School dinner crackdown: Traditional fish and chips, chicken nuggets and jam doughnuts to be banned under biggest menu overhaul since 2012

Battered fish and chips, fried chicken nuggets and jam scones will be banned from school meals under a major government overhaul.

New food standards for schools in England will ban deep-fried food from September 2027 as ministers seek to halt the UK’s childhood obesity crisis.

The rules, to be announced on Monday, will also require all desserts to contain at least 50 per cent fruit, putting an end to traditional favorites such as chocolate sponge cake and jam donuts.

Current standards prevent schools from serving more than two servings of deep-fried foods each week. They are also instructed to serve at least one serving of vegetables or salad and at least one serving of fruit each day.

The changes mark the biggest overhaul to canteen menus since the introduction of the School Meal Plan, published by Leon co-founders Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent in 2013.

Ministers are trying to implement new standards before rolling out free school meals to all students in England whose families claim Universal Credit.

The government claimed the extension, from the start of the 2026 school year, would enable half a million more children to benefit from free meals every school day.

It was also claimed that the expansion would lift 100,000 children out of poverty across England, putting around £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.

According to figures released in 2024 and published in the British Medical Journal, the UK is second only to the US when it comes to UFPs; Almost 60 percent of an adult’s daily diet consists of additive-laden foods. Ireland ranked fifth in Europe for UFP consumption.

Meanwhile, childhood obesity has been a growing problem for years; Easy access to fast food, increased screen time and sedentary lifestyles are causing rising rates in some parts of the UK.

More than one in five children in England are now living with overweight or obesity by the time they start primary school; By the time they finish primary school, this rate rises to over one third.

Data published by NHS England in November last year revealed that 24.7 per cent of children on reception were classed as obese or overweight in 2024/25.

When it came to analyzing severe obesity from overall obesity figures, 2.7 percent of reception girls and 3.1 percent of boys were severely obese.

This means that 2.9 percent of all children are severely obese, up from 2.6 percent the previous year.

Tooth decay also remains the leading cause of hospital admissions for young children between the ages of five and nine.