F.E.D. FOUNDATION
The Children’s Foundation for
Food Education & Development
School Food Standards Consultation 2026
The Feeding Trust Position Statement
The Feeding Trust (transitioning to The Children’s F.E.D. Foundation) has published its formal response to the UK Government’s 2026 School Food Standards consultation.
The proposed reforms represent the most significant update to school food policy in over a decade, including strengthened nutritional standards and expanded free school meal provision. The direction of travel is welcomed.
However, the current proposals do not fully address the needs of children who experience feeding and eating differences.
A missing dimension: access
For many children, improved food standards will lead to better health outcomes. For others, particularly those with SEND, feeding difficulties, or sensory and medical complexities, access to food cannot be assumed.
Eating is a developmental process involving feeding skills, sensory processing, regulation, and social participation. Where these processes have not followed a typical developmental trajectory, the presence of nutritionally balanced food does not ensure that it can be consumed safely or successfully.
The Feeding Trust’s position
The position statement supports the ambition of the reforms while calling for four additions:
Explicit recognition of feeding difficulties within the Standards
Clear implementation guidance on “reasonable adjustments”
Accountability for adaptive provision within the compliance framework
Alignment with SEND policy and reform
These additions are intended to ensure that improvements in food quality are matched by improvements in access, inclusion, and developmental support.
Supporting implementation
The organisation is offering its Eating as Learning Curriculum as a developmentally informed framework to support schools in implementing the Standards in a way that reflects the needs of all learners.
Read the full position statement here:
