Assurance on Carmarthenshire school meals
Pupils in Carmarthenshire secondary schools are being reassured that there has been no increase to the cost of their school meals.
County catering chiefs have moved to deny there has been an increase, following a protest staged by pupils at Carmarthen’s Ysgol Bro Myrddin when they boycotted the school canteen for a day.
Pupils had been under the impression that the cost of their school meals had been put up by 15p per meal, without them knowing.
But this is not the case, and no changes have been made to the prices, leaving the council’s catering services team puzzled.
Head of Business and Specialist services, Elin Cullen, said: “We are very disappointed that pupils have staged such a demonstration, when there has been no change to the cost of meals – it is a complete fabrication and seems to have been a very unfortunate misunderstanding on the pupils’ part.
“The VAT rates for food for adults, i.e. staff at the school, have gone up in line with the recent national increase, but this has absolutely no impact on pupils.
“We are even more disappointed that pupils have felt the need to stage a protest, especially when we work so closely with the school council.
“We have always worked very closely with pupils, and will continue to do so, to ensure that they are happy with their eating environment and choice of food.
“The cook supervisor at Bro Myrddin has undertaken a recent survey with members of this school council, and the survey is currently with the head teacher for consideration.”
Prices for secondary school meals are universal across the county, though the choice of food is discussed with each school, and is quite often down to preferences shown by pupils.
Bro Myrddin, in particular, has one of the best secondary school canteens in the county. Its meals comply with all nutritional standards, and it has one of the highest take-ups of school meals.
Executive board member for education, Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge, said: “We are very proud of the catering service we provide to every secondary school in the county, but Bro Myrddin in particular is one that has always proved highly successful in terms of choice and level of take-up.
“It is unfortunate that pupils have protested over what is a misunderstanding on their part – but we would like to reiterate that they, and pupils of all secondary schools in the county, are able to work with us to make any improvements possible to their school dining halls, and we would encourage them to exercise their rights in this way.”
County catering chiefs have moved to deny there has been an increase, following a protest staged by pupils at Carmarthen’s Ysgol Bro Myrddin when they boycotted the school canteen for a day.
Pupils had been under the impression that the cost of their school meals had been put up by 15p per meal, without them knowing.
But this is not the case, and no changes have been made to the prices, leaving the council’s catering services team puzzled.
Head of Business and Specialist services, Elin Cullen, said: “We are very disappointed that pupils have staged such a demonstration, when there has been no change to the cost of meals – it is a complete fabrication and seems to have been a very unfortunate misunderstanding on the pupils’ part.
“The VAT rates for food for adults, i.e. staff at the school, have gone up in line with the recent national increase, but this has absolutely no impact on pupils.
“We are even more disappointed that pupils have felt the need to stage a protest, especially when we work so closely with the school council.
“We have always worked very closely with pupils, and will continue to do so, to ensure that they are happy with their eating environment and choice of food.
“The cook supervisor at Bro Myrddin has undertaken a recent survey with members of this school council, and the survey is currently with the head teacher for consideration.”
Prices for secondary school meals are universal across the county, though the choice of food is discussed with each school, and is quite often down to preferences shown by pupils.
Bro Myrddin, in particular, has one of the best secondary school canteens in the county. Its meals comply with all nutritional standards, and it has one of the highest take-ups of school meals.
Executive board member for education, Cllr Gwynne Wooldridge, said: “We are very proud of the catering service we provide to every secondary school in the county, but Bro Myrddin in particular is one that has always proved highly successful in terms of choice and level of take-up.
“It is unfortunate that pupils have protested over what is a misunderstanding on their part – but we would like to reiterate that they, and pupils of all secondary schools in the county, are able to work with us to make any improvements possible to their school dining halls, and we would encourage them to exercise their rights in this way.”
Comments