Meeting documents

            Meeting: Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee (County Hall, Durham - Council Chamber - 04/04/2005 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A9 School Meals Scrutiny Report

         

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Overview and Scrutiny Committee

5^th April 2005

School Meals - Scrutiny Working Group Report

Report of Head of Overview and Scrutiny

Purpose of Report

1. To explain the attached Scrutiny report. Because of the length of the full report, a shorter summary of the findings and recommendations has also been produced which is the first attachment.

Background

2. A major investigation into the provision of school meals in County Durham by a Scrutiny Working Group has now concluded and the report produced is submitted for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

3. A number of themes have been pursued.

4. Members of the Working Group have visited a number of secondary and primary schools to directly experience school meals. A group of pupils from Investing in Children has also influenced the report. This group of pupils has carried out its own Scrutiny investigation and submitted detailed evidence.

5. The timing of this investigation is intended to influence the new school meals contract which will operate from September this year. The profile of school meals has recently been raised significantly by Jamie Oliver’s television programme - ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ - which featured a County Durham Primary School.

6. The recommendations from the Working Group are intended to seek to influence and encourage healthier meals in County Durham schools. A presentation about the report will be given at the Committee meeting
Recommendation

7. You are asked to consider the report and submit it and its recommendations to Cabinet.

Contact: Ian Mackenzie Tel: 0191 383 3506

FOREWORD

Councillor John Dormer

The health of people in County Durham does not compare well with other areas of the country. The Strategic Vision for the County explains that we would like children in the County to be healthier than their parents. School meals are only part of the agenda to improve health. However, healthier school meals and a healthier lifestyle can provide the base for the future well-being of County Durham residents.

In this investigation, we have taken evidence from a wide cross-section. The strength of this study, however, is the dialogue with young people and the visits made by members of the Working Group to experience school meals themselves and speak to children and others.

We have made a number of recommendations which we would like Cabinet to consider. There is a clear consensus to improve children’s health over a wide spectrum and we have included some suggestions beyond the simple remit of a mid-day school meal. This echoes the ‘whole school’ approach to health which is clearly required if we are to deliver in this crucial area.

The Department of Health, in its recent White Paper, ‘Choosing Health’, indicates it will invest over the next three years to improve school nutrition. We fully agree that improving child health does require increased investment and this report suggests that, locally, additional resources should be applied to improve school meals. We understand that the Scottish Executive has agreed to invest over £60 million over the next three years in improving school meals as part of an initative known as ‘Hungry for Success’. This seems to me to be a very sensible ‘invest to save’ approach which, over the years, will be of great benefit to individuals and the public purse. I would like to think that the Department of Health will meet their commitment to invest by providing specific funding to assist local authorities and schools to provide healthier school meals.

I would like to thank all members of the Working Group who spent a great deal of time in this study. I also wish to thank all those who helped us in this exercise. Particular thanks go to the Investing in Children Group who assisted us in this project together with Aletia Roper. This group gave us a clear and unequivocal message that, given the opportunity, pupils will be a strong driver for improvement.

Councillor John Dormer
Chairman of the Working Group

CONTENTS

SECTION	HEADING	CONTENT	PAGE
1.	The Topic	Choice of topic	4

2.	Background	Position statement The current contract Statutory position Statistics	4 5 6 6
3.	Assessment and Views	Ofsted Questionnaires Review by J.G. Bedwell Options Scolarest’s perspective and proposals	7 8 9 10 10
4	Health	Obesity Visits to Schools Greencroft Woodham Shotton Hall Junior Lumley Primary Finchale Primary Healthy Schools Obesity Strategy Discussion with Scolarest Investing in Children Scotland Healthy Schools Standard Trading Standards Service Submitted evidence The New School Meals Contracts - Up-date Jamie Oliver	11 12 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 25 25 29 29 30 31 31 32
5.	Summary findings and recommendations		32

CHOICE OF THE TOPIC

1. This topic was first raised as a potential scrutiny project during a scrutiny development session in January 2004. At that time there was a strong theme that the health of children in County Durham could be improved through the opportunity of meals provided at school.

2. The Strategic Vision indicates in challenge 7 that, to achieve the aim of dynamic Durham in 2023, the health of residents in County Durham needs to be improved to match the national average. It is recognised that one of the underlying causes of poor health is unhealthy lifestyles and also educational under-achievement.

3. The Strategic Vision explains that improving health is a key target for local authorities and Local Strategic Partnerships as well as for the NHS as the causes of poor health are multiple. The health of children is a key to achieving the aim of the vision. The health improvement agenda is to start with action programmes, including setting out local action to improve health with clear roles and targets for key partners.

4. Over the next five years, one of the aims is to raise levels of physical activity and improve diets.

5. School meals, therefore, are an important element of a network of programmes seeking to improve children’s health. The scrutiny project has its aim to assist in this agenda.

SECTION 2: BACKGROUND

POSITION STATEMENT

6. The project started with a presentation by Phil Barclay, Head of Resources in the Education Service. All members and co-opted members were given the opportunity to attend this first session and thereafter a smaller Working Group was formed.

7. Phil Barclay explained that schools’ catering had been a service which was included in the compulsory competitive tendering initiative in the early 1990s. As a result of a tendering process, in 1993 a five-year contract was let to Chartwells (now Scolarest). This firm replaced the County Council’s “in-house” service and all the staff allocated to this contract were transferred under the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations. As a result of the letting of this contract, a saving of some £1.3m resulted during 1993/94.

8. This contract was extended for a further two years in 1998. A further contract was let to Scolarest, which by then was part of the Compass group, in August 2000. The contract expires in August 2005. This contract was not won in competition but was a negotiated extension of the previous arrangements.

T HE C URRENT C ONTRACT - S ECONDARY S CHOOLS

9. The main contract covers 25 secondary schools. This involves an investment package from Scolarest of £480,000. The firm has introduced Smart Cards to avoid the stigma of free school meals for pupils.

10. In addition to Scolarest, five secondary schools receive services from Fairfields and four schools from Castle View. To complete the picture, two secondary schools have employed their own staff to deliver school meals.

11. As part of the current contract, a Best Value Board to monitor the standard of delivery under the contract, has been established. This is made up of headteachers, governors, health representatives, client support staff, the contractor and elected members. This Board provides, on a termly basis, the opportunity for discussion and to focus on concerns and improvement strategies.

T HE C URRENT C ONTRACT - P RIMARY AND DAY S PECIAL SCHOOLS

12. The main contract covers 254 schools. The contractor and Durham County Council had indicated a commitment to eliminate dining centres. The position at July 2004 was that 69 schools now have “cook chill” facilities. £830,000 of investment has been provided by the County Council in relation to these facilities over the last three years. In addition, over £100,000 has been provided by Scolarest.

13. There is a Best Value Board in relation to primary schools in a similar way to secondary schools.

14. Phil Barclay explained that the contract includes the minimum nutritional guidance introduced by the Department for Education and Skills in 2000. For example, in relation to minimal nutritional guidance for primary schools, lunches now needed to include one of the following:
This guidance is followed by the contractor in Durham.

15. Phil explained that the catering provision is funded from the budget delegated to schools. Accordingly, any decisions about the type of service, contracts, price paid to the contractor and charges to parents, are strictly now matters for Governing Bodies.

16. Phil explained that the latest Ofsted inspection had regarded the catering arrangements in County Durham schools as generally satisfactory. In particular, there was positive recognition in relation to the arrangements for free school meals, the choice of delegation, the maintenance of kitchens, flexibility of the contract, the value for money, the pro-active client support, the good advice available on nutritional and catering options, the comparative costs and the monitoring of food hygiene, nutritional standards and health and safety.

17. Phil explained that, since 2003, problems had been discovered in some kitchen appliances and ventilation issues have been raised. The County Council is meeting the cost of ventilation works in kitchens. Replacement ovens and other equipment are to be paid for by schools, often using devolved capital. In relation to Aided Schools, they recently have been able to obtain 100% funding for kitchen refurbishment via the Diocese and the Department for Education and Skills. This provided a contrast with the other maintained schools.

S TATUTORY P OSITION

18. Now School Governing Bodies rather than Local Education Authorities are the responsible bodies in respect of school meals. They do not have a general duty to provide registered pupils with meals or other refreshments. They do, however, have a power to provide ‘milk, meals and other refreshment either on school premises or at any place other than the school premises where education is being provided’. This power becomes a duty if any registered pupils at a maintained school request the provision of school lunches so long as this is not unreasonable. Where school meals are provided, the Governing Body must charge for the provision and charge every pupil the same price for the same quantity of the same item except for pupils whose parents are entitled to certain benefits in which case provision is to be provided free of charge.

19. The Education Authority is required to provide such facilities as they consider appropriate for the consumption of any meals or any other refreshment brought to the school by registered pupils.

S TATISTICS

School Meals Statistics as at January 2005

20. Average number of daily meals served in County Durham by Scolarest:

P RIMARY

Paid pupils	15,094
Free pupils	6,991
Adults	782
Total	22,867

Free meal uptake against entitlement	75%
Paid meal uptake	41.5%

S ECONDARY

Paid pupils (full meal equivalent)	9,275
Free pupils	3,215	12,490
Total		35,357 meals per day

Free meal uptake against entitlement	54.2%
Paid meal uptake	28.3%

P AYMENT

21. During the 2004/05 financial year, payment to Scolarest is worth about £5 million for primary and special school provision. Most of this is generated from parents at £1.35 per ‘paid’ meal amounting to approximately £3 million per annum. The balance is provided from school budgets in relation to the cost of providing free meals. Whilst the catering service is now a responsibility delegated to schools, currently all but 5 out of 248 schools choose to request the authority to fund their school catering as part of the overall contract with Scolarest.

A range of contractors operate in secondary schools with one school employing its own catering staff. Income from paid meals is retained by the contractor. Schools are provided with funds in their budgets to meet the cost of those free school meals which are actually taken. The value of free school meals in secondary schools is worth about £780,000 per annum. The overall value of secondary catering in Durham is worth in the region of £2 million.

The overall amount currently spent on school catering in County Durham is approximately £7 million.

SECTION 3: ASSESSMENTS AND VIEWS

O FSTED’S VIEWS ABOUT THE CATERING PROVISION IN COUNTY DURHAM

22. Phil Barclay explained that the Ofsted inspection of the Durham Local Education Authority was published in September 2003. In the inspection, catering was given grade 4, which is satisfactory. There was also a reference to the client support role being regarded as good. It was noted that some primary schools were concerned about food quality and menu choice and wished to take positive steps to improve. It was also noted that free meal take-up in primary schools was similar to the average for English counties.

P RIMARY AND DAY SPECIAL SCHOOL QUESTIONNAIRE .

23. As a result of the issues raised by Ofsted, a questionnaire was devised by the Education Service and the client support staff in Corporate Services. This was issued to Scolarest in Autumn 2003.

24. The response had been quite encouraging. Over 52% of schools responded.

25. They had mixed views about the duration and size of the next contract. At that time, the majority did not favour the option of extending the existing contract for two years. Also, economy of scale was an important issue for small schools.

26. There were recurring concerns about food quality, staff retention, support and training. Most schools indicated that pupils enjoyed their food and presentation and that the temperature of the food was good. Nineteen schools indicated they would wish to make their own arrangements. There was a wide divergence across the County about the type of meal which was most popular with pupils.

27. Most schools indicated that they would prefer to tailor menus to suit their school preferences and there was a general view that the service could be improved.

28. Only a small number of schools were prepared to pay more from school budgets and there was an even split on the issue of price rise for parents.

S ECONDARY S CHOOL Q UESTIONNAIRE

29. 58% of secondary schools responded to the questionnaire. Ten schools indicated they were looking to make their own arrangements and 9 favoured a large contract. Eighteen schools were looking for some investment as part of a new contract and the suggestion was that this should be for a minimum term of five years.

30. Fifteen schools were interested in some form of framework contract which could be tailored to suite their needs. Seventeen schools favoured a broader range of responsibilities for the contractor; for example, equipment repair and maintenance.

31. The general view was that menus and portion sizes and healthy food options needed to be specific to each school.

32. In relation to the retention of Smart Cards, 13 were in support of Smart Cards but it was recognised that there were administrative problems with this system.

33. Schools were reluctant to increase the cost of free or paid meals.

34. Schools thought the level of contractor support to staff needed improvement, including better training and skills with possibly dedicated full-time catering managers .

A N I NDEPENDENT R EVIEW BY JG B EDWELL ASSOCIATES

35. Phil explained that to better inform schools decisions on future catering provision, John Bedwell, a member of the Association for Public Sector Excellence, had been commissioned to undertake a review to see how Durham compared nationally. Fourteen schools were visited and discussions took place with all the parties involved in the catering service in Durham. The key findings from this process are set out below:

O PTIONS FOR T HE F UTURE S ERVICE D ELIVERY

36. John Bedwell’s assessment was that there were a number of options available to the County Council. Firstly, voluntary competitive tender based on a County-wide contract; secondly, a voluntary competitive tender based on individual or groups of schools; thirdly, self-operation by individual or groups of schools; fourthly, a contract or a partnership arrangement with a neighbouring authority; fifthly, negotiations for a new contract term with the existing provider.

37. He explained that the effects of Job Evaluation, single status and establishing all staff on National Joint Conditions of Service have yet to be quantified. John Bedwell’s assessment was that in cost terms there would be significant disadvantages in self-operation by schools or partnering arrangements.

38. On balance John Bedwell thought that because there is evidence of improvement a two-year contract extension backed by a fully documented service improvement plan with clear targets, review dates and feedback over the next 2 years should be recommended.

S COLAREST’S P ERSPECTIVE

39. Phil Barclay referred to Scolarest’s views on the position of school catering nationally, drawing on discussions at a recent client forum:-

S COLAREST P ROPOSALS

40. Phil Barclay explained that Scolarest’s suggestion was that the market was showing a demand for greater head teacher involvement and that there were significant pressures in relation to healthy eating, the demand for branded products and flexibility.

41. Scolarest wished to offer a range of lunch menus, breakfast, mid-morning break and after school packs and internet payment facilities.

In relation to the range of the menu there were a number of possibilities:

a a nutritionally balanced menu plus some flexibility;

b the same arrangements but enhanced with branded products such as Birds Eye fish fingers;

c a new style menu with high quality fresh food and home cooked dishes which would also involve extra labour costs and training.

42. Phil explained that the likelihood of variable pricing for pupils and schools was now an issue. It may well be for the local education authority to set a base level with schools then varying this as appropriate.

SECTION 4: HEALTH

OBESITY AND PUPIL HEALTH

43. Phil explained that there was a vast amount of interest in the whole pupil health and well-being agenda.

44. Jamie Oliver had visited a school in Peterlee in July as part of a TV programme about school meals - “Jamie’s School Dinners” broadcast in February and March 2005.

45. The Department for Education and Skills had indicated that nutrition is one of eight policy areas as part of a cross-Government Healthy Living Blueprint. Government ministers wanted to have increased meal take-up, more nutritious school meals as opposed to pupils bringing lunch boxes and a focus on understanding healthy diet.

46. Phil drew attention to a report on obesity by the Parliamentary Health Select Committee which had produced sixty-nine recommendations for action. He also mentioned an initiative undertaken in Hull which involved all primary aged children being given a free breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack. This included healthy choices every day but it was interesting to note that, initially, the take-up by children had actually reduced initially.

47. In July 2004, Ofsted had produced a report emphasising the importance of starting early with young children in relation to food and nutrition education. This encouraged teachers to introduce an interest in healthy eating into the curriculum and also more informed catering staff to convey the right messages. Parents and carers also needed to be involved to sustain the messages to children.

48. Reference was also made to a research project carried out by Kings College, London, in July 2004. This concentrated on secondary schools and highlighted the range of foods on offer in a sample of seventy-nine schools. This showed how pupil choices focused on high fat main dishes, chips and soft drinks, and the small numbers who chose fruit and vegetables. There was a suggestion that only healthy options should be available and more done to promote these healthy options to pupils.

49. There was also a public sector food procurement initiative underway which was encouraging public sector organisations to consider how food procurement could use local producers and secure sustainable development benefits.

50. The Food Standards Agency had produced an action plan on promotion of food to children. This required action on the promotion of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt to improve the balance of children’s diets. Suggestions were made that signposting in supermarkets, healthier vending machines and the imbalance in TV advertising for ‘unhealthy’ food for children should be addressed.

51. There was a particularly strong theme in Scotland to improve school meal provision. Over £60 million had been invested by the Scottish Parliament to cover food costs, extra staff and training, promotion and better dining facilities. This also involved a cashless system for free school meals children to remove the stigma.

VISITS TO SCHOOLS

52. At an early stage in the project, a number of visits were made to a variety of schools in the County to find out, at first hand, how current delivery of school meals is being arranged in practice. This was an invaluable part of the process. A note about each of the visits is set out below:-

S ECONDARY S CHOOLS

Greencroft Comprehensive School - 6^th October 2004

53. Councillors Dormer, Ebbatson, M. Hodgson and Mrs. Atkinson visited Greencroft Comprehensive School and met with the Head Teacher, Chris Espiner.




54. There are 738 pupils at the school currently. Greencroft has a modern food court style meal service provided by Scolarest. The dining room was up-graded at Easter 2004 and the kitchen completely refurbished during the summer of 2004. This has been funded by Scolarest under the current school. meals contract. Ventilation works in the kitchen have been carried out by Durham County Council.

55. Mr. Espiner explained that the school piloted a ‘rolling’ morning break in April this year and this has now been introduced from September. The purpose of this change was largely to address workforce reforms affecting teachers. The traditional lunch hour involving all pupils at the school taking lunch over a short duration without teacher input was seen to be no longer appropriate. It was also not the right environment to encourage healthy eating and a large take up of healthy school meals. Accordingly, the school now has a time table in the morning in which each year group has a separate 15 minutes between 10.15 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. in which they have access to the dining hall. This has encouraged pupils to use the service much more and eliminates long queues. The impact on transactions has been quite significant. The number of morning break transactions exceeds 800. It is not possible to say what the impact is on the take up of lunch time meals with accuracy because the morning break has now merged with the lunch time session. The current estimate is that about 275 lunch time meals are taken but this does not provide the clearest picture.


56. Scolarest engaged an expert to advise them about queuing issues. By careful location of food options, it has been possible to encourage healthy options rather than unhealthy options like chips and burgers. There has also been a milk bar and sandwich service introduced. There has been a very significant take up of baguettes as a result of this. Pasta is also a very popular choice.

57. The school has vending machines but no fizzy drinks are sold. Drinking water is available to pupils throughout the day.

58. The Head Teacher explained that a local ice cream van used to park opposite the school to sell a range of confectionery and ice creams to pupils. Following discussions with the ice cream vendor, the van now is allowed to park within the school grounds which is a safer arrangement and provides the opportunity to influence the goods sold.

59. The school has started a breakfast club but this is in its early stages of development. The Head Teacher explained that the lunch time had now been reduced to 40 minutes which did have an effect on reducing the number of pupils who left the school premises during lunch time.

60. Smart cards had been introduced but the Head Teacher thought that there was still more work to be carried out before this was seen to be working fully satisfactorily.

61. One particular issue raised by the Head Teacher which he wished the Working Group to pursue was the difficulty in arranging for applications on behalf of pupils for free school meals. The current process was very labour intensive as far as the school was concerned. The Head Teacher could not understand why the government departments who had the relevant information about the pupils and their families could not share information to avoid the school having to duplicate current processes. Mr. Espiner explained how, at his school, 50 pupils, in his view, should be receiving free school meals but, because of the process required, had not applied. He explained how, under formula funding, this had an impact of £600 per pupil on the school which could fund another teacher. This was an issue which would need to be taken up on a countywide basis.

62. The members of the Working Group then viewed the dining area and spoke to the catering staff and support staff. Televisions had recently been installed to provide an improved environment for the pupils. The televisions were not operational on the day but were seen to be an important innovation to encourage more pu pils to participate in meals at the school.

63. The cook was very enthusiastic and explained the wide and interesting range of food available. The recently introduced sandwich bar was very popular with pupils.

64. Discussions also took place with pupils who thought the new arrangements were much better than the former provision. The environment, in particular, was very welcoming and was far removed from the traditional school meals set up with which many members of the Working Group were familiar.

65. It was indicated that the school was likely to extend the current contract with the existing caterer.

Summary of Main Issues reencroft Comprehensive School Theimportance of:- Leadership within the school. The need to change the approach to school meals to address workforce issues. A ‘whole school’ approach to health. High quality dining environment. The care taken to encourage healthy eating by the location and presentation of healthy meal options. The benefits of introducing an interesting sandwich bar. The attention to detail to enhance the service. The overall benefits of catering services which enhance the school experience for pupils. The school asks specifically if the Working Group could look into the issue of the Free School Meals application process which needs to be simplified.

Woodham Community Technology College - 19 ^th October 2004

66. Councillors Dormer, Carroll, Coates, Priestley, Pye and A. Atkinson and A. Tallentire, parent governors visited Woodham Community Technology College and met with the Head Teacher, Steve Harness.

67. There were over 1,200 pupils on the school roll. The school has two small kitchens on the site with two small dining areas which provided considerable constraints to the provision of a school meals service. The current take up of lunch time meals was probably less than 20%. There were also morning break transactions and purchase of snacks which were additional. The school also had a small breakfast club.

68. The Head Teacher confirmed that there were major difficulties in relation to the provision of school meals on the site. He thought that any contractor would find the physical conditions challenging and he was not critical of the current contractor. Indeed, he indicated that if school meals became more popular, because of the limitations of the facilities, there would be major difficulties. The maximum the school could cater for at the moment was probably only one-third of the full complement of pupils.

69. Approximately 17% of pupils at the school were entitled to free school meals but possibly only half took advantage of this. The school had vending machines which sought to sell healthy option goods including water based fruit drinks rather than ‘fizzy’ drinks. The pupils did not have ready access to drinking water except under supervised arrangements. Whilst the school did support healthy ea ting and diet, they had not yet joined the healthy schools initiative.

70. One issue for the school was the number of pupils who left the school site at lunch time. There were attractions nearby including a local Tesco store. The school was unable to influence the numbers of pupils who left the site at lunch time although if more appropriate and attractive dining facilities and meal options were available, it was likely that this would be addressed.

71. The school had a good relationship with Scolarest although the limitations of the facilities inhibited more meaningful partnership arrangements. From time to time, the service at the counters was slow which had an impact on the size of queues and, therefore, the numbers of pupils who might be deterred from taking a school lunch.

72. A significant number of pupils went out of the school at lunch time to the local supermarket which had a dining room. One possibility considered by the school was an arrangement for pupils to use the dining room at lunch times on a more formal basis.

73. The Head Teacher was asked what improvements would be beneficial to increase the number of healthy school meals consumed in the school. He was very keen for pupils to have a healthy option in an attractive environment and to see the school meal as part of the learning experience. Sadly, the physical environment in the school severely restricted the opportunities for the school and the contractor to achieve this aim. The only solution for this school would be a major change to the kitchen and dining facilities.

74. The Head Teacher did indicate that there was an understanding that the current contract was cost-effective. He suggested that if there was a desire to have a higher quality service including better quality food and presentation, there was a need to increase costs. This would mean either additional investment from the local authority, the school or from parents or a combination of these sources.

75. In discussions with pupils, it was clear that they recognised the limitations of the school meals service they were receiving. There was a desire from the pupils to increase the quality of both the food and the dining environment. There was also evidence of recognition of the importance of healthy options. There were issues about the temperature of some of the food which was sometimes luke warm and the choice available. On the day of the visit, there were no labels on the individual dishes to identify the main dishes on offer. The published meal of the day is set out below:-

76.

Summary Of Main Issues - Woodham Community Technology College There was enthusiasm as far as the school was concerned to provide the right type of environment to promote a healthy diet and a good educational experience for pupils to enjoy school meals on the site. The school recognised that the contractor had significant difficulties in delivering a high quality product. The general view, however, was that:- The physical limitations of the kitchen and dining facilities severely limited the opportunities for improved take-up of school meals. This also had an impact on the opportunity for the contractor to provide a modern serving arrangement which could promote healthy options. On the basis of the current accommodation, if take-up of school meals was increased, the school could not adequately meet demand. The views from pupils confirmed the discussion with the Head Teacher that pupils were generally not satisfied with the standard of food provided and the environment. A radical approach would need to be considered to address these issues.

P RIMARY S CHOOLS

Shotton Hall Junior School - 5^th October 2004

77. Councillors Armstrong, Carroll, Dormer and O’Donnell visited Shotton Hall Junior School and met with the Head Teacher, John Oughtibridge.

78. The Head Teacher explained that there were 252 pupils on the school roll and the take up of school meals was now in excess of 83% (approximately 180 pupils). This was one of the highest take up rates in the County.

79. The school kitchen had been closed in Easter 2003 due to a roof replacement. The school funded the refurbishment of the kitchen as part of the improvement works to the school. The meal service recommenced in June 2004 with a high profile launch.

80. The school meals are provided by Scolarest who work hard to encourage the children to stay for lunch. Many theme days are arranged to give variety. A breakfast service is also available which is used by about 20/25 children daily. A milk bar was installed by Scolarest to try to increase the take up of drinking milk and provide a sandwich service for those children who prefer this option. Currently, approximately 85 meals are served in the milk bar and 95 have hot meals.

81. In discussions with the Head Teacher, he explained that the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection had been very positive in relation to the school meals service at the school.

82. The pupils had a good choice of fresh vegetables Beef was not one of the options. Salt was not available for the children and fried potato products were restricted to twice a week.

83. The pupils had a good choice of healthier foods. There were no vending machines in the school and the pupils had access to filtered and chilled drinking water throughout the day. Each pupil was given a plastic container with their name on. Fizzy drinks were discouraged but the minority of pupils who brought packed lunches were not given any formal advice about the content.

84. There was no formal arrangement for pupils to have an input into menus although school class councils were an avenue in which this could be pursued.

85. The school had achieved the Sport England Active Mark Gold Award and took health seriously and this has been recognised by the Ofsted inspection.

86. All pupils entitled to a free school meal took advantage of this at the school. The take up of free school meals was about 15% and possibly could be higher.

87. In terms of improvements suggested by the school in the delivery of school meals, there was a strong view that the quality of staff, particularly the cook, was essential. The cook at this school was very imaginative in presenting food and the options available. Having good staff was seen to be a key.

88. Members of the Working Group sampled the food and were impressed with the quality and range on offer including the portion sizes. The environment was pleasant and the meal was obviously seen as a social event which was well ordered. The behaviour of pupils was impeccable. Discussions took place with pupils who expressed their approval of the school meals. Discussions also took place with the catering staff who indicated the care that they took with the menu to provide variety. The sandwich bar appeared to have been particularly popular during the summer period and this promoted healthy options including fruit.

89.

Summary of Main Issues - Shotton Hall Junior School The take up rate of school meals in this school is very high and there is a very positive approach to healthy food and health in general as a whole school approach. The full take up of free school meals is particularly pleasing. The success of the meals service may be attributed to:- Leadership in the school The imagination of the catering staff The pleasant dining room environment The ethos of the school.

Lumley Primary School - 18^th October 2004

90. Councillors Dormer, Ebbatson, M. Hodgson and A. Tallentire, Parent Governor, visited Lumley Primary School and met with the Head Teacher, Jim Birleson.

91. The Head Teacher explained that there were approximately 180 pupils currently on the register of the school. In 2001, a major change had taken place in the way in which school meals are delivered at the school. ‘Cook-chill equipment’ had been installed which effectively meant that the school was able to cook the meals on the premises as opposed to meals being delivered from a distant centre.

92. The immediate impact on the numbers of pupils who took school meals was quite dramatic. A take-up rate of nearly 70% was achieved. This was attributed to a combination of investment in new equipment and improvement in the dining environment. The school was fortunate to have a separate dining room and some care had been taken to provide visual aids in the room to provide encouragement to children to eat healthily. The school has been used by Scolarest in publicising school meals with themes such as ‘Fit for Life’. It was noted that a collage on the wall had incorporated every school child in publicising a healthy diet. Creative art is seen to be part of the approach to encourage the healthy agenda.

93. Over time, the take-up of meals has fallen back which was, perhaps, inevitable. The current take-up rate is about 50% with the remainder of pupils bringing in lunch boxes. The school does try to influence the content of lunch boxes and to seek to promote healthy eating. For example, the school has had much success in persuading pupils and parents not to provide children with fizzy drinks in their lunch box.

94. The layout of the dining room permits those taking school meals and those with lunch boxes to dine together. The school sees this as a good opportunity to encourage pupils who do not take school meals to see for themselves the meals which are available. Those pupils who were entitled to free school meals largely took advantage of this.

95. The school does not have any vending machines. The pupils have access to drinking water throughout the day. Each child is provided with their own water bottle.

96. The school sees the promotion of a healthy diet and exercise as an integral part of education at the school. The school has many awards including the Healthy Schools Award, the Active Mark Award and the FA Football Charter. This was seen by the Working Group to be a particular strength.

97. Pupils are beginning to have an opportunity to contribute to the composition of the menus. As part of the School Council, a School Nutrition Action Group has been set up on which pupils serve.

98. Whilst the school meals are provided by an outside contractor, the school cook is very much seen as part of the school complement. She contributes to the promotion of healthy food and lifestyles and her creativity is an essential part of this service.

99. The members of the Working Group took the opportunity to speak with children, both those who were taking school meals and those with their own lunch box. The pupils who were taking meals seemed to be very satisfied with the service they were receiving. There were issues raised about the choice available if a pupil was at the end of the meal queue and the temperature of the food sometimes. This might explain why some pupils had opted to provide their own lunch box. The pupils appeared to take healthy options when they were available, in particular, fruit was much in evidence. There were no complaints about the portion size from pupils who were engaged in conversation. The Head Teacher confirmed that this was not an issue.

100. The Head Teacher was asked whether he had any areas for improvement which he wished the Working Group to consider. He indicated:-

Finchale Primary School - 20^th October 2004

102. Councillors Armstrong, Carroll, Coates and Pye visited Finchale Primary School and met with the Head Teacher, David Fry.

103. The school had 235 pupils. Approximately 35% of the pupils took a school meal - about 80 in number. The remainder of the pupils brought packed lunches. There were very few pupils who went home for lunch. The school currently has a menu based on ‘popular choices’ rather than traditional meals. This had been introduced because it was thought by Scolarest to be an approach which was more likely to increase take up. They had tried to brighten up the service counter area by introducing coloured equipment.

104. There was a good relationship with Scolarest who had attended school council meetings with children to discuss at first hand the possibilities of improving the take up of meals. They also were involved in encouraging a greater up take of fresh fruit. In discussions with pupils, this appears to be succeeding because a number made reference to their liking for exotic fruits.

105. The Head Teacher and the Chair of Governors were keen to increase the take up of school meals. They had met with Scolarest, the contractor, and considered an action plan. A questionnaire had also been sent to all parents. One issue which arose from the questionnaire was the importance of friendships and peer pressure. This had a big influence on those who brought in lunch boxes. The cost of school meals did not appear to be a major issue and there was a view that parents would pay more for a better quality meal. Pupils also had a considerable impact on the type of food included in lunch boxes.

106. A recent initiative had been to provide a free meal to every new pupil at the school to introduce them to school meals. This had had some success.

107. The school had an holistic approach to health and exercise and saw the school meal as an extension of the education experience. The school had the Healthy School Award and took the health of their pupils very seriously. They also tried to influence the content of lunch boxes but recognised that this had to be carefully considered. There are no vending machines in the school. The pupils have access to drinking water throughout the day.

108. The contractor does not provide a breakfast club but an independent charity does provide a service both before and after school which includes provision of food.

109. The role of parents in the decision about taking school meals should not be under-estimated. For this school, the Head Teacher recognised that many parents were very busy people and time was an important consideration. It might be that parents would be supportive of a better quality meal at a higher cost if this was publicised in the right way.

110. In terms of improvements, the Head Teacher was very keen to encourage an increased take up of a healthy school meal. It was also important to consider the dining environment to make it more attractive which might involve some investment. If an extension to the current contract was to be determined, there is a strong feeling that a service improvement plan with measurable outcomes would be very important.

111. In discussing issues with the pupils, the temperature of food and the adequacy of choice were raised. Those pupils who took a school meal seemed to be satisfied although a minority were opting for the healthier products such as salad. The pupils who brought lunch boxes often indicated that they were not happy with the choices available for the school meals which led them to bring their own lunch. Pupils with lunch boxes usually sit together separate from pupils eating school meals.

112.

Summary Of Main Issues - Finchale Primary School The importance of an holistic approach to school meals as part of the educational environment. The need to consider the quality of the product at the correct price if increased take up of healthy meals was to be achieved. The role of parents should not be overlooked in terms of promoting an improved service. Parents might be prepared to pay more for an enhanced service. Peer pressures and friendships were significant in the choice of either a lunch box or a school meal. An attractive dining environment can assist in take up.

DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS - HEALTHY SCHOOLS - ACTIVE MINDS: A HEALTHY LIVING BLUEPRINT.

Department of Health White Paper ‘Choosing Health’

113. The Department of Health’s White Paper was produced in October 2004. This indicated the Government’s commitment to inform and encourage individuals to choose a healthier lifestyle. In relation to school meals, the White Paper indicates:-

“We will invest over the next three years to improve nutrition in schools by:-
114. The White Paper also indicates that the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills has introduced a Food in Schools programme which was assisting schools across the country to implement the whole school approach to healthy eating and drinking. Following successful pilots in over 300 schools, a package will be available early in 2005 to provide guidance and resources for schools to encourage, for example:-
This programme will support the Healthy Living Blueprint.

115. Dr. Tricia Cresswell from the Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust provided some written views about the direction of school meals in County Durham. She emphasised the importance of:-
COUNTY DURHAM OBESITY STRATEGY FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

116. The Health Trusts in County Durham have launched a draft obesity strategy for children and young people in County Durham (and Darlington). This is intended to be pursued by Local Strategic Partnerships. The role of schools is seen as an essential one in achieving overall health improvement for children. School meals are part of a ‘whole school approach’ to improve health.

DISCUSSION WITH SCOLAREST

117. The Working Group also took the opportunity to have a direct discussion with senior staff from Scolarest. Tony Sanders, the National Director, and Stuart Mitchell, Local Operations Director, gave an explanation of the options available to the Council in terms of a renewed contract. Scolarest were keen to be seen to be a market leader in relation to school meals and were willing to introduce innovation in a new Durham contract. A revised set of menus were proposed. It was possible that menu choices could be available on the internet with indications about which particular choice would be a healthy one. This included using colour coding. There was particular emphasis on flexibility and choice for schools. There would be no ‘one size fits all’.

118. It was also planned that there would be extensive training for staff to encourage healthy eating. More staff stability was also the intention. To encourage a greater take-up of meals, incentives were being considered to encourage pupils to take up the options of school meals and particularly the healthy options.

119. Scolarest staff were also keen to be in attendance when the Working Group met with the Investing in Children group and this proved to be a useful dialogue.

DISCUSSION WITH INVESTING IN CHILDREN GROUP

120. For this Service, it is essential that the interests of the consumers (in every sense of the word) have a major voice in determining the services to be provided. Because of the interest in this topic, Investing in Children set up a specific group to do their own Scrutiny work in relation to school meals. The group took a proactive role and, in particular, made a visit to St. Aidan’s School in Harrogate to compare the standard of school meals.

121. The Investing in Children group was made up of pupils from Bishop Barrington Comprehensive School in Bishop Auckland and Staindrop Comprehensive School. They, therefore, compared the school meals which they experienced at St. Aidan’s with their own school.

122. St. Aidan’s at Harrogate is a large school of over 1,700 pupils. They have invested significantly in a new school meals service. Officers from Durham County Council’s Education Service did point out that this was a very large school which had the opportunity to invest heavily in the school meals service. This was not always an option for County Durham schools.

123. The Investing in Children group analysed the service at St. Aidan’s under a number of headings:-

The School Dining Hall

124. The pupils found that the cutlery was very clean, the building was purpose-built as a dining hall. The toilets in the dining hall were also very clean. The tables were round to encourage pupils to talk to others at dinner time. They also had a projector for entertainment when it was raining and for sports events.

The School Meals Quality

125. The dinners were complete meals. The options were fast food, soup of the week, traditional, jacket potatoes, vegetarian meals and sandwiches. The ingredients were fresh and not processed. Even the cakes were home made. The meals were served on proper plates, not plastic plates.

The Staff

126. The staff were very friendly. In Durham, the staff are referred to as ‘dinner nannies’. At St. Aidan’s, they were called ‘catering assistants’. New staff were given customer service training. Catering assistants wore hairnets, gloves and restaurant style uniforms. There were also plans to employ a dietician and a baker.

Health Aspects

127. The dining hall was very clean, chips were only sold once a week, fizzy drinks were only served twice a week. Juice, water and milk were served every day. Each table had its own jug of water which was free. The chef checked all the fruit and vegetables before they came in and, if they were bruised, they were thrown out.

Facts and Figures

129.

Summary The Investing in Children group generally thought that the school meals at St. Aidans at Harrogate were of a substantially higher standard and better quality than that provided in the County Durham schools of which they had knowledge. The menus on offer were, in their view, much healthier. One pupil indicated that she had had a vegetarian pasta which was certainly nicer than anything she had ever had for her lunch at school before. The food quality, they considered, was much better than provided in County Durham. The general aspiration was for this level of service to be available in County Durham.

130. In discussions with the young people’s group, a number of questions were posed by the Working Group and answered. These are set out below:-

Do we need to make healthy eating (and other health issues like exercise) more attractive - if so what is the best way to do this? Young People: Don’t know! What do you think about restoring beef to the school menu? Young People: Yes, but as long as it’s proper beef, not processed stuff. If the quality of food was improved would pupils/parents pay a little more for a meal? Young People: It depends on how much they are improved and how much the price increase would be. How can a school encourage healthier options in lunch boxes which pupils bring to school? Young People: They can’t, unless they go through and checked all the lunchboxes which would be unfair. What are the most important issues to address to improve the school meals at Bishop Barrington school? Young People: Have warmer, better quality, non-processed meat & food. Dinner ladies should wear hair nets, gloves & proper uniform . Do you know if your school is a member of the National Healthy Schools Scheme? Young People: It was supposed to be but it’s not. Are there any vending machines at the school? Do they have healthy options? Do they perhaps sell products that are not healthy? Young People: No, ours got taken away ages ago and we were promised healthier, better ones but we still haven’t got them. Is there a breakfast club at the school? Young People: Yes, but it’s not promoted very well. Do you have any input into the provision of meals? Young People: No. If you have a complaint about the meals how is this dealt with? Young People: It’s not dealt with, it is ignored. What would be the best way of involving pupils in ensuring that school meals in the County continually improve? Young People : Suggestions box & surveys within schools, ask young people what they want on the menu. We should be allowed to decide what’s in the meal contract.

S UMMARY OF V IEWS OF YOUNG P EOPLE

131.

Pupils should have a genuine input into discussions about the school meals service The dining room environment should be attractive to encourage pupils to take school meals. Food should be served hot. Staff should wear appropriate hygienic clothing including gloves and hat. The term ‘dinner nanny’ should be replaced - possibly by ‘catering assistant’. Pupils should be able to make suggestions about improvement in school meals which should be taken seriously Pupils should be able to make representations/complaints about the service. Healthy options should be available. ‘Shaped’ or ‘processed’ products should not be offered.

COMPARISON WITH SCOTLAND

132. The Working Group’s attention was drawn to an article in ‘The Guardian’ in December 2004 about the comparison between school meals in Scotland and England. In Scotland, for some time, there has been an emphasis on a whole school approach to school meals. The Scottish Executive set up an expert panel to consider this issue in 2002. Its report entitled ‘Hungry for Success’ sets out a spectrum of recommendations including nutrient standards, monitoring initiatives, menu planning proposals and suggestions to eliminate stigma attached to free school meals.

133. The main issues from the article were:-

The Scottish ‘standard’ indicates:-
134. Another issue raised by the article was ‘shaped’ products such as 'Turkey Twizzlers'. Nuggets and Burgers. The suggestion was that these products were being phased out in Scotland and that this should be considered in Durham.

THE HEALTHY SCHOOL STANDARD

135. Liz Graham from the Education Service explained the Healthy School Standard. This is a national programme supported by the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health. Durham County was part of an overall programme involving both Durham and Darlington and the six Primary Care Trusts which operated in that area.

136. All schools could join the Standard but the Government’s target was for all schools with more than 20% of their pupils entitled to free school meals becoming healthy schools by 2006.

137. To date, 129 schools in County Durham have achieved the standard and 70 of those schools were the targeted schools. 67 of the remaining targeted schools were working towards the Standard. There were 19 schools still to join. This included seven special schools which were in a slightly different position.

138. To achieve the Standard, a school must show that it has an ethos, policies and management structure to support the health and well-being of its pupils and staff. There were eight themes within the minimum criteria which were:-
140. The Education Service provide support to all schools who wish to apply for the Standard. Specifically in relation to diet, a resource pack called ‘Food for Thought’ had been produced to help schools develop a whole school approach. This included examples of a whole school food policy.

TRADING STANDARDS SERVICE

141. Durham County Council is a Food Authority for the purposes of the Food Safety Act 1990. As such, the Authority has an ongoing responsibility to ensure that food available in our local community is appropriately labelled, correctly described and compositionally correct. In the course of a year officers from our Trading Standards Service will inspect around 1,400 food businesses to ensure food law compliance. They will also take about 900 samples of foods and ingredients from food suppliers in County Durham and submit products for independent analysis to ensure that food standards are maintained.

142. Officers will take samples from all food suppliers such as, local retailers, licensed premises, supermarkets, producers, bakers, butchers, and Internet sales and more recently, school meal providers. Independent food sampling is the only way to detect compositional food issues such as meat content, species, chemical, and veterinary contamination. Based on previous results 90% of the foods sampled are normally found to be satisfactory. However, officers will investigate any foodstuffs that fail our food laws and take appropriate action, ranging from verbal advice to prosecutions to ensure the deficiencies are corrected. Recent investigations have involved undeclared genetically modified Soya in pot noodles and previously frozen chicken sold as fresh.

143. This independent enforcement action helps to ensure that local consumers can always rely on and make an informed decision about the food they choose to eat. The production and sale of safe wholesome quality foods that are correctly labelled and described can have significant benefits for the health of individuals. In particular by preventing food frauds, scams or the sale of defective foodstuffs officers have an opportunity to reduce economic crime and protect more vulnerable members of our community. It has been proposed that the 2005 -2006 food sampling plan will incorporate extended co-ordinated sampling to monitor the compliance of food supplied to our children in schools. The samples will be taken and analysed from within the existing sampling budget.




144. A new initiative by the Service has found a novel way of utilising the results of analysis derived from food surveillance. An educational programme has been developed known as Café Life! This has been piloted to great success in a local school recently. Café Life allows children to get hands on analysis facts about the nutritional content (fat, sugar,energy and salt) of popular foods such as pizzas, burgers chips and soft drinks in a fun and informative way.

145. The Service is now working with partners in the Education Service to develop and identify wider opportunities to roll out this initiative in the near future. Café Life has also recently been selected to be demonstrated at a national conference for food health initiatives in conjunction with the Trading Standards co-ordinating body, Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS).

SUBMITTED EVIDENCE

146. A Cabinet Member asked the Working Group to consider free meals for nursery pupils and all primary pupils.

147. As a result of an article in Countywide, a number of direct approaches were made by parents. In summary, the views expressed were the need to:
148. Hull City’s initiative to provide free school meals for younger children has been considered. This will produce interesting data. The initial view about the level of take up of meals is surprising. It is noted that Hull are evaluating this issue very carefully. The cost of this approach is significant and there will be a need to await the evaluation.

THE NEW SCHOOL MEALS CONTRACTS - UP-DATE

149. At the end of February, the Working Group was informed that a sum of £300,000 was to be provided from school budgets to improve the quality of school meals. This was based on a consensus amongst schools that quality standards needed to be improved in the interests of pupils. It appeared likely that a significant number of primary schools would be seeking to extend the current contract with Scolarest. The position in relation to secondary schools was less clear at this stage.

150. It was proposed that the price paid to the contractor per meal should increase to £1.50 with a similar rise to the price parents pay for a school meal. There would be a particular focus on improved and more nutritional food products and larger junior portion sizes in the primary sector. Overall, there would be new menus, better food products, improved staff training and revised staff hours. A service improvement plan will be prepared which would allow progress to be monitored.

151. There has been particular interest in the monetary value of the food ingredients per school meal. The investment proposed in Durham will increase the funding available for ingredients to well over 50p.

JAMIE OLIVER’S TELEVISION PROGRAMME




152. Towards the end of the investigation, Jamie Oliver’s series - ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ - appeared on TV. This produced a great deal of media interest. One of the schools which featured was the Eden Community Primary School in Peterlee. In many ways, Jamie Oliver’s approach was similar to the approach of the Working Group. He expressed concern about the impact on the health of pupils of many of the school dinners which he observed including a school in County Durham. He also raised the issue of the inappropriateness of some of the food served which did not assist pupils to concentrate on their education. These programmes heightened the general public’s awareness of the importance of healthy food for children which provides an additional incentive to challenge the current school meal arrangements in the interests of pupils. The Working Group was also informed that considerable debate had been created as a result of this series amongst school governors.

SECTION 5: SUMMARY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

S UMMARY

153. The evidence is overwhelming from Central Government, the Health Service, Local Government and, most importantly, children themselves, that school meals nationally and in County Durham should be part of an overall strategy to provide healthier options. The take up of school meals in County Durham - 41% for primary and 28% for secondary pupils, is, in our view, too low. Many children are provided with a healthy lunch box but, equally, some children do not get a healthy meal at school. Also, the take up of free school meals at 54% in secondary schools is disappointing. The Working Group would like to see a much greater proportion of pupils taking a healthy school meal as part of a healthy agenda.

154. The Department of Health, in its recent White Paper, ‘Choosing Health’, indicates it will invest over the next three years to improve school nutrition. The Working Group agrees that improving child health does require increased investment and this report suggests that, locally, additional resources should be applied to improve school meals. The Scottish Executive has agreed to invest over £60 million over the next three years in improving school meals as part of an initative known as ‘Hungry for Success’. This seems a very sensible ‘invest to save’ approach which, over the years, will be of great benefit to individuals and the public purse. The Working Group would like to think that the Department of Health will meet their commitment to invest by providing specific funding to assist local authorities and schools to provide healthier school meals.

F INDINGS

From Young People

155.	Pupils should have a genuine input into discussions about the school meals service

Issues from school visits:-

156.	The importance of the leadership in schools

Health Issues

157.	A Health Impact Assessment approach should be applied to the School Meals Contract.

Terminology

158.	The Working Group suggest that it is unhelpful to refer to ‘regeneration’ in terms of the School Meals Service.

R ECOMMENDATIONS

159. Based on these findings, the following recommendations are submitted for consideration by Cabinet. It is recognised that decisions are now made by School Governing Bodies in this area but it is important that the Council provides appropriate support and encouragement. To provide a significant improvement in the provision of healthy meals and an attractive environment in all schools, investment will be required. A partnership is required particularly with the Health Service in this area.

i. Pupils should have a much more prominent role in all decisions about the provision of school meals .

This should influence both the decision about the type of service to be provided and the way in which the service is delivered. Involving young people in improving the food served in school is part of the Healthy School Standard and this is an added benefit in recommending later in this report that all schools should be encouraged to join up to the National Healthy Schools Scheme. Pupils have indicated that they want the same type of service that adults would expect - good value for money, hot food, an attractive environment, good service from staff with high standards of hygiene and the opportunity to make representations or complaints which will be listened to. Pupils have told us that if healthy options are provided in an attractive way, there will be a good take up.

ii. More encouragement should be given to pupils to choose healthier options.

An attractive dining room environment is an important element to encourage pupils to take a healthy meal at school. It is recognised that some schools have significant difficulties in relation to their facilities. However, the importance of a pleasant environment should not be under-estimated including queuing arrangements. It can be small details which make a significant difference. It is also clear that the way in which healthier options are presented including labelling has an impact on the take up by pupils. Schools are encouraged to take time to discuss with pupils the best way of presenting healthy options at their school. A healthy meal should be part of the ethos of a healthy school. All schools are encouraged to sign up to the healthy schools agenda and treat health as a whole school issue.

iii. The next school meals contracts should reflect best practice in relation to nutrition.

A number of national initiatives are driving improvement in healthy food for pupils. The general aim is to reduce the consumption of fat, salt and sugar and increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables and other essential nutrients. Ofsted will be covering school meals as part of their remit in the future which will provide an added incentive.

The Working Group puts forward the following suggestions to assist in this area:-
iv. The whole school approach to health needs to be promoted in every school in the County

v. School governors should be encouraged to take a more prominent role in relation to the health of pupils at their school including healthy school meals.
vi. There should be more focused monitoring of the contract to ensure that healthy options are being offered in practice.
vii. The take up of school meals in each school and the take up of free school meals should be monitored by school governing bodies, the contractors and the Council.
viii. Where pupils choose to purchase their lunchtime meal outside the school premises, schools should consider the potential of seeking to influence healthy options
ix. The Department of Health should be encouraged to provide specific funding to assist schools to improve school nutrition and improve the school meals experience.
x. Some of the terminology which is currently used could usefully be brought up to date (for example the use of ‘regeneration’ and ‘dinner nanny’).

xi. This project should be reviewed during the early part of the new contract.





LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP

Councillors:

Joseph Armstrong Trevor Carroll Dennis Coates Alan Cox John Dormer Brian Ebbatson

Michele Hodgson John Priestley Raymond Pye Paul Stradling Peter Thompson Leonard O'Donnell

Parent Governor Representatives

Anita Atkinson
Anthea Tallentire


LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE INVESTING IN CHILDREN GROUP

Grace Tyldsley Kirsty Harker
Roxanne Wade Amy Brown
Joshua Railton Shaun Brand
Stephanie Raife Roxanne Jackman

128. The original turnover for school meals was between £300 and £400 a day and now the turnover was approximately £3,000 per day. They had 300 pupils eating meals originally and now they have approximately 1,500 pupils taking school meals. For every £1 spent on a meal, 49p was spent on ingredients, 50p on staffing and 1p on replacing equipment. 90% of Year 11 and Sixth Form pupils ate school meals despite being allowed to go off site.





For a copy of this report please refer to hard copy records

Attachments

 School Meals Report 2A.doc;
 School Meals - 5 April.doc