The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a process to amend the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland). Introduced in 2008, the regulations set the minimum required nutritional standards for the food and drink that children and young people are served throughout the school day. In addition to engagement with adult stakeholders, the Scottish Government commissioned Children’s Parliament to facilitate workshops with children and young people in order to explore their views on the food and drinks provided in school.
Children’s Parliament facilitated workshops with 236 Members of Children’s Parliament (MCPs) between the ages of 5 and 16 years old. 121 boys and 115 girls took part in this consultation. To ensure that children living in urban, rural and remote locations were included, we worked in seven settings – five primary schools and two secondary schools in the following local authorities: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Midlothian, Aberdeen, Highland, the Western Isles and the Scottish Borders. We sought to work with children from diverse backgrounds, experiences and abilities so that a range of views would be reflected in this report. In addition to the workshops, an online survey about school food was facilitated with 201 children and young people between P4 and S6 from six of the schools.
Link to Scottish Government consultation: https://consult.gov.scot/support-and-wellbeing/food-and-drink-in-schools/
Link to the Children’s Future Food Inquiry: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/childrens-future-food-inquiry/