PACKED lunches should be banned from schools, a Government-commissioned report into nutrition says.

The report, drawn up for the Department for Education by the founders of the restaurant chain Leon, found that school dinners have improved significantly since celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's high-profile campaign against unhealthy meals like the Turkey Twizzler.

But the report says take-up of school dinners is low at 43 per cent with children eating packed lunches instead.

It says only one per cent of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards of school food with many containing unhealthy options such as crisps, sweets and chocolate.

Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby said that head teachers agreed that eating good food not only improved children's health but also their performance in class.

But he said: ''More than a half of our children bring packed lunches into school and two-thirds of those have crisps in them and two-thirds have confectionery in them.

''The best schools - the schools that have good food - find ways of making packed lunch the less exciting option. Some of them ban packed lunch altogether.''

Encouraging more children to eat in the canteen would have the knock-on effect of making it easier and cheaper to produce nutritious food, he said.

''Canteens are a bit like a restaurant - if you're half empty, you're losing money", said Mr Dimbleby. ''The more children you have in, the better food you can serve at a cheaper price.

''We did a survey of 400 headteachers. Over 90 per cent believe strongly that food has a direct effect on academic achievement and behaviour.''

What do you think? Do you give your children packed lunches? What would you think if they were banned? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

 

@Bournemouthecho I think my wholemeal bread sausage sandwich and 2 pieces of fruit is better than this? and its £2.40 pic.twitter.com/igcAC0rDuG

— Lisa Moro (@lisanova) July 12, 2013