The then Education Secretary Ruth Kelly promised to put £280m towards funding improvements to school food. And in autumn 2006 new rules governing school dinners was introduced in England. It officially excluded crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and ‘low-quality' meat. School children are now served at least two portions of fruit and vegetables with every meal and deep-fried food is restricted to two portions per week.
From September 2007, there were additional rules in place about what can be sold from school tuck shops and school vending machines. Schools are not allowed to sell confectionery, savoury snacks (unless they're free from added salt, sugar or fat) or sweetened drinks. They must also sell a variety of fruit and vegetable products, such as fresh juices, and must provide access to free, fresh water. Then from 2008, primary schools will need to stipulate the vitamin content of school meals; secondary schools will need to do so from 2009.
The government is also establishing a network of regional training centres for school cooks presided over by nutrition experts who will train, support and mentor catering staff even in their own school. Plans have also been made to give every secondary school pupil the chance to learn to cook for themselves. This will give students an appreciation of how to create healthy meals and an opportunity to learn basic cookery skills.
Eleven centres make up the first group and will begin to provide hands-on cooking lessons to NVQ level 2 and beyond qualifications from February 2008.
Judy Hargadon, chief executive of the School Food Trust, said: "This is the beginning of a training revolution for school cooks and other school staff. School food has deserved importance to the health and wellbeing of hundreds and thousands of children and young people. It is only right that we equip school cooks and those involved in school food with the skills and training they require."
In addition to this, funds have been made available to improve the quality of school kitchens where required and the government has issued design guidance on kitchens and dining areas; reinforcing kitchens as a priority in all other building guidance. Schools will be encouraged to support local food producers and educate children about the food chain, countryside and farming.
Although nobody can argue with the good intentions behind the government's planned improvements to school food, there are those who feel there needs to be greater clarification of the new rules. A group of school caterers wrote last month to the head of the School Food Trust (SFT) demanding clarification of the "confusing" nutrient-based school dinner guidelines that are set to overlay the current food based guidelines at schools in England from next year at primary level and September 2009 at secondary schools.
A group of local authority caterers from Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Northamptonshire have written to SFT chairman Prue Leith arguing that the situation around secondary schools and the new standards remains complex and confusing. In the letter the caterers say: "We are spending an enormous amount of time crunching numbers and wonder if the bigger picture has been lost?
"The bigger picture is the provision of healthy and nutritious school meals as part of a ‘whole school approach' to improve the nutritional wellbeing of today's school-age children."
Concern centres on whether the guidelines apply to individual meals or everything available at lunch times, and if drinks served should be included in this. The caterers are concerned about minimum mineral and vitamin levels and how achievable and appropriate they are, as well as the different nutritional needs of pupils at same sex schools will be addressed.
The caterers, which are all using the Saffron Nutrition nutritional analysis system to meet the requirements, also have concerns over monitoring of the new standards and the situation regarding self-managed schools.
The Sunderland School Meal Success Story
Following the launch of Sunderland School Meals successful Food in Schools programme last September over 98 schools in Sunderland have seen as much as a 7% increase in the uptake of school meals.
The programme sees a dedicated Food in Schools team working with schools, pupils and their families to promote healthy eating and positive lifestyle messages, as well as ensuring that all school meals provide for the nutritional needs of children.
Since September 2006, a Food in Schools Co-ordinator, a specialist dietician and a team of food in schools workers have worked with 20,649 pupils from 98 schools across Sunderland to communicate the benefits of a healthy balanced diet.
The team has carried out a range of activities including in-school sessions, after school cookery clubs and recipe books for young people and their parents. In addition the Food in Schools Team has worked to empower the school meals workforce with ongoing personal development opportunities, including development training for school cooks and nutrition training for teaching and catering assistants and parents and carers.
Colin Ranson, assistant head of community services at Sunderland City Council commented: "Encouraging young people to change their perceptions of food involves a significant level of work. The Food in Schools Team has been a tremendous asset to Sunderland School Meals Service as the team are able to work directly with young people, offering more information and individual attention. By actively engaging the pupils they are able to see and understand the benefits of a healthy diet first hand.
"The work isn't just confined to the classroom, however. We actively encourage parents to take part in cookery clubs, as well as providing them with the opportunity to gain qualifications. If parents understand the benefits of a healthy balanced diet the children are more likely to continue this diet outside of the school grounds. The work of the Food in Schools Team has undoubtedly contributed to the increase in uptake of school meals in Sunderland and I have no doubt their work will continue to have a positive impact."
Sunderland School Meals Service has for many years made significant investment in school meals. This has included the transformation of dining halls into attractive 21st century eating places, pioneering cashless systems and the removal of any stigma associated with school meals. Sunderland School Meals Service is offered in 90% of the city's nursery, primary and secondary schools.
Hatco's Healthy Choice
Healthy catering in schools is well and truly top of the political agenda, with legislation now covering levels of salt, fat and vitamins amongst others. We are all told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and with guidelines showing between 50-60% of calories eaten by kids over two years old should come from carbohydrates,1 what better way to start the school day than with a healthy slice of toast.
With the rise of school breakfast clubs and school caterers increasingly looking to healthy mid-morning snacks to meet dietary balance requirements, why not offer an easy and cheap alternative that keeps kids healthy - a simple slice of toast with butter? Toast is a firm favourite with children of all ages, whether it be served on its own with a tasty choice of preserves or with a healthy topping such as egg or low-fat cheese.
Trying to get a high turnover out of a domestic toaster in a busy kitchen is a mistake many operators still make because of the need to save space, but Hatco offers a solution with a range of professional conveyor toasters, perfect for any size school kitchen.
With dimensions ranging from 368mm x 451mm x 378mm to 559mm x 448mm x 838mm and the capacity to produce anything from 150 to 1,350 slices of toast an hour, the Hatco range is perfect for school operation.
Offering functionality, style and user-friendliness, the range can also accommodate everything from the simple sliced white loaf to English muffins and bagels, making it perfect for schools looking to offer a choice of healthy toast options.
Rather than relying on temperature changes, the Toast-MaxTM, Toast-Rite®, Toast-Qwik® and Toast-King® all use a conveyor system that allows a simple alteration of speed and temperature to determine how well the product is done.
The front loading and collection guarantees ease of use and the stainless steel finish ensures easy cleaning. In addition, all materials and components used in Hatco toasters are chosen for their durability and performance and every toaster is pre-tested to ensure its efficiency prior to shipment, providing reassurance to caterers.
