School Lunch Drink Options - Parent Survey

We asked parents for their views on a range of lunchtime drink options for primary schools.

1,043 responses were received from parents:

• 97% said they would like plain water to be available
• 94% said they would like semi-skimmed milk to be available
• 48% said they would like naturally flavoured milk drinks to be available
• 58% said they would like fruit juice mixed with water to be available

Comments received included:

* Some parents were concerned about tooth decay if drinks other than milk and water were on offer

* Other parents were worried that there would not be enough choice for children if drinks were limited to milk and water.

We have listened to the feedback received and also considered advice from the British Dental Health Foundation. Based on this, we have decided to make the following changes:

1. We have introduced a second water and milk only day onto the weekly menu - Mondays and Wednesdays will now be water and milk only days - this should help encourage children to drink more water / milk
2. We have introduced a sugar free naturally flavoured milk drink for Thursday lunchtimes. This will add more variety to the menu, particularly for children who would not usually choose milk. If such drinks are consumed along with a meal any risk of tooth decay is significantly reduced.