Parents should be involved, says Ealing North MP
Steve
Pound MP has met with Secretary of State for Education, Ruth Kelly
MP to discuss the Government's plan to make school meals healthier
and get parents involved in deciding what their kids eat at school.
Steve Pound MP said:
�I want people in Ealing North to be able choose the right food for
their family. A bad diet can mean putting on weight and can even cause
diabetes and other illnesses. But it can be quite hard sometimes to
be sure what your kids are eating when they are in school.
The Government will be talking to schools, parents the food industry
and nutritionists to devise ways of getting parents involved in deciding
what is on the menu in the next school year. However to make sure
that there is consistency the Government has decided that from 2006
there will be a new, tough minimum health standard for school meals.
I want to make sure that people in Ealing North have the opportunity
to have their say about what schools meals they think should be on
the menu at lunchtime. I welcome parents feedback on this and will
make sure to raise their views with education ministers.
Our kids deserve to have nutritious and tasty food provided at school
so that kids learn how to eat healthily. Hopefully this will inspire
them to have a healthy diet throughout their life.�
In the Food Programme on Radio 4, Jamie Oliver disagrees - if so many parents are feeding children junk food at home, why would we ask them what to do? He believes that only providing healthy options is the best way forward, otherwise children in the habit of eating food of poor nutritional value will continue to select those products and healthy options will not produce the changes needed.
| Councillor Sonika Nirwal, Cabinet member for developing young people says, "I am really pleased that school meals are receiving the attention they deserve because in Ealing we have recognised the importance of a healthy diet for some time. We have a special arrangement with Harrison Catering Services Ltd which allows the council to be very 'hands on' with the service and have a say in the food that is provided. We pay 53.5p on raw ingredients for each primary school meal in Ealing which is much higher than the 35p commonly spent by LEAs. "We believe our menu is one of the healthiest available with a move away from breaded food items like chicken nuggets, and a greater emphasis on fresh produce and steamed vegetables. Salads, yoghurt and fresh fruit appear on the menu every day. Pupils can also try taster pots of foods that they wouldn't normally eat, allowing them to develop new preferences for healthier options." |
In a survey of parents carried out in May 2004 by the Ealing Schools Catering Consortium, 1270 completed questionnaires were received back from parents of children in Ealing schools. Of these, 51% had school meals and 40% had a packed lunch. This survey was carried out after Harrison's had been in place for 2 terms.
When those who had school meals were asked how they rated the quality of the meals their child received, 62% replied excellent or good (up from 51% the previous year), with 31% answering fair. Interestingly, 50% of those answering said that they would be willing to pay £1.80 or more. Prices are currently £1.65 per meal.
The main reason given for why children do not use the school meals service was that 32% of parents believed their children preferred a packed lunch. 17% had issues with the quality of the food and 12% the poor choice of healthy options. Peer pressure was also an issue; 14% of parents said their children wanted to eat with their friends and their friends do not use the school meals service.
| Related links | |
Listen to a radio programme including an interview with Jamie Oliver and some theories about how school dinners have got into this state: The Food Programme (Sunday 20th Feb) Ealing Grid for Learning - Healthy Schools Participate Your views welcome on the forum - perhaps you can pick up some tips or pass on your experience and help other parents and schools |