School Meals in Milton Keynes

July 2008

Please find below a briefing from Client Services, to assist those schools that provide their own school meals service.

Briefing for Schools that run an In-House Catering Service_(15K)

Also find below the lastest newsletter from the School Food Trust.

SFT Newsletter July 08_(1086K)

June 2008

Update on Nutrient Based Standards
I am pleased to inform you that the School Food Trust Guide to introducing the Government's food and nutrient-based standards for school lunches is now available on the School Food Trust website - see the link below:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/content.asp?ContentId=586

The guide provides a summary of the current food-based standards for school lunches and food other than lunch, together with detailed advice on interpreting and implementing the final food-based standards and nutrient-based standards for school lunches which become mandatory for primary schools in September 2008 and for secondary schools September 2009. You can download a copy of the Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007; No. 2359 at:
www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/pdf/uksi_20072359_en.pdf

Caterer's guide To complement the step-by step guide the Trust has also produced 'Calculating the nutrient content of school lunch recipes- A caterer's guide'. The purpose of this guide is to enable caterers and support staff in the school catering environment to facilitate the process of calculating the nutrient content of an average school lunch. Every caterer in every school will be able to use this guide to gather the essential information needed. To access the caterer's guide at
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/doc_item.asp?DocId=81&DocCatId=9

If your School requires assistance with menu compliance and analysis this is a service Client Services can offer schools, using 'Nutmeg' Analysis Software. Contact us.....

Have you signed up to The Million Meals Campaign?
See below the latest Million Meals Newsletter which outlines more about the free resources available to schools and highlights case studies and about what other schools are doing.

Million Meals Newletter June 08_(845K)

May 2008
School Food Trust May Update
Click on the below to see the latest information from the School Food Trust, including details of their latest ' Fresh look guide' publication for schools.

SFT Newsletter May 2008_(361K)

April 2008
New School Meals Contract Goes Live!
On 21 April the new contract with Sodexo Education Services went live in 73 MK Schools and 9 Day Nuseries. In order to assist schools/parents in these early stages please find below a Frequently asked questions document which also contains useful contact details.

FAQ's - New School Meals Contract - April 2008_(35K)

For further information about Sodexo please see their website:

www.uk.sodexo.com/

February 2008

School Meals Tender Update
Over the past 12 months Client Services (part of School Improvement & Planning) has undertaken a tender process of behalf of MK Schools. This new, authority-wide school meals contract will ensure a healthy, hot meals service, which meets the new nutritional standards for school food, will be available from April 2008. 73 MK Schools and 9 MKC Day Nurseries opted into the tender and the service will begin on 7 April for Day Nurseries and 21 April for Schools. Two short-listed bidders have been evaluated, but the contract has not yet been awarded. The contract award should occur by end of February and all interested parties will be notified about the outcome. This will ensure healthy, hot meals are available to MK Schools despite our lack of kitchens. Client Services will monitor this contract on behalf of MK Schools and ensure that the new school food/nutritional requirements are met.

New Production Kitchen at Tickford Park School
MK suffers form a severe lack of school kitchens, only 7 amoung the 73 schools in the tender. Over the past 18 months Client Services has invested the DfES Targeted School Meals grant it received into developing an area, at Tickford Park School, into a school kitchen hub. This brand new production / hub school kitchen facility was completed last month and is a much needed asset in support of MK Schools. The hub kitchen is already producing hot meals for pupils at Tickford Park School and will also provide meals to other MK Schools once the new contract is in operation. This facility is known as the Newport Pagnell School Kitchen Hub.

All new schools will now be built with kitchens. We hope, in the future, to invest in up-to-date kitchen equipment for current school kitchens in MK by using some of the new DCSF School Lunch Grant 2008-11 allocated to the Authority (to be received from 1 April 08). We are also going to purchase Nutritional Analysis software in order to provide a service to those schools that have their own "In house" school meals service. This software and the expert support required, will help schools who have their own school meals service to comply with the nutrient-based standards from Sept 08.

Previous news items........

We hope the information provided on our School Meals page will be of interest to Schools, Parents, Governors, Caterers and anyone else with an interest in School Food. You will be able to find out how we currently operate in MK, information about the new Nutritional Standards for School Food and what we are doing here in MK with the government funding we have been given to 'Transform School Meals'. There are also many useful links. This information will be regularly updated to keep pace with this agenda and with both local and national progress.

In a unique place such as Milton Keynes, with so many young people, we are working hard to ensure that the government agenda 'Transforming School Meals' is driven forward. The Authority has been provided with a 3-year grant (2005-2008) to help to support the transformation of school meals in all maintained primary, secondary, special schools and PRU's. Currently the new standards do NOT apply to maintained Nursery Schools, though they will be required to continue to follow the existing 2001 standards. The Dcsf is currently consulting on The Early Years Foundation Stage. Schools have also been allocated a small grant.

• it is the Government's expectation that local authorities will lead, in partnership with other local stakeholders - particularly parents, schools and health services - the development and implementation of a local strategy to deliver a high quality, sustainable school meals service; and
  
• the Secretary of State has set as a condition of funding that this strategy should include plans to begin the reintroduction of universal hot meals provision, where it does not already exist, by September 2008.

As a council we do NOT currently operate an authority-wide school meals contract, schools purchase freely on an individual basis from various catering providers. Though this is set to change from April 2008, as you will see within our 'Latest News' section. School Meals funding in MK is devolved to schools, therefore the governing body takes on the responsibility for their provision. This will include, for example, deciding on the content and cost of meals, providing free school meals to eligible pupils and complying with the new nutritional standards for school food.

Like many other authorities, Milton Keynes has inherited the consequences of school kitchen closures some 20 years ago. However despite this, 81 of our 114 schools access a hot meals service (as at Sept 2007) and many schools access this via a "delivered in" model.