15 November 2022
Introducing the 2022 Scotland School Meals Report
15,964 Scottish parents gave us their opinion on the school meal service
After two years of success with our national report, this year we’re proud to be building on our research by offering a Scotland specific version of our 2022 School Meals Report.
Given the unique school meals landscape in Scotland and the differences in Free School Meals eligibility, we thought it was important to take a deeper look at specifically what parents in Scotland think of the school meal service available to their child/children.
The survey attracted an overwhelmingly positive response, with an impressive 15,964 completed responses from parents in Scotland. We received responses from parents of children in every school year, from early years to Secondary 6. You can see the split of responses across the different school years below:
With the very robust sample size of just under sixteen thousand people, the report gives a very accurate representation of parent opinions on school meals across Scotland.
A collaboration with Cypad and ASSIST FM
The 2022 Scotland School Meals Report was created in collaboration with Cypad and ASSIST FM, who have added invaluable industry knowledge and recommendations throughout.
Cypad is the technology behind the specialist meal & kitchen management solutions within the ParentPay Group. Designed to provide a paperless catering management solution across single or multiple sites, Cypad allows kitchens to become fully digital and centralised. So, whether you are a MAT managing school meals in-house, a contract caterer with a school meal contract featuring hundreds of schools or a single primary school with a school cook, Cypad can help you transform your catering operation. Using Cypad technology, ParentPay Group can help you maximise and maintain your safeguarding capability for your pupils and give parents total peace of mind that all allergies are managed behind the scenes.
ASSIST FM is the voice of Scottish Local Authority FM services. Founded in 2011, their principal objective is to help promote and improve service delivery to public sector organisations throughout Scotland and to provide support to those involved in the delivery of services. Their mission is to work on behalf of their members and partners to ensure that their services always highlight best value and information on practices, products, and services.
What you can expect from the report
This study helps us understand what caterers, local authorities and school leadership teams in Scotland need to do to ensure their clients and families are happy with the school meal service provided. The research, conducted via the ParentPay platform, will provide an ongoing understanding of the needs of parents/guardians, local authorities, school leadership and catering teams.
The topics covered in the report include:
- Information on the contributors – ParentPay, Cypad and ASSIST FM
- Background of the research
- Meal provision specifics
- How to increase meal uptake
- Insight into free school meals
- Quality and sustainability metrics
- School meal uptake information
- Alternative diet and allergy management insight
- Use of technology & best practices
- Summary and recommendations
How can I get the report?
To ensure that our research benefits as many people as possible, we’ve made it very easy for you to get your hands on a copy. It’s available for anyone to download today, and better yet it’s free of charge.
Our national report – in collaboration with LACA
Are you interested in seeing how the results for Scotland compare to the other countries in the UK? Our national report, made up of 306,354 parent responses, compares opinions on meal quality, allergy and diet management, free school meals and more, across the four countries.
You can download your free digital copy to see how Scotland compares.
