6 FREE SCHOOL MEALS PROJECT PDF 265 KB
Cabinet Member – Councillor Beca Brown
To consider
a report on the above.
*11.30am – 12.00pm
*LUNCH BREAK – 12.00pm – 12.45pm
Additional documents:
Decision:
To accept the report and submit an update to
the committee when the scheme will have been extended across the primary
sector, with specific attention to the work undertaken to raise the numbers and
investigate the reasons why some pupils do not take school meals, and ensure
that consideration is given to the quality of the food, whilst also seeking to
keep the benefit local.
Minutes:
The
Cabinet Member and officers from the Education Department were welcomed to the
meeting.
Submitted
– the progress report of the Cabinet Member for Education on the free school
meals project.
The
Cabinet Member set out the context and the Senior Schools Manager provided an
outline of the contents of the report.
Members
were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations.
Individual
members submitted the following observations:-
·
Members were surprised that the percentage of pupils
choosing free school meals under the schemes UPFSM (Universal Primary Free School Meals) and EFSM (Entitlement to Free School Meals) was so low (70% in September and
66% in October), and expressed concern that schools might miss out on other
grants because parents who were eligible to claim free school meals under the
EFSM scheme would no longer be doing so, as their children would receive free
school meals regardless.
·
The free school meals project in schools was to be
welcomed, and the member emphasised the importance of applying political
pressure to ensure that the amount per meal received from the Welsh Government
was protected, or even increased as we approached a period of cuts.
·
We should celebrate the fact that 1305 UPFSM children
who would not otherwise have received free school meals, had chosen school
meals in September, which meant that the parents had extra money in their
pockets to hopefully spend locally, thus giving a boost to the local economy.
·
Towards the future (accepting that the Department was
currently very busy rolling out the project throughout the schools), it could
be useful to conduct an annual consultation with parents and children in an
attempt to increase the percentage that receive the meals.
·
The meals provided in the schools were balanced and
nutritious, but that more flexibility in terms of the choice of food available
could be a way of increasing the numbers that have school meals.
·
It was important that the quality of the meals did not
suffer as a result of higher costs of producing the meal.
·
Members welcomed the proposal to extend the offer to
Year 2 pupils by January 2023.
In
response to the observations and questions from members, the following was
noted:-
·
The 70% and 66% were average figures across all the
county's schools, and the percentage was almost 100% in some schools, with
other schools proving to be a much bigger challenge. It was noted further that
funding was available to appoint an officer to look into the reasons why
children refused school meals, and that this work would focus on those schools
where there was a pattern of children who were eligible for free school meals
not taking it up.
· The Welsh Government had identified an amount of £2.90 per pupil for the first phase, based on the average number of pupils who eat school meals in the county. They planned to re-examine this figure for the second phase, which would happen after Easter. As the cost of producing meals in ... view the full minutes text for item 6