The Independent National Database of Information on Catering Excellence in Schools (INDICATES) aims to provide a framework of understanding for the provision of school meals in this country.

The quality of school meals is generally inadequate given the important role they could/should be playing in the lives of young people today. The new Nutrition Standards provide an opportunity to change this situation for the better, although limitations imposed by current budgetary constraints make this a greater challenge.

The National Database for Schools Catering can play a significant part in this process of change by facilitating easy access and communication of relevant information.

Much of the information to be included within the INDICATES database already exists in one form or another, although it is not easily available in one place. Additional information will be collected in order to make the database results more comprehensive and accessible.

The raw database will remain secure and confidential at all times. Only results and text based data will be publicly accessible, via this website.

Access up to date information (with links to other sites) on the following aspects of school meal provision.

Best in Class	To Access the information follow the links. Click on the particular area to the left that interests you.
School Meals Policy
Catering Provision
Good Health Initiatives
Examples of Good Practice

To learn more about the Database and its background, CLICK HERE!

The Topics to be included in the INDICATES database are outlined in the following sections.

New National Initiatives, Guidance, Regulations · Regulations     Nutrition Standards for School Lunches     Delegation     Duty to Provide · Best practice guidance · Initiatives     Healthy Schools Standard · Implications	Roles and responsibilities of key players · Government · LEAs · Health promotion/ Dietetics · Caterers · Schools · Pupils · Parents Health	Suppliers of food and refreshments for schools · What is supplied by whom · Standards · Cool Milk and other schemes · Tuck shops · Local suppliers (FLAIR initiatives) Health Health Health
Who are the Caterers? · What services are provided · Which LEAs have previously not run a      paid meals contract      What steps are those LEAs taking to       now provide      Examples/ case studies Health Education trust	Free School Meals · Eligibility · Non uptake · Relative costs      Issues surrounding the fact that there is       currently no minimum value set · Child Poverty Action Group(CPAG) data Health education trust	Children's Eating Behaviours · Links to authoritative sources of information on    children's eating behaviours · Literature review- what the scientific literature has    reported on the changing influence of school     meals on children's nutritional status · Data on advertising (Food Commission and     others)
Examples of Good Practice · Beacon schools · Healthy schools standards · Fruit and veg programmes      SUSTAIN- Grab 5      Scottish Community Diet Projects      Bangor project      Retailer projects · Extra funding opportunities- who, what, when,    how? Health Monitoring and evaluation · Expectation from Nutrition Standards · What procedures have been put in place at    local, regional, and national levels?	School Meals Statistics · General take up of school meals around the    country - with historic perspective and    predictive trends for future (with source)? · Packed lunches · Home lunches · Costs/ Pricing       What caterers can provide to achieve       minimum school standards and actual cost;       how does this compare with pricing policies       for free school meals? · Menus · Breakfast provision · Vending      Primary school tuck shops/vending      Secondary vending	Framework of a Whole School Food Policy · What is it? (SNAG) · Why important? · Differences across the country      Register of SNAG initiatives/groups Resources Section · Cross refer to other sources of relevant     information · Literature references · Further reading · Web links education Nutrition