms - but concedes fish and chips remain on menus
Georgia Gould vowed to "make school meals really exciting for children" as she unveiled school lunch reforms.
Children across the UK will enjoy 'really exciting' lunches including 'tasty' lentils and chickpeas as part of school lunch reforms, the government's schools minister has told LBC.
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Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the Minister for School Standards, Georgia Gould, introduced new government-led changes she described as "exciting", marking the "first new school food standards for more than a decade".
"It's a massive issue for parents. And we want our children to be healthy," Ms Gould told Nick, admitting that fish and chips "will still be allowed" on menus but baked rather than fried.
"At the moment you could have, you know, dessert, apple crumble, ice cream every day. In the new rules, it would be twice a week, but with fruit attached to it. At the moment, you don't have to have fruit and vegetables in every meal. And in these new rules, you will have to have it in every meal."
It came as the minister insisted there was a budget for such changes, with the overhaul phased in "sensibly" to accommodate budgets.
Pushed on whether children would really subscribe to the healthy changes, the MP for Queen's Park and Maida Vale insisted: "Nick, you come with me to one of these schools and I'll prove you wrong. Have some sticky chicken rice and all the brilliant things they're serving."
The new government plans will make wholegrains and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas compulsory on school menus, with a ban introduced on deep-fried food.
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The changes to menus will start in September 2027 for primary schools, with a longer, "phased rollout" for secondary schools that will see changes implemented by September 2028.
However, despite the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) welcoming the changes, it added the new rules would not become "another stick with which to beat head teachers".
"It can be done, that was the big learning that we had from the pilot. But if it was too fast, [schools] couldn't make the adaptations to the menus.
"For example, it's cheaper to have seasonal vegetables and you need to sort really think through your different menu to be able to deliver that."
Urging parents and children to "put your lunchbox aside for this one day, try the food", the MP insisted "these new standards will make sure that those meals are tasty because we want children to be encouraged to eat the food."
It comes as all pupils in England from families on universal credit are now eligible for free school meals.
Sugary drinks and foods such as ice cream and waffles will also be restricted under the new rules alongside fried food restrictions, the Department for Education (DfE) said on Monday.
"We'll be asking schools to bake the chips rather than fry them, and they won't be every day. So it's about taking a really practical approach to these new standards," she explained.
"At the moment, you can have a cheese-based meal every single day, pizza, that kind of thing. In the new rules, it's twice a week for primary schools, and then, for secondary schools, we're phasing it in.
"So in the first year, that will go down to three days a week. In the second year, 2 days a week. So it's just taking a kind of a sensible phased approach, but we're still expecting those changes to come into place to support children's health."
The government is "giving schools a year to really prepare, giving caterers a year to prepare to make this happen" Ms Gould insisted.
"And then of course we are investing £1 billion into the rollout of free school meals."
Under the plans, foods high in fat and salt such as pizzas and sausages will also have to be limited.
More fibrous wholegrains and pulses such as lentils and chickpeas will be required on menus alongside main meal options at least once a week.
And a portion of vegetables or salad should accompany, or be incorporated into, every main meal. Each school will be expected to publish their menus and food policies online to help boost compliance.
They will also be expected to nominate a school food governor who will hold schools to account for the meals on offer.
The DfE will work with the Food Standards Agency on a plan to monitor schools, with details to follow in the coming months.