Programme

The programme and features at the Main Event will address the disparities in school meals funding across the nations and explore strategies to ensure that all children and young people receive the very best school food to support their growth and learning.

It has never been more important to establish common ground and a collective voice on the importance of school food and the growing pressures operators are facing to provide this vital service.

The ever-popular LACA Live returns with cookery demonstrations taking place in Hall 1 on Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th July.
View LACA Live Programme

Our informative Workshop Sessions will run on Tuesday morning with practical, interactive sessions.
View the Workshop Programme

Main Event Delegate Programme

The programme below outlines the closed sessions which are only accessible for delegates.

Tuesday 8 July 2025

9.30	School Food Show exhibition opens - Hall 1 and 2
10.30	Workshop Sessions, Arden Suite
10.30	Workshop 1: Allergen School update and case studies. Jan Parnell The NARF Allergen School Programme was launched in 2024. This session will look at its work to date with some examples of schools that are developing programmes using the resources that have been made available.
11.00	Workshop 2: UPFs - Stephen Forster
11.30	Workshop 3: LACA Ask the Experts - Michael Hales, LACA National Vice Chair; Anita Brown, LACA Immediate Past Chair; Bryan Lygate, LACA Board member The annual Q&A where LACA experts will answer questions and concerns posed members and Main Event visitors.
12.00-14.30	Lunch & exhibition viewing Halls 1 & 2 LACA Live - Hall 1
12.15	LACA Live, Hall 1: Partner demo - Quorn
13.15	LACA Live, Hall 1: Savvy with store cupboard ingredients - Zoe Gill and Cathy Amos, Brakes Over 20 years’ experience as a development chef, and a lifetime as a chef she is passionate about supporting school caterers. With tight budgets and the many diverse dietary needs of children Zoe has focused on using products found in the store cupboard to reduce waste and looking at ingredients with the cleaner decks.
14.00	LACA Main Event sessions begin - Kings Suite Forum chair, Michael Hales Introduction to Main Event 2025 including the Year in Focus
14.15	Chair's welcome Judith Gregory, LACA National Chair, including updates on breakfast trials
14.40	Four Nations – State of the Nation Anita Brown, LACA Immediate Past Chair Judith Gregory, LACA National Chair Nicky Joiner, Chair, ASSIST FM Colm Bradley, Education Authority (Northern Ireland) The challenge of providing an exceptional school food service across the UK is ever present, however, that challenge can vary from nation to nation and even sometimes within a nation. The Four Nations panel will highlight what differs across the UK but also what individual nations are doing to improve the service and deal with the difficulties they encounter.
15.40	Managing Scope 1 & 2 emissions and saving schools £millions - Dr Sam Mudie Improved monitoring, working practice and equipment can save schools millions of £’s every year but it will also reduce energy consumption and carbon production to make the service more sustainable. Dr Sam Mudie will explain how and what school caterers need to do to achieve these results.
16.10	Keynote session - Why calories don't count - Professor Giles Yeo Giles is a Professor at the University of Cambridge and has appeared on many TV programmes related to food and the importance of diet. His book ‘Why Calories Don’t Count’ explains what really matters is how your body digests and absorbs your food not how many calories it contains. He will explore this further in the context of school food, but also look at genetics and UPF’s and their impact on obesity and a healthy diet.
17.00	Forum day one closes
19.30	LACA informal icebreaker evening, Kings Suite

Wednesday 9 July 2025

8.30	LACA Forum delegate registration opens - hotel and hall 2 foyers LACA School Food Show - exhibition opens, hall 1 and hall 2
9.30	Forum day two opens Forum chair, Michael Hales Welcome and LACA Year in Focus 2025
9.45	National Governance Association (NGA) – monitoring a whole-school approach to food Ella Colley from the NGA will explain how the organisation helps governors and trustees to learn about: The governing board's role in monitoring school food provision The impact of school food on pupils' learning, health and wellbeing Building a positive and inclusive school food culture Ensuring compliance with the school food standards
10.15	How the UK school food service fairs in a good food revolution and in a global school food context - Professor Don Bundy and Professor Kevin Morgan The ‘Professors’ will share their thoughts, research and experiences of school food in a UK and global context. Drawing out the challenges the UK faces and what we can learn from the services that are delivered locally and around the world.
11.00	ParentPay Research 2025 & the LACA Survey Updates - Speaker tbc, ParentPay and Judith Gregory, LACA National Chair The annual survey of parental views on the school food service is now a vital benchmarking process for LACA. Parentpay will share the results and Judith Gregory will give an update on the LACA Cost of Living research.
11.25	Mental health – spotting the signs and supporting your colleagues - Charlie Hodson, Hospitality Action Depression and work pressures drove Charlie to attemp suicide. Now an HA Patron Charlie will talk about his journey and how to spot the signs in your colleagues who are suffering and need support.
12.00	Lunch and exhibition viewing including LACA Live in Hall 1 LACA Live - Hall 1
12.00	LACA Live - Hall 1: LACA Grab 'N' Go Winner sponsored by SchoolGrid Now in its third year, the winner of the 2025 Grab & Go competition will be announced on Tuesday 8^th July and will demonstrate their winning dish on the LACA Live theatre on Wednesday 9th July.
12.45	LACA Live - Hall 1: TBC
13.45	LACA Live - Hall 1: Eva Humphries – Whole Food Warrior Exploring venison with nutritionist Eva Humphries Venison is a sustainable and exceptionally nourishing meat protein that as a nation we should be eating more of. Join nutritionist Eva Humphries for a cookery demonstration focused on using venison in an affordable, tasty and nourishing manner.
14.30	Main Event resumes resume - Kings Suite
14.30	The value and challenges of local sourcing The government want the public sector to buy 50% of all its food from UK/local sources. The funding challenge makes this an increasingly difficult ask of operators when the focus has to be to get nutritious food on the plate. A panel will discuss the benefits of sourcing in the UK, the challenges and the options: Myles Bremner Bethan Cowell – NFU Cathy Amos – Love British Food Katie Palmer, Foodsense Wales
15.20	Resilience and coping with Change - Victoria Humphries Part of the first all female team to walk to the North Pole, Victoria will use her experiences in the Arctic and in business to highlight strategies to manage change and be resilient in the face of adversity.
15.50	Keynote - Future food trends - Dr Morgaine Gaye As a Food Futurologist, Morgaine is passionate about what she does because food affects us all - what we eat and what we buy. Food is a complex topic which uses all indicators as a lens through which to see what’s to come. It involves society, behaviour, geo-politics, culture, belief, history, trends, fads, art, marketing, sensorial perceptions, biology and, in fact, almost everything!
16.35	Finishing Touches 2025 Presentation of Finishing Touches Best in Show winner followed by Chair’s handover and conference close.
16.45	Forum day two closes; exhibition ends
19.00	Drinks Reception, Pavillion Suite
19.30	LACA Awards for Excellence Dinner, Kings Suite