Agenda item

Cabinet Member – Councillor Beca Brown

 

To consider a report on the above.

 

To accept the report and note the observations.

 

Submitted - the progress report of the Cabinet Member for Education on the free school meals project as a result of extending the scheme across the primary sector.

 

The Cabinet Member set out the context and the members were then given the opportunity to ask questions and offer observations.⁠ 

 

It was noted that they wished to thank the Welsh Government for bringing this project to fruition, through an agreement with Plaid Cymru, and Cyngor Gwynedd was congratulated for distributing the scheme so quickly to every school in Gwynedd. The Service was also thanked for the work of adapting / upgrading the schools' kitchens, and especially to all kitchen staff and cooks for their hard work.

 

It was noted that there was no motivation for the parents of children eligible for free school meals to submit an application to the Authority because every child was now eligible for free school meals, and therefore the school or the county missed out financially. In response, it was noted that:-

·         The point was valid, but the application from parents was for general benefits, including school uniform grant, resources etc. instead of only being an application for school meals.

·         In terms of the way the Authority was funded, the schools received a sum of money per head for learners who were eligible for free school meals.

·         The review from last summer had highlighted that Gwynedd was the county with the lowest level of children eligible for these benefits.

·         A Team within the Department contacted families to ensure that everyone who was eligible to be registered for free school meals did so.

·         Some parents were not aware of free school meals, but more and more people had come to know about it by now.

 

It was noted that it was important to emphasise to parents that applying for free school meals opened the door to other advantages.

 

It was noted that it was encouraging to see from the report that some headteachers believed that pupils' behaviour, dedication and attainment had improved in the afternoons as a result of receiving school meals.

 

In terms of the challenge of recruiting staff to the Catering Service, it was enquired whether the plan to package jobs, for example, working in a school kitchen over lunchtime and providing care in the afternoon, had come to fruition. In response, it was noted that:-

·         Recruiting was complex as fields such as Education and Care tried to attract staff from the same pool of people.

·         The possibility of creating a purposeful plan to package jobs was very low in this difficult situation, but an element of that already happened as people chose to work in more than one job to increase their hours. However, it became more difficult to find people who were happy to travel from one work situation to another, and possibly without a car.

 

It was asked whether there was an intention to put political pressures on the Welsh Government to extend the free school meals project to the secondary sector. In response, it was noted that:-

·         This was a priority for the Cabinet Member for Education, and she would apply pressure in any way that she could, including in the regular meetings between the Minister for Education and Education Portfolio Holders in the North.

·         There was concern that families of a generation of children, that have no recollection of paying for school meals, would be hit by that as their child reached Year 7.

 

It was enquired what would happen after the current plan came to an end in 2025. In response, it was noted once again that this was a priority for the Cabinet Member and any undermining of the proposal now would cause her a lot of concern, and would be a huge backward step.

 

It was asked whether consideration was given to the quality of the school meals, whilst also keeping the benefit local. In response, it was noted that:-

·         Regular questionnaires were provided regarding the quality of the food.

·         Local scrutiny was not always productive in terms of cost, but effort was made to do so within the rather strict procurement rules that were currently in place.

 

The Department was congratulated on presenting the school meals project before the timetable.

 

It was noticed that the report noted that 17% of the meals provided were eFSM (Eligible for Free School Meals) since presenting the proposal to every school in September 2023, and it was enquired whether it was possible to track this figure over the last five years, whilst continuing to track it in the future so that any reduction in the numbers were highlighted and steps were taken to reach those families. In response, it was noted that, because financial factors in terms of funding schools and support for education services were based on the number of learners eligible for free meals, the Authority had already carefully tracked the data to ensure our share of any budgets available to support the most vulnerable learners in the county.

 

It was suggested that the Cabinet Member could ask the Minister for Education to consider whether free school meals would continue to be an appropriate measure considering that school meals were available free to everyone by now.

 

It was noted that the Finance Department looked at facilitating their arrangements in terms of claiming different benefits and it was suggested that applications for benefits in the field of education could be included as part of this.

 

RESOLVED to accept the report and to note the observations.