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Free guide for school & trust leaders

School food is no longer just a catering decision.

The School Lunches Playbook is a practical guide to safe, compliant and confident school food provision — built for the people accountable for getting it right.

Head Teachers
Trust Leaders
Catering Managers
Govenors
Operations Leads
Get the Free Playbook
Free download. No catering background required.
See what's inside
36-page guide
Get instant access
Enter your details for instant access to the playbook.
Covers allergen management, PPDS labelling and multi-academy consistency.
36
pages of practical, leadership-focused guidance
5
roles covered, from Governors to Catering Managers
£0
free to download, ready to share with your team
Why this matters now

School food has become a leadership issue

School meals now sit at the intersection of education, health and equality — and the margin for error has never been smaller. Parents are more informed. Regulators expect demonstrable oversight, not informal best practice.

Most schools don't fall short because of bad intent. They fall short because responsibility is assumed rather than defined, information is scattered across emails and folders, and oversight depends on individuals instead of systems.
What's driving the scrutiny
Cost of living pressures and tightening budgets
Free School Meal eligibility and uptake
Allergies and medical conditions
Food safety and labelling law (including PPDS)
Trust-level consistency across multiple sites
Free School Meal eligibility and uptake
Parent confidence and complaints
Governance bodies and regulators expect clarity, consistency and demonstrable oversight — particularly where risk is increasing. This playbook condenses that complexity into one clear, practical resource.
What's inside

What you'll learn

Across 36 pages, the playbook breaks down exactly where responsibility sits, where things go wrong, and what "good" looks like in practice.

Who's accountable
From governors to caterers — and where responsibility most commonly breaks down.
School Food Standards
What every menu must include, what's restricted, and how compliance is judged over a cycle.
Allergen management
The 14 regulated allergens, cross-contamination control, and why verbal information isn't enough.
PPDS & Natasha's Law
One of the most misunderstood compliance areas — explained for grab-and-go and breakfast clubs.
Safeguarding through food
Why allergies and medical diets are a safeguarding responsibility, not just a dietary one.
Funding under pressure
Protecting standards when budgets and uptake are under strain.
Multi-academy consistency
Why variation between schools is the single biggest risk at trust scale.
A benchmark for "good"
What structured, confident, inspection-ready provision actually looks like.
Who it's for

Built for every role in school food

Head Teachers & Principals

Support allergen and dietary accuracy across patients, residents, wards and sites.

Trust Leaders & Directors

Safer menus for students with allergies, intolerances and dietary requirements.

Catering Managers

Keep allergen information consistent across events, venues and client menus.

Governors & Trustees

Update recipes, menus and labels with allergen information for staff and customers.

Operations & Compliance

Update recipes, menus and labels with allergen information for staff and customers.

Why we create this playbook

Built on what we see in schools every day

Kafoodle works with schools, multi-academy trusts and contract caterers every day, helping them manage ingredients, allergens, menus and compliance from one connected system. This playbook draws on that experience — and the statutory guidance it's built to help schools meet — to give leaders a clear, practical reference.

36-page guide
School Lunches Playbook
Get instant access
Enter your details below and we'll send you instant access to the playbook — plus a link you can share with colleagues.
After you download

What you'll receive

Connected data. Fewer updates. Complete confidence.
One change updates everything.

1

Instant access

An email with your link to view, download and share the playbook — straight away.

2

A short follow-up series

A few emails over the following days, each going deeper on one theme — allergens, PPDS, trust-wide consistency.

3

Share with your team

Forward the playbook to governors, colleagues or your wider catering team — no extra sign-up needed.

Questions

Frequently asked

Is this playbook a substitute for official DfE guidance?
Who is this guide for?
Is it really free?
Can I share it with my team?