Criteria and guidance

How to achieve the Silver and Gold awards. Download the full list of award criteria and guidance – including examples of schools who are already transforming their food culture.

Silver award

Food leadership and school food culture

• Our governors have signed off a school food policy with a timetable for action.
• We give lunchtime a clear priority in our school day, and timetabling clashes are avoided.
• We ensure take up of school meals by pupils registered for free school meals is 90% or higher, and we are taking action to raise general school meal take up.
• We have made sure that key teachers or others have skills needed to lead gardening and cooking activities and ensure basic food hygiene.
• We work with parents to discourage unhealthy snacks or lunch box contents.
• We invite parents and/or community groups into our school to eat with our pupils.
• We don’t use flight trays.

Food quality and provenance (delivered in partnership with our caterer)

• We include a range of locally sourced items on our menu.
• We include a range of certified organic or MSC-certified items on our menu.
• We use poultry, eggs and pork that are produced in line with standards set for the Freedom Food scheme as a welfare minimum or we make sure that at least 10% of our ingredients are from a certified organic source, including organic animal products, and we will reduce the amount of poultry and pork we serve.
• We don’t serve fish that is on the Marine Conservation Society ‘Fish to Avoid’ list.
• We display information about the origins of the fresh produce we use.
• We make sure that at least one product on our menu or in vending machines meets Fairtrade standards.

Food education

• We have established a cooking club and our pupils are cooking with seasonal, local and organic ingredients.
• We ensure pupils in our garden group and/or a class are growing fruit, vegetables and herbs organically.
• We have produce from our school garden available at least once a term for pupils to eat or cook with.
• Our pupils explore the ethical and environmental issues around food choices and this is linked to changes in our school meals.
• One or more of our year groups keep in touch with a local farm throughout the year.
• We organise at least one annual visit to or from small local food businesses.

Community and partnerships

• We hold events to involve parents and/or the wider community in growing and cooking activities.
• We actively encourage our pupils and their parents to grow and cook their own produce at home.
• Our pupils share Food for Life Partnership learning with local schools, the wider community and other partners.