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Public Health England’s Sugar Reduction Progress report requires school caters to reduce the level of sugar by 20% as part of a the wider government programme  ‘Childhood obesity: A plan for Action’.

Richard Taylor, managing director at Chartwells said: “We take our responsibility as a food provider to children extremely seriously.

“Childhood obesity is on the increase; therefore reducing sugars in our lunchtime menus is a positive step to making a difference.

“Education about healthy eating is important too, which is why we launched Beyond the Chartwells Kitchen, which helps young people, teachers and communities tackle issues like childhood obesity, mental health and lack of exercise.”

Chartwells has achieved its target across each of its 1,700 primary schools through the introduction of new meal options in addition to re-formulation and re-engineering of school dessert menus.

It has said that the sugar reduction work will be ‘ongoing priority’ and going forward, every new menu cycle will ensure that sugar levels are ‘stabilised’.

The chefs and nutrition team will also work on identifying where sugar can be reduced further within recipes.  

Meg Longworth, head of nutrition at Chartwells added: “It’s amazing to see such brilliant results from the Chartwells team and well ahead of the PHE’s 2020 deadline.

“This is testament to the ambitious commitment that Chartwells have made with local authority public health teams to deliver nutrition and food education in schools every day and our commitment to local campaigns and initiatives such as Sugar Smart and holiday provision programmes.”