PARENTS must take responsibility for making sure their children eat healthy food, school inspectors said today.

Many secondary schools have poor canteen facilities that resemble "fast food" outlets while some food cooked off-site is "lukewarm" when served to children, Ofsted said.

Publishing a series of reports on school food, the watchdog warned that short lunch breaks meant some pupils did not have time to eat their meals properly.

But a key concern was how parents' attitudes can undermine the healthy eating message pupils learn in class.

Ofsted highlighted one case where a girl in Year 9 feared her father would brand the healthy stir-fry she had cooked at school "rubbish" that should be "given to the dog".

Chief inspector of schools, Maurice Smith said: "It is important that parents reinforce the efforts made by teachers and lunch-time staff and ensure their children eat healthily."

Ofsted found only 13% of parents thought the quality of food served in England's schools was good or better.

However, the Ofsted report, Healthy Eating in Schools, said: "No matter what a school offers through breakfast clubs, snacks and lunches, the significant majority of children's food and nutrient intake comes from home.

"Parents have the foremost responsibility to monitor their children's diet and weight and influence their eating habits and lifestyles.

"Parents also control the amount of money a child has to spend, and have a responsibility to influence the choices their children make."

The watchdog's research also criticised the quality of canteens and kitchen facilities in some of England's schools.

The standard of meals had improved in "a minority" of schools, Ofsted said.

Several factors dragged the quality of meals and "the dining experience" down.

:: Many primary schools had no on-site kitchen facilities which meant cooked meals could be "lukewarm when served and appeared less than appetising";

:: Secondary schools had "variable" dining accommodation, which was, at times, "poor".

"A minority of schools had such short lunch breaks that pupils and staff had too little time to eat their food in pleasant surroundings," Ofsted said.

"As a result, they lost the social benefits of eating together.

"In extreme cases, pupils bought their meals from the dining area, but had to eat them, including some hot meals, elsewhere."

The report continued: "For a variety of reasons, including a lack of seating space, school meals were provided under conditions similar to commercial `fast food' outlets, with insufficient adult supervision.

"As a result, students did not always have the chance to develop their social and personal skills further or to make healthier eating choices."

The best schools limited the availability of unhealthy food like chips, monitored lunch boxes and had consistent healthy eating policies throughout the school day.

Food technology classes were too often dominated by "boring" theory with pupils spending little time learning to cook, Ofsted said.

When they did get to try cookery, exercises were often limited to baking cakes, buns and pizzas because the ingredients were cheap, inspectors said.

The Government has launched a series of initiatives to improve school meals, including banning junk food from canteens and vending machines.

Ministers have announced a é220 million package to fund better ingredients and develop healthier options.

The issue rose up the political agenda after TV chef Jamie Oliver launched a national campaign to improve school dinners last year.

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