ParentPay Group’s Regional School Meals Report surveys parents from all four UK regions for the first time

Following on from the launch of the National School Meals Report in July, this landmark study provides a detailed regional breakdown of parents’ and carers’ views on school meal services across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Now in its fourth year, this research helps support local school caterers in making informed decisions on their catering operation.

Key highlights include:

– At least 49% of pupils in every region choosing school meal provision every day. London has the highest percentage uptake at 73% of primary school pupils, aided by the roll-out of London UPFSM.
– In Wales and Scotland, 45% of parents’ pre-order their child’s school meals, which has increased from 31% and 32% respectively since 2023. This demonstrates the continual investment in technology and parent engagement taken by school meal providers.
– Nearly half of all parents also feel that allergens and special dietary requirements are managed appropriately by their school, with 58% of parents in England answering ‘Yes, completely’ when asked about management.

Keith Bell, managing director for ParentPay Group’s Catering and Payments business units, commented: ‘I’m delighted to be continually bringing this valuable research to the school catering industry. The feedback ParentPay Group received from the launch of the National report was fantastic, and we hope being able to see results by region will continue to be beneficial for schools and caterers. I’m also pleased to say that this report features a dedicated breakdown of respondents in Northern Ireland for the first time, with 4,252 parents completing the survey. We hope this helps to provide valuable insights for school meal providers in this region.’

When discussing allergy management, a surveyed parent from Scotland added: “The school is very supportive with my child’s allergy and have kept me included in all harm reduction practices put in place. The school always contact me with any concerns, and I have faith that the school do their best to keep my child safe.”

The Regional School Meals report contains valuable insights and contributions from LACA England, LACA Wales, ASSIST FM, and the EANI as representatives for each region. Judith Gregory, chair of LACA and contributor for LACA Wales said ‘LACA proposed new questions for 2024 to further help school caterers understand the parent view of school meal provision, including how the use of local ingredients may impact the uptake of school meals, and how much respondents are paying on average for a school meal per day. Parents in Wales with secondary school-aged children are paying the most, with 66% spending more that £2.80 per meal – this will be a useful benchmark to track year on year. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the contributors from LACA, ASSIST FM, and the EANI for their input in pulling together this report, demonstrating the continual effort to ensure school meal providers have as much data as possible on their local meal service.’

The research covers themes such as:

– Ways to increase meal uptake
– The average amount spent and price rating of a school meal
– Allergy and special diet management
– Parent information and what they’d like to see more of
– Views on sustainability and locally sourced ingredients

You can access the full report here.