Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect on the educational and social progress of a child being unable to pay for ingredients and equipment for food technology lessons.

Schools play a key role in educating all children about the importance and benefits of eating well and staying healthy. This is why we have strengthened the requirements on schools to teach children about food, nutrition and healthy eating and how to cook a repertoire of dishes from an early age. In the new national curriculum, learning about food is a key component for every child and food preparation and nutrition lessons are compulsory up to the age of 14. We expect schools to find ways to enable all pupils to participate in food preparation and nutrition lessons regardless of their socio-economic background.

Organisations such as the Design and Technology Association (DATA) have promoted the practice of procuring food preparation and nutrition ingredients as part of school catering buying as a means of ensuring all children are able to participate fully in food preparation and nutrition lessons.