How to win school catering contracts (UK)

UK school catering is a £2 billion-a-year market. Single-school contracts pay £80k to £200k. Multi-academy trust frameworks run £300k to £1.5m. County-council framework call-offs hit £4m+. Margins are tight and the work is steady. The contracts go to the suppliers who've learned how to bid them.

Bidding for school catering isn't the same as bidding for cleaning. Different vocabulary, different evaluation criteria, different TUPE risk. Here's the version that gets you to a submitted bid you can actually deliver.

• School catering buyers score on quality first, price second. Most awards run 60% quality, 40% price (PPN 002 mandatory social value lifts quality even further from 1 October 2025).
• Mandatory at SQ stage: Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rating 5, HACCP food safety system, Natasha's Law allergen labelling, Level 2/3 food safety training records.
• UIFSM (Universal Infant Free School Meals) covers Reception to Year 2 at a national rate. Above Year 2, paid meals at £2.40 to £2.80 (primary) and £2.80 to £3.50 (secondary) typical 2026 pricing.
• TUPE applies to almost every school catering re-tender. The incumbent's staff transfer with existing pay, pension and length of service. Get the ELI inside the 28-day window.
• Special diets capability matters. SEN schools need IDDSI texture-modified diets. Religious-school contracts ask for halal / kosher capability evidence. Allergen-safe cooking lines on every menu.
• Win rate compounds. The first three bids will probably lose. Use section 50 feedback under the Procurement Act 2023 and apply lessons to bid four.

What's in this guide¶

• What counts as a school catering contract
• What schools actually score on at SQ stage
• FHRS, HACCP, Natasha's Law, GBSF (the four-letter checklist)
• UIFSM and how to cost a school meal in 2026
• TUPE in school catering (the bit that sinks new bidders)
• Special diets: IDDSI, religious provision, allergen-safe lines
• Common SQ questions for school catering
• Pricing without going broke
• What to do when you lose your first bid

What counts as a school catering contract¶

Five buyer types. Each one buys catering slightly differently and asks slightly different evaluation questions.

• Local authority frameworks. County or unitary council buys catering for primary schools maintained by the LA. Single contract covers 30 to 200+ sites. £1m to £4m a year. Awarded as a framework with annual call-offs.
• Multi-academy trust (MAT) frameworks. The trust procures for all member academies. Smaller scale than LA but tighter margins. £300k to £1.5m a year. 4-year terms common.
• Single academy or independent school. One school, one contract. £80k to £200k a year. Direct procurement, often via the school business manager.
• Special educational needs (SEN) schools. Mandatory IDDSI texture-modified menus, dietitian-approved meal plans, named allergy protocols. Specialist contracts at £150k+.
• Boarding and 24-hour-care provision. Three meals a day plus snacks, often with weekend cover. Independent schools, residential SEN. £250k+ a year per site.

What schools actually score on at SQ stage¶

Most school catering Selection Questionnaires run on weighted scoring against a published award criteria matrix. Typical breakdown for 2026:

• Quality / method statement: 40 to 50%. Menu structure, allergen handling, special diets, food safety system, supervision, KPI reporting.
• Price: 30 to 40%. Per-meal cost, fixed-price guarantee duration, indexation clauses.
• Social value: 10 to 25%. Mandatory at 10% from 1 October 2025 under PPN 002. Many councils run 15-20% on catering.
• Sometimes innovation / sustainability: 5 to 10% on contracts asking for plant-based menu shift, food-waste reduction, local-supply commitments.

What separates 4/5 from 2/5 on quality is specificity. Not "we deliver high-quality meals." That scores 1. "Each menu cycle delivers 14 hot main options across 4 weeks, with 100% allergen-coded recipes against the 14 declared allergens, 30% plant-based, all certified to GBSF nutrition standards, with named sub-options for halal, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, and IDDSI Level 5/6/7 texture-modified diets where SEN provision is needed." That scores 5.

FHRS, HACCP, Natasha's Law, GBSF (the four-letter checklist)¶

Every school catering SQ asks about these four. Get them in your stored profile before you bid.

FHRS (Food Hygiene Rating Scheme)

Public Food Standards Agency rating from 0 to 5 based on local-authority Environmental Health inspection. Most school contracts ask for a minimum FHRS rating of 5 ("very good") on every kitchen you operate. The rating is checked against the FSA public register at food.gov.uk. Below 5, expect to be flagged at SQ stage.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)

Mandatory under retained EU Regulation 852/2004. Every catering operation needs a documented HACCP system identifying critical control points (cooking temperatures, cooling times, cross-contamination risks) with monitoring records. Schools want the procedure document, the monitoring forms, the corrective-action log, and evidence of annual review.

Natasha's Law (allergen labelling)

The Food Information Amendment Regulations 2019 require pre-packed-for-direct-sale items to be labelled with the 14 declared allergens. School catering needs to evidence: full allergen matrix per recipe, cross-contamination procedure, signed-off staff training, named allergen champion, and a customer-facing allergen-disclosure process for parents and pupils.

GBSF (Government Buying Standard for Food and Catering Services)

Cabinet Office guidance, mandatory on most central-government catering contracts and increasingly referenced by local authorities. Sets standards across nutrition (Eatwell Guide alignment, sugar/salt thresholds), sustainability (deforestation-free supply chains, MSC fish), animal welfare (Red Tractor minimum on meat), and waste reduction. Many SQs now ask whether your catering operation is GBSF-aligned ("none / partial / full").

UIFSM and how to cost a school meal in 2026¶

UIFSM (Universal Infant Free School Meals) covers all pupils in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 in state-funded schools in England. The funding rate is set annually by the Department for Education. For 2025-26 it's around £2.58 per meal, paid to the school which then pays the catering supplier. Expect a small uplift for 2026-27.

Build the per-meal cost from the ground up. National Living Wage in 2026 is £12.21. School catering pays NLW or slightly above (£12.50-£13.50) due to TUPE inheritance from existing council contracts.

1. Direct food cost (raw ingredients, plate cost). 30-40% of the meal price. Depends on menu mix and supply chain.
2. Direct labour. Staff time per meal served. 25-35%. NLW + holiday + NI + pension.
3. Equipment, consumables, cleaning chemicals. 5-8%.
4. Site overhead (if you provide management). 5-10%.
5. Central support (procurement, payroll, HR, training, software). 8-12%.
6. Profit margin. 4-8% is typical for school catering. Below 4%, you're undercutting yourself; above 10%, you're losing on price.

Realistic per-meal pricing in 2026: £2.40-£2.80 for primary (UIFSM-aligned), £2.80-£3.50 for secondary, £3.20-£4.00 for SEN with IDDSI provision. Boarding and 24-hour care priced separately, usually £8-£15 per day per pupil for three meals plus snacks.

TUPE in school catering (the bit that sinks new bidders)¶

TUPE applies to almost every school catering re-tender. When the contract changes hands, the incumbent's kitchen staff transfer to you on their existing terms. Pay rate, pension contributions, holiday balance, length of service.

• Demand the Employee Liability Information (ELI) from the incumbent or buyer at least 28 days before the transfer. Pay rates, pension status, disciplinary history, holiday balance, hours per week. Without it you're pricing blind.
• Inherited cost base often includes Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) admitted-body status. Defined-benefit pensions for transferred staff. Get the actuarial certificate before you price.
• ETO (Economic, Technical, Organisational) reasons for changing terms post-transfer must survive a tribunal. Most price-cuts won't.
• If the incumbent is paying £14.00 to staff who've been on site for 12 years, you pay £14.00 from day one. Don't promise £12.50 in your price submission.

Special diets: IDDSI, religious provision, allergen-safe¶

Schools with SEN provision, religious schools, and any school with a high-allergen pupil intake will weight special diets heavily. Three areas to evidence:

• IDDSI texture-modified diets. International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative. Levels 0-7 across drinks and foods. Critical on SEN contracts and any school with pupils requiring modified texture for swallowing safety. BAPEN dietary alignment is the corresponding adult / hospital framework.
• Religious provision. Halal certification (Halal Authority Board, Halal Food Authority). Kosher certification (London Beth Din). Vegetarian / vegan menu lines as standard. Faith-school contracts ask for menu rotation evidence and certified-supply chains.
• Allergen-safe cooking lines. Dedicated allergen-free prep areas, colour-coded equipment, named allergen champion, segregated cooking lines, full traceability from supplier to plate. Cross-contamination protocol signed off and audited.

Common SQ questions for school catering¶

Build a stock answer for each. Tweak per contract.

• How do you make sure FHRS rating 5 across all sites? Named EHO liaison, monthly internal audit cycle, quarterly external audit, corrective-action tracking.
• What's your HACCP system? Procedure document, monitoring records (cooking temp, cooling time, fridge temp twice daily), critical-control-point review annually, named HACCP-qualified manager.
• How do you handle the 14 allergens? Recipe-level allergen matrix, cross-contamination protocol, daily allergen check at service, allergen champion per site, customer-facing disclosure process.
• What's your training cadence? Level 2 Food Safety in Catering for handlers, Level 3 for supervisors, allergen training annually, HACCP awareness refresh annually. Records audit-ready.
• How do you handle special diets? Named dietitian or dietitian-approved menu, IDDSI capability for SEN, religious certification, halal/kosher menu lines, allergen-safe cooking lines.
• What menu structure do you use? Cycle length, variety per cycle, plant-based proportion, GBSF alignment, seasonal variation, pupil-feedback integration.
• How do you handle TUPE? Day-1 transfer plan, consultation meetings, ELI integration, pension-scheme continuity, named HR liaison.
• Social value? SMART local commitments. Local supply chain percentage, apprentice intake, work-experience placements, school-community engagement.

What to do when you lose your first bid¶

First three bids will probably lose. Use section 50 feedback under the Procurement Act 2023 and apply the lessons to bid four. Most school catering SMEs win their first contract on bid four to seven, usually a single-school or small academy trust before they win a county-council framework call-off.

If you want a faster route from notice to qualified shortlist, register on CleanTender and run a free fit check on the next live school catering tender that catches your eye. For the broader Procurement Act 2023 framework, our how to bid for a UK government contract guide covers the regime end to end. For pricing strategy that wins, our how to win cleaning contracts strategy guide applies the same qualify-before-you-write logic to soft FM more broadly.