Concerns raised that standard portion sizes of free school meals are leaving children hungry

Alec Doyle, local democracy reporter

Concerns have been raised that standard portion sizes for free school meals are leaving older primary school children hungry.

Flintshire councillor Linda Thew told the authority’s Education, Youth and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday that she was ‘alarmed’ about portion sizes for free school meals in Wales after hearing claims they are the same from reception up to juniors.

But the managing director of Flintshire’s school meals provider NEWydd assured concerned councillors that portion sizes in primary schools do vary by age.

He also explained that NEWydd is not permitted to give pupils more than the Welsh Government specifies – although where extra food is available pupils are allowed to request seconds.

Presentation

The matter was first raised during a presentation by NEWydd in November. Buckley Bistre West councillor Carolyn Preece took the matter up with Steve Jones, managing director of NEWydd after receiving reports that school meal portion sizes remained the same for pupils right through primary school.

“I’ve had an awful lot of feedback from governing bodies, parents and pupils that there should be a difference in portion size from reception through to juniors,” she said.

The Welsh Government is set to launch a consultation into school meals in April and Cllr Thew was keen for Flintshire to make its voice heard on the issue.

“An issue that alarms me regards the portion size of food offered to primary pupils,” she said. “I have heard complaints from young people about feeling hungry, there clearly seems to be an issue over portion sizes.

“Food for the child is so important for learning and I really think it should be reviewed and would urge that that is included in the forward work programme as a matter of urgency.”

Nutritional value

Universal Primary Free School Meal (UPFSM) portion size standards are set by the Welsh Government within a range for each food group. School meal providers are able to offer different sized portions to older children so long as their portions do not exceed the range and meet the required nutritional value.

But concerns remain that these prescribed amounts of food are too small to fuel children through to the end of the school day.

Mr Jones explained that NEWydd is not permitted to exceed the portion sizes prescribed by the Welsh Government.

However he confirmed he had been liaising with them over areas of improvement ahead of the consultation in April on Wales’ Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) Regulations.

‘I support the review of portion sizes as part of the consultation,” he said. “We are also working to reduce food waste in schools so we need to ensure that we do not serve too large a portion to very young pupils.

“Catering providers do have a small variance in portion sizes that we operate under for most items. For example a portion size for cooked vegetables can be between 56g and 70g. This is the same for portions of chicken or turkey, white fish and also bread.

“Using this scale we are likely to serve a 56g portion to the youngest pupils in the primary schools we serve in Flintshire and a 70g portion to the older pupils in our schools.

“Outside of this though we would be breaking the Welsh Government’s Statutory Guidance if we served more or less than these amounts. We do serve seconds to pupils who request these but only if these are available once all pupils have been served as we are not permitted to make extra food under the guidance.”

The Welsh Government consultation on school meals will open in April and any changes approved will be implemented in 2026.