The battle for our children’s diet will enter a new phase this week when Ruth Kelly, the education secretary, confirms a national shake-up in school meals. Out will go the hideous turkey twizzlers, chicken nuggets and other so-called “reformed” meats. Chips and ice cream will be rationed to no more than one or two helpings a week. In will come much more fresh fruit and vegetables. And to stop pupils selecting only the stuff that does them little good, cafeteria-style dining rooms will be replaced by set menus. From September next year, head teachers will be legally obliged to provide balanced diets for the children in their care.

The education secretary intends to go further. What is the point of having healthy school dinners if pupils can snack away to their heart’s content (but its long-term damage) on crisps, Mars bars and fizzy drinks? So Ms Kelly also intends to place a ban on vending machines peddling these products. It is a disgrace that these machines have been able to do so until now, and not justified by the fact that they have provided a profit for school funds. Vending machines will have to abide by the new nutritional standards and provide fruit, milk cartons and bottled water. The next task for head teachers, one suspects, will be to prevent pupils smuggling in junk food.

As we report in News Review today, the healthy eating revolution that Jamie Oliver forced through in schools in Greenwich, south London, is beginning to work, despite initial hiccups. The number of pupils eating the new-style dinners is up, if only by 3%. Gradually, healthier eating is becoming the norm. The challenge is to spread that across the country. If children were to prefer the better food and even persuade their parents to try it at home, the effect on the nation’s health could be dramatic. The government, having belatedly recognised the scandal of the 37p school meal, is putting more money in. All the evidence shows that children who eat healthily learn more and behave better in and out of school. The government’s task is to make sure it follows through.