The Welsh Education Minister has said that ‘common sense’ was needed by local authorities when interpreting Government guidance on the size of primary school meal servings.
The Minister, Huw Lewis AM, made the comments following questions by Montgomeryshire Assembly Member, Russell George, where he asked Mr Lewis whether he agreed that decisions on school meal provision should be made at a local level by the individual primary school and not by central ‘diktat’ by the Local Education Authority. He also asked whether the Minister thought there was enough flexibility in Welsh Government’s nutritional guidance to local authorities, to allow them to devolve decision making to canteen staff and teachers.
Mr Lewis said he was satisfied that there was enough flexibility in Government guidance as it only provided ‘suggested portion sizes’, which would cater for the nutritional requirements of children at various ages. However, he also added that while guidance mattered so did common sense and felt that a ‘large dose of common sense’ would not go amiss in the local interpretation of those guidelines.
Mr George has recently brought this issue to the attention of Welsh Ministers after a number of parents and school governors from across the county raised their concerns with the AM that Powys County Council’s school meals policy of standard portion sizes and the abolition of ‘second helpings’, was not only ‘extreme’ but it was contributing to increased levels of snacking and poor dietary choices.
Having initially raised the issue with the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, Mr George undertook his own survey work with primary schools across the county and has received more and more evidence from schools that are unhappy with the Council’s approach.
Commenting, Mr George said:
“I welcome the response from the Minister as I couldn’t agree with him more.
“I have always said that it is more sensible to allow decisions on school meals provision to be made at a local level by the individual school – by school dinner staff and teachers because they are better placed to make discretionary decisions, rather than imposed diktats from County Hall.
“Since I have raised this issue publically, more and more parents, governors and teachers have written to me saying that they have been worried about the standardisation of school meal portions.
“A dietician has told me that an 11 year old active boy, needs on average 30% more calories a day than an active 4 year old boy and that an active 11 year old girl, needs on average 20% more calories a day than an active 4 year old girl; yet the Council has been treating them all the same.
“What is more concerning to me is that a number of schools have told me that they had written to the County Council with their concerns some time ago and had received no reply from officials at all.
“However, when I first raised this with the Council, they informed me that they had only received one complaint; so it is apparent to me from the evidence that my office has received that there is as serious communications issue at the Council in regards to school meals.
“Nevertheless, I am very pleased that the Powys Council Cabinet Member responsible for Catering, Cllr Garry Banks, has offered to meet with me and visit a school over the lunchtime period and I hope we can get this issue properly resolved.”
