The school works with the charity Chefs in Schools, which supports schools to embed a whole school approach to food, with professional chefs cooking fresh meals from scratch.
Head chef Jacob Taylor said: “Seeing our pupils enjoy fresh, scratch-cooked meals every day is incredibly rewarding. At Woodmansterne, we don’t just feed children, we aim to inspire them, showing that school food can be exciting, nutritious and a central part of school life.”
During the visit, Bailey toured the school kitchen, speaking with chefs about menu development, ingredient sourcing and the practical challenges of delivering nutritious meals within tight school budgets. The kitchen team also discussed how they adapt dishes to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, ensuring every child can access nutritious meals.
Speaking after the visit, Bailey added: “This Government has a clear mission to give every child the best start in life and create the healthiest generation of children in our history.
“It was brilliant to see the impact of the work happening at Woodmansterne with Chefs in Schools to serve healthy meals while inspiring children to take an interest in food and nutrition. We have a vision to see this best practice across the board, which is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs and will be updating our school food standards to deliver high quality, healthy food in every school.”
Founded in 2018, Chefs in Schools supports schools across England and Wales with hands-on kitchen training and whole-school food culture programmes designed to help chefs serve nutritious meals children genuinely enjoy.