It is the Government’s expectation that local authorities will lead, in partnership with other stakeholders in the development and implementation of a local strategy to deliver high quality, sustainable school meals service.
Following the consultation the Local Authority will be supporting schools in reaching the DfES standards, by creating a Steering Group that will strategically lead the three-year DfES transition period.
The Steering Group members will consist of:
- Healthy Schools Scheme
- Heartbeat Award
- Trading Standards
- Early Years
- Client Catering
- Cool Milk
- NIAS
- IMRS
- School Representatives
- School Governor
- Catering Contractor
- Parent Representative
Employing a ‘Lead Team’ to:
- Implement the Government’s (DfES) proposed nutritional standards for school meals.
- Monitor the catering provision and nutritional content in line with DfES and Ofsted requirements.
- Improve transparency and accountability, in relation to the development and implementation of a County pricing policy for school meals.
- Support the further development of high quality, appropriate and relevant food education within the curriculum at all key stages.
- Draft plans for the universal re-introduction of hot school meals by September 2008 and the Children’s Scrutiny Committee recommendation for hot meals by 2010.
- Implement the Children’s Scrutiny Committee’s aims and objectives.
The Loal Authority will:
Purchase a database that will work out the nutritional content of various food options and school menu ideas.
Centralise the free School meals procedure to provide a confidential service provided by a team of people ready to support interested parents. Creating an upfront and available service will help to reduce any stigma associated with receiving free meals. The service will be able to co-ordinate the promotion of free school meals to address the DfES target of raising take-up by 10% in the next three years.
Encourage the take-up of free milk. Only 58% of Primary Schools claim free milk for children up to 5 years. Cool Milk at School Ltd (primary schools milk scheme) provides ‘free’ supporting administration. ‘Cool Milk Ltd’ arranges the transportation of the milk to the settings then invoice the cost of milk to the Local Authority who makes one claim for the subsidised milk back from the Welfare Foods Reimbursement Unit.
These initiatives will need to be sustainable beyond the three-year period and plans will be worked up over the next couple of years on options for achieving this.