Plans for joint school meals service
Schools across Plymouth are cooking up a national first with the Council to guarantee hot school lunches will continue to be offered to children through a new city-wide Co-operative company.
A report to Plymouth City Council’s Cabinet outlines plans to create a jointly owned Local Authority Trading Co-operative Company, which will see the majority of schools in Plymouth owning 49% of the school meals service and the Council 51%.
A decision by Government as part of the School Funding Reform saw budgets for school meals, once held centrally by councils, handed over to individual schools in April 2013. The move was met with mixed responses across the country, summed up by Jim Wallace, Headteacher at College Road Primary.
He explains: “In theory, putting the budgets for school meals directly into the hands of schools sounded good, but in reality it was a real challenge for many smaller infant, primary and special schools. Commercially the figures just didn’t add up and there was a real risk that we wouldn’t be able to continue to offer hot lunches to our children. That just wasn’t acceptable.
“We are very fortunate in Plymouth to have an outstanding Education Catering Service so we’ve been happy to put out heads together to come up with a solution. And we think we’ve cracked it. Our new Co-operative will guarantee all children and young people in Plymouth continue to get a decent hot meal at lunchtime and that’s what really matters.”
It is understood Plymouth’s School Food Co-operative will be the first of its kind in the country, different from other areas because it is a truly collaborative arrangement, working on the principle of ‘one school, one vote’. This means each and every school involved in the Co-operative will have their say and will have the controlling influence over how it is managed and developed.
Working with the Plymouth Association of Primary Headteachers the move will bring together the pooled budgets of 64 primary schools, five special schools and one Alternatively Complementary Education Service to form a city-wide Co-operative company. It will be made up of staff transferred from the Council’s award-winning Education Catering Service whose Conditions of Service, hourly rates, hours and lengths of service will be unaffected.
Councillor Sue McDonald, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Public Health, said: “Our school meals service is a shining star within the industry and has led the way for many years in how to best deliver nutritious and delicious meals in our city’s schools. Now this trail-blazing service continues to break new ground as we form a Co-operative with schools to ensure it is the best it can be for the benefit of children and young people.
“We know that a good meal at lunchtime helps with concentration in the afternoon, and for some of our most vulnerable children, it may be the only hot meal they get to eat each day. It is an essential service for young people in this city and a crucial part of our education system. I’m thrilled we’ll be working in partnership with schools on the Board of our new joint co-operative to ensure it thrives and grows, just like the young minds it will serve.”
Decisions about the school meals service, which last year served over 1.5 million lunches, will be taken by a co-operative Joint Partnership Board made up of elected representatives from all those schools involved and the Council in a practical and collaborative way of working.
Peter Nash, Chief Executive Officer of Plymouth Association of Primary Headteachers Cooperative Community Interest Company, said: “This co-operative joint venture is a truly positive and momentous step forward for all parties and sets out the opportunities from September for the school meals service to be at the forefront of new ways of delivery. It’s heartening to see schools, through PAPH, and the Council supporting one another to deliver a first rate service for all pupils. Together we’ll meet the challenges of the introduction of the universal infant free school meals and we’ll develop a company that supports staff, increases employment opportunities and local sourcing arrangements for fresh, seasonal produce and secures the future of school meals in Plymouth.”
Plymouth’s Education Catering Service was the first local authority caterer in the country to achieve the Soil Association’s Food for Life Gold Catering Mark for its locally sourced produce and seasonal menus. It is the current holder of the EDUcatering Excellence Award for Local Authority Caterer of the Year 2013, was recently runner up in the 2014 Cost Sector Awards for Service Team of the Year and was last month shortlisted for the MJ Excellence Award 2014.
Brad Pearce, Manager of the Council’s Education Catering Service, said: “My team and I are extremely excited by the prospect of working as a commercial outfit and once our new Board has been established, we will be very keen to work with its members to explore ways we can develop the company. We are bursting with ideas to help grow and continue to improve our services, but likewise we’ll always remember that our core business is to ensure every child we serve has the option of a delicious and nutritious hot meal at lunchtime.”
The introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 begins from September 2014 and parents will be asked to indicate whether they plan to take advantage of this offer by letter over the coming weeks. This will help to prepare staff levels, food purchasing and developing tasty, appealing menus. It is anticipated this will increase school meal take-up by over half a million meals next year, worth £380 annually per child aged five, six and seven.
For more information about school meals visit www.plymouth.gov.uk/schoolmeals
