SCHOOLS CATERING STRATEGY

2005-2008

EXPENDITURE

2005/6

2006/7

2007/8

£

£

£

1. To provide hot meals

a) Ten schools have been identified which either do not provide meals or only supply packed lunches. Capital works are already programmed to provide a new kitchen at the new Kings Copse Primary School and a new servery at the Sundridge Special School. This leaves six schools and two Education Centres to cover. The sum identified in this strategy is a contribution for meeting these costs. It is expected that capital funding from schools and other sources will need to be used and work will wherever possible be programmed with other building works. Analysis of schools dependent on taxi provision is being undertaken. Work in these schools will not be a priority for these funds but where possible improvements will be made using other funds.

--

238,000

--

2. To meet Nutritional Standards

a) In order to meet nutritional standards it is estimated that the cost of the food content in primary/special meals will need to increase by 17 pence and by 22 pence in secondary schools. This cannot all be met from the grant to the County Council and assumptions have been built in about increased income as a result of price increases to reflect the additional food content and improved take-up of meals. The figures shown in the accompanying columns show the food costs, expected increase in income and net costs across the three years of the Strategy.

Food costs

384,000

1,719,000

2,512,000

Income

Nil

962,000

1,473,000

Grant funded

384,000

757,000

1,039,000

[Further details of how the grant money will be used across the three financial years can be found in the Financial Anlayis Report Tables 2.4 and 6.1]

b) Existing contacts with Hampshire Fare will be developed to identify and source locally produced healthy food, by building on the success of existing initiatives.

3. Training Kitchen Staff

a) A key element in the guidance from Government of the need to provide additional training for staff to improve the quality of meals provided at schools. This strategy builds in funding for training in years 2006/7 and 2007/8, with a slight emphasis in the 2006/7 financial year. It is planned to start the additional training in the summer term 2006.

Nil

107,000

80,000

4. Raising Awareness by new initiatives and linking with existing programmes

a) It is intended to use existing publication and networks to raise awareness, eg through "Spotlight", "Hampshire Now", Appetizer" and Personal Development Learning and Healthy Schools newsletters. More intensive use of press releases.

b) Further training for Governors through the Health Eating/Healthy Living seminars

c) Health School Training - the enhanced Healthy Schools status has a compulsory core of Healthy Eating. To achieve this schools have to have a whole school food policy.

d) Curriculum development through revision of the PSHE programme and the launch of the Food in Schools Toolkit in Hampshire schools.

e) Providing opportunities for schools to work with HC3S and other caterers to promote interest in school meals. These costs could be charged against the school meals grant delegated to schools.

f) Further advice to schools about how they could use their delegated grant to promote/encourage take-up of school meals.