Is this menu healthy enough?

Looks a pretty crap menu to me, mainly processed and not many vegetables. Certainly doesn't scream "healthy school".

Yes it’s a shame we feed our children rubbish at school when other countries manage healthy, varied menus.

What happened to the Jamie Oliver initiative? Did that juts have zero impact?

@ComeTheSpringLobelia I don't think any of us were saying fussy eaters shouldn't be tolerated. My story of the children in France was because I'm bewildered by it. I don't understand how those boys and their friends would eat whatever you gave them (some food obviously preferred over others but most willingly eaten) and yet I was the fussiest child I knew. I have no special needs but I would feel physically sick at the thought of eating foods I didn't like when I was younger. As an adult I'm will veggie but less fussy though I do love food with lots of spices and herbs which didn't feature in my menu as a child.

For those mentioning French lunches, I went to a French primary school and there were plenty of fussy kids, we just traded food with each other or went hungry! I can still remember one day every month it was fish with lentils. I don't like fish so always traded it for everyone else's lentils as they didn't like those. Otherwise if you didn't like the main you survived until 4.30pm with just your cucumber salad and plain yogurt. Not having a choice of mains was not a great experience for lots of children so in some ways I'd rather have some more child friendly options to ensure that the children eat. But the menu you've posted isn't great. It could easily have a few small changes to make it more healthy and would benefit from some more fresh vegetables.

Very carb and sugar heavy, even if made from scratch.

I can see both sides. My son went to a French creche for 1 year and at lunch they were served a 4 course meal, including a cheese course,at no extra cost (and childcare was highly subsidised). The menus always sounded delicious and it was essentially an adult menu with the textures modified for babies and toddlers.
Now my son is in a UK nursery, the menu is very much like OPs and I was very shocked at the contrast. However, the food culture is very different here, and since these are foods most kids are familiar with I do think it's better to ensure most kids are eating one hot meal a day. Serve a French style menu and a lot of kids would go hungry and a lot of family are relying on these school meals.
I would have thought there could have been some middle ground though.

I just want to post this- not with any attack or defensivelness in mind, but just to give my own perspective to the 'fussy' easters should not be tolerated' idea.

I have a child with sensory issues and this also relates to food. He has a limited diet and a limited palate. I am slowly expanding it out with the support of a dietician.

I was the parent who thought fussy eating was a bit of a nonsense. Until mine turned up. I am a great cook. I have written a food blog since before my child was born. I also developed a special interest in optimal ways of feeding children and was absolutely obsessed with books on feeding children and developing their tastes and have spent hours and hours researching school dinners in France (as well as other places) and how different cultures approach feeding children.

All the theory has been great- until I was faced with a child who vomits back up anything he cannot tolerate. Who literally would see himself starve rather than eat something he cannot cope with. So I feed him what I can and supplement as much as possible and gradually introduce foods as carefully and as sensitively as I can. Last week he ate 3 peas. Without vomiting. He's 13.

It is easy to say that fussy eaters and made, not born and that the Brisih approach to feeding children is flawed (it IS flawed, in my opinion). But there are loads of parents out there who agonise over their child's diet.

His school does the most glorious school lunches. I have volunteered at the school a couple of times the past few months for various reasons and have eaten there. I know for a fact that the food is brilliant. We are so so lucky. But DS won't eat it. He eats a packet of crisps and some water. Every single day. He told me the other day he quite liked the school's lemon drizzle cake and I got very excited indeed about that. Lemons! There must be some juice in there somewhere surely??!!

I just see the approach so often on MN; 'Well I would not tolerate fussy eating' said by someone who may not ever had to deal with a very real food issue. With the subtext that parents who are suffering with fussiness are clearly inferior sort of parents. It's not the case. And one of the things i adore about MN is that it gives me exposure to opinions and views different from mine.

Which is why i have posted my view on this issue.

That said- the menu posted by the OP does not fill me with joy- particularly if the school calls itself a healthy school. I suppoose it would depend how the food is made.... fresh pizza base with fresh tomato passta is one thing. Perhaps.

That looks full of junk to me. The macaroni cheese is the only dish that would get a pass from me.

Oh and OP, I agree that it doesn't look like a healthy balanced menu.

I forgive the deserts because I'm pretty sure they're really low in fat and sugar. I remember being excited when chocolate cake was on the menu but it was really a brown sponge with some brown liquid. It sounded like a treat but tasted like nothing 🤣

But I have to say, of all the countries I’ve been to, Britain is the only one to so easily acquiesce to children not wanting to eat this and that. Or feed children some beige food at 5pm and cook real dinner for the adults only at 8pm.

I've never understood it either. I was the fussiest child in the world and would have genuinely been devastated if forced to eat anything that wasn't beige. I've been vegetarian since I was 7.

I looked after some very young children in France and was surprised at how readily they ate everything. Raw veg, fish, strong cheese. I used to love going through their school menu and seeing what they were being fed there. One that stuck out was Jerusalem artichoke soup (because I had to translate it). There was also a salad des gesiers which translated to chicken gizzards (some sort of internal organ i didn't look too closely at the time!).

I agree but I think the desserts not being fruit and yoghurt might be an attempt to serve something hot perhaps for the kids who will have their school lunch as their only hot meal of the day. As someone who still loves banana and custard and rice pudding though, they could definitely make it a bit healthier than what they have on offer, at least in the sense that they have dairy/calcium/fruit in them as a minimum. I know custard and rice pudding are hardly health foods but I’d rather my kids have those than a more processed cupcake or something.

That's a bit rubbish.

Like a pp said upthread, It used to irritate me no end when my DS1's lunchbox had his packet of crisps confiscated once yet they were selling crisps in the dining room AND served mass produced jam roly poly with that fake cream for pudding to those having school dinners.

Ham Roll with pizza Slice 🤔

No it's not very healthy, nor very varied.

Yeah it's crappy

I think it depends. On the face of it I’d say it’s unhealthy but I could easily make healthy versions of the menu.

Pizza for example if homemade can be done healthy as can the burgers.

Ham roll with pizza slice? Sounds more like one of those "movie night meal deals" in Asda, not healthy menu in school.

I believe you, and ofc there are children with legitimate food aversions.

But I have to say, of all the countries I’ve been to, Britain is the only one to so easily acquiesce to children not wanting to eat this and that. Or feed children some beige food at 5pm and cook real dinner for the adults only at 8pm.

It appears to be cultural and fully embedded by the adults…

I think it depends a lot on what is actually served. Pizza made on the premises from quality ingredients is a world away from a frozen UPF version, etc. But it doesn't sound very healthy and the fact they're making no effort with how they're describing it maybe suggests the food itself is low quality (I was struck by pp posting her child's menu and how many of the things on there are basically the same but sound as if more effort is being made).

The puddings don't sound great.

It’s bland food catered on a low budget and as safe options. As a former school governor I learned it’s always a balance between following healthy eating guidelines and actually wanting children to be fed; and ultimately, having a nice menu for outside observers to coo at was pointless when most of the food was being scraped into the bin. Overall it’s better that kids, particularly those who rely on school dinners, eat pizza or fish fingers than nothing at all.

If you know your DD isn’t fussy and will eat a broader diet then I’d just send her with a packed lunch.

It's not great. The sandwich with a size of pizza is just weird. Our school isn't great but it's not that bad. I never understand the puddings, I always think it should be fruit or yoghurt.

Doesn't look great, but it depends a bit on the way it's made and size of portions. Eg a frozen pizza is much less healthy than one made from scratch, cakes can be made in healthier ways and smaller portions etc

Any way you can ask school for pictures of the food? Can you ask if it meets guidelines on salt, sugar, fresh fruit and veg etc?

DD's school is a state primary, but has a chef who grows veg and herbs, makes food from scratch, gets kids involved, does special menu items for religious festivals etc. I don't know how the budget works but it is possible.

No - I wouldn't have fed that to my DC

Day one of this menu is all about the cheese? Fat galore (and dairy but that's my personal issue as a vegan)
Day two - pizza?

However I grew up in the 70s and school dinners were all made in school - and we had no options - it was the same for all. Homemade pie, with mash and lots of vegetables. Followed by a stodgy pudding and custard. No one went hungry.

It's full of rubbish! All the desserts need to go, except fruit or plain yogurts and the rest is full of UPF. Yuck!

Here’s a comparison to what my dc get. Yours sounds less healthy than what mine get

No it isn't. My dcs school isn't great either.