The Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Maintained Primary Schools) (Wales) Regulations 2025 / Rheoliadau Bwyta’n Iach mewn Ysgolion (Gofynion a Safonau Maeth) (Ysgolion Cynradd a Gynhelir) (Cymru) 2025

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations apply to local authorities and governing bodies that provide food and drink on a school day to registered pupils at maintained primary schools, whether the food and drink is provided on school premises or not. For the purposes of these Regulations, “ maintained primary school ” means a maintained school that provides primary education (whether or not it also provides other kinds of education). “ Maintained school ” means a community, foundation or voluntary school, a community special school or a pupil referral unit in Wales or a maintained nursery school as defined in regulation 2(1). Where a maintained primary school also provides secondary education, these Regulations will apply only to food and drink provided to registered pupils in year 6 and below.

These Regulations set out the types of food and drink that must and must not be provided and the frequency with which certain foods must or must not be provided. They also prescribe the energy and nutrient content of average school lunches.

Regulation 2(2) and (3) sets out the circumstances in which these Regulations will not apply.

Regulation 3 requires a local authority or governing body of a maintained primary school to ensure that the requirements in Schedule 2 are complied with where it provides school breakfast to registered pupils.

Regulation 4 requires a local authority or governing body of a maintained primary school to ensure that the requirements in Schedule 3 and the nutritional standards in Schedule 5 are complied with when providing school lunches to registered pupils. The nutritional standards in Schedule 5 do not apply to a school lunch provided to mark any religious or cultural occasion. As some of the requirements in Schedule 3 refer to the frequency with which certain foods must or must not be provided by reference to a week, regulation 4(4) provides that certain requirements do not apply where the school is open for less than a week.

Regulation 5 requires a local authority or governing body of a maintained primary school to ensure that the requirements in Schedule 4 are complied with where it provides food or drink before 6pm on a school day to registered pupils other than as part of a school breakfast or a school lunch.

Regulation 6 and Schedule 6 make consequential amendments to the Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2013 (“ the 2013 Regulations ”) so that the 2013 Regulations only apply to maintained secondary schools from the 31 October 2026. They also make other minor amendments to the 2013 Regulations.

Schedule 1 defines a specified meat product.

Schedule 2 prescribes requirements relating to food and drink provided as a school breakfast.

Schedule 3 prescribes requirements relating to food and drink provided as part of a school lunch.

Schedule 4 prescribes requirements relating to food and drink provided before 6pm on a school day otherwise than as part of a school breakfast or a school lunch.

Schedule 5 prescribes the energy standard that applies to the average daily school lunch and the energy and nutrient standards that apply to the average school lunch in a menu cycle. There are different energy and nutrient standards that apply to the average school lunch provided to an infant pupil and the average school lunch provided to a junior pupil. “ Infant pupil ” and “ junior pupil ” are defined in regulation 2(1). The energy and nutrients provided in supplementary bread and in a school lunch consisting of food and drink that is estimated to be served to less than 1% of registered pupils served with a school lunch at a maintained primary school or a group of schools (as defined in Schedule 5) are excluded from the calculations required by Schedule 5.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ and is published on www.gov.wales .