Data

Survey Reveals Positive Shift in School Food Culture

At Chefs in Schools, our latest feedback and impact reports across programmes reveal that taking food seriously is paying off for the schools we’ve supported nationwide. Calm classrooms and empowered kitchen teams? We’re finding a clear link between scratch cooking, hands on training and a whole school approach to food.

2025–26 was our strongest year yet. We delivered 20 training cohorts and graduated 208 chefs on our School Chef Educator course. With our first expansion into Wales and delivery spanning from North Lincolnshire to Southend-on-Sea, our total reach has grown across the country. A further 14 schools went through our year-long Transformation programme and more than 173 chefs were part of our Membership community. As a result, nearly 80,000 children received more nutritious, delicious food at school last academic year.

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Adventurous Eaters and Calmer Classrooms School leaders across the country report remarkable improvements in children’s eating habits and engagement with food: 75% of schools observed children showing a greater willingness to try new foods, while 60% recorded higher consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables. Beyond the lunch plate, 75% of school leaders noticed an increase in positive pupil feedback regarding school meals. 53% reported a direct reduction in food waste as pupils enjoyed their lunches more and kitchen teams adopted waste-reducing batch cooking techniques.

Dining Halls Feel Different

These results prove that transforming school food changes the entire atmosphere of the school day. School leaders describe dining spaces that are more inclusive, social, and enjoyable. With 55% of schools seeing higher overall lunch uptake, the dining hall has become a vibrant, positive hub where children build life-long healthy habits together.

Chefs Driving Change in Schools

The impact in the kitchen has been equally transformative. Through our School Chef Educator Training Programme, kitchen teams are gaining the confidence, skills, and inspiration needed to lead systemic change:

99.3% of participating chefs feel confident making healthy, balanced meal options from scratch.
99.2% feel fully equipped to explain the nutritional value of these meals to pupils.
98.1% intend to apply their new skills directly to their daily roles.
91.7% plan to take an active role in providing food education across their schools.

This empowerment is reshaping menus across the country:

The proportion of schools serving wholegrain foods weekly more than doubled from 33% to 76%.
85% of chefs implemented tangible menu improvements within just one term of graduating.
75% of schools reported higher kitchen staff job satisfaction as catering teams step up as celebrated school chefs in their communities.

Sharing Best Practice

We had an epic 1435 resources downloaded across our Toolkits, designed to share learning, expertise and knowledge as far and as wide as possible, spreading the school food revolution. You can download any of our resources:

Building a Sustainable Food Culture

Investing in nutritious food in schools and the people behind it creates a ripple effect that touches every part of the school day. When kitchen teams feel valued and supported, pupils don’t just eat better, they build positive, lifelong relationships with food that spill over into the classroom and beyond.

As we expand our reach across the UK, we’re bringing hands-on training, expert advice, and practical resources to even more communities, fuelling the school food revolution.

Want your school to be a part of it? Get in touch today.