This charter/policy seeks to establish the key objectives of all stakeholders in the School Meals Service; to provide a collaborative approach in the strategic direction and development of the service. The charter/policy determines the stakeholders’ roles and accountability in the management and delivery of school meals including legislative responsibilities for the national food based and nutritional standards.
The document has been developed in consultation with stakeholder representatives who have given a commitment to work together to achieve agreed outcomes for the benefit of all Knowsley pupils.
Knowsley’s School Meals Service is committed to providing a high quality service to all our customers by:
3.1 Food Safety Statement
Knowsley School Meals Service recognises the importance of food safety in its operations. As part of its statutory responsibilities the service’s operational processes and service delivery arrangements are based on the legislative requirements within the following;
On-site Chef Supervisors will manage, control and undertake checks on a daily basis for all deliveries including temperature probing and correct storage of food. Food Safety Data Sheets will be completed and records stored for all food produce and associated food preparation operations. All staff who are involved in food control procedures are fully trained and have access to guidance within the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles as set out it he service’s ISO 9001 operating manuals.
The School Meals Service ensures that all food products and meal recipes do not contain genetically modified ingredients or chemical dyes. A full list of banned additives is shown as Appendix A.
Knowsley School Meals Service recognises that quality of service is of paramount importance to the customer and is committed to ensuring that all customers receive the highest levels of quality service standards. Which are externally assessed by ISOQAR certified ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. All catering staff involved in the provision of the School Meals Service are required to comply with ISO 9001 Quality Management System procedures.
Knowsley School Meals Service supports and promotes healthy eating, and as such ensures that the food products used to produce meals are locally sourced and freshly prepared on site. All fresh meat used in the service is quality assured within the EBLEX Quality Mark Scheme; which certifies that food has been produced to independently inspected standards right across the food chain, from farm to pack.
Knowsley School Meals Service participates in the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, which provides information on food hygiene standards for many food businesses in the Borough. Participating in this scheme means that the kitchens in the School Meals Service are part of a national scheme run by local authorities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in partnership with the Food Standard Agency. Each business is given a hygiene rating when inspected by a food safety officer, they look at:
Premises receive one of the following ratings:
Rating | Standard of Premises |
---|---|
5 | Very good |
4 | Good |
3 | Generally satisfactory |
2 | Improvement necessary |
1 | Major improvement necessary |
0 | Urgent improvement necessary |
The School Meals Service aims for all kitchens to achieve a rating of at least 4.
The service’s Contract Managers undertake regular quality checks in each kitchen, to ensure that all catering staff are operating in accordance with agreed service standards, Safe Systems of Work and Site Safety procedures.
Consultation is sought from pupils, parents and school staff on the quality of food, service and price via surveys, food tasting sessions and menu planning. Feedback and information gained is used to inform future menus and service arrangements.
The Service also participates in an annual Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Performance Survey, which includes a benchmarking exercise with other catering services throughout the UK. This allows the service to undertake an annual benchmarking exercise which provides comparisons with other catering providers and enables the service to identify areas for performance improvements and cost comparisons to ensure that the service is delivering a high quality, value for money service.
Healthy Lunch Box
Packed lunches are provided by parents and as such there are no formal mechanisms for establishing whether they meet the government’s nutritional standards to ensure all young people are receiving a healthy, nutritious school lunch. Details below are provided as guidance to aid parents in preparing a healthy packed lunch, to ensure that their children are eating a nutritionally balanced, healthy lunchtime meal. This should be communicated and promoted to parents by the school.
Packed lunches should include:
Packed lunches should not include:
Stay on Site Policy
Schools are encouraged to adopt a stay on site policy to prevent pupils leaving the site at lunchtime and buying their lunch at fast food and takeaway outlets. Pupils should be encouraged to eat either a nutritiously balanced, healthy school meal, or bring a packed lunch which will be governed by the guidance above.
Vending/Tuck Shop Policy
School Governing Bodies should restrict the sales of snack and vending machines/ tuck shop products to ensure that all schools are complying with the nutritional guidelines set out in The Education (Nutritional Standard and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007.
School meals are free for children if their parent or guardian receive:
Children are not entitled to free school meals if their parent or guardian receives Working Tax Credit.
Information on free school meals is available for parents or guardians via 0151 443 4042 or www.knowsley.gov.uk for more details
If circumstances change, and parents are no longer receiving the above benefits, they would need to notify the school and the Benefits Department of any changes.
Pupils entitled to a free school meal will have their allowance credited to their account on a daily basis; any unused credits cannot be rolled over on to the next day’s allowance. Secondary pupil’s accounts will be credited after the morning break so credit can only be spent at lunchtime.
Menu
The School Meals Service offers a multi choice menu which provides a wide range of food and drinks options. In primary schools, pupils are offered a choice of a hot meal or a lighter option, such as a sandwich or jacket potato, with a choice of dessert/fresh fruit and a drink of water, milk or fruit juice. A free salad bar and bread are available for all pupils staying for a school meal.
The menus are changed twice a year to reflect seasonal food products and are designed in consultation with the Chef Supervisors based on feedback from pupils and reflective of local choices. The menu choices are nutritionally balanced within the national food guidelines (Education Nutritional Standard and Requirements for School Food (England) Regulations 2007) and food provisions cost targets. The menus are provided on a three-weekly cycle basis which also includes meal recipes and portion controls, to ensure consistency in service quality and costs.
The School Meals Service aims to promote ‘healthy lifestyle’ patterns to encourage young people to choice food from the key nutritional food groups.
Price
Prices will be suggested by the Schools Forum at reasonable levels to promote the take up of School Meals, and these will be benchmarked against other Local Authorities in the Merseyside / North West region. Governing bodies have the power to determine meals prices but are required to have regard to the Charter including the pricing levels proposed by the Schools Forum.
The price of a school meal is critical to the accessibility and affordability of a healthy lunchtime meal for Knowsley pupils. The price of a meal is calculated by the Council in consultation with school representatives in the Formula Review Group, who seek approval and endorsement of any price changes via the Schools Forum within each new academic year.
The School Meals Service endeavours to maintain the price of a meal to an accessible and affordable level, ensuring value for money and high quality by managing supplier costs, maximising use of all resources and subsidising the meal costs with other catering sales income.
Primary and Special Schools
Payment method is through ParentPay, please contact the school office if you have any queries regarding this.. Payments must be made on weekly basis to encourage parents/carers to allow their children to take up a school meal.
The School Meals Service will cater for all special dietary requirements, including medical and ethnic dietary needs on request. Parents with children who have special dietary needs should contact their school to let them know of their child’s individual needs. This information will then be recorded and provide to the on-site Chef Supervisor who will ensure that the child’s dietary needs are accommodated as far as practically possible from the current menu. All catering staff will be made aware of any special dietary needs when preparing and serving the food. Medical confirmation may be required in some circumstances.
3.8 Healthy Eating Policy
Knowsley Schools and the School Meals Service, will seek to work together to ensure that all Knowsley pupils have access to a healthy, well-balanced meal during the school day. To ensure that all aspects of food and drink in schools promote the health and well-being of pupils, staff and visitors to the school to enhance their learning potential. To recognise and acknowledge the importance of school meals in tackling childhood obesity, educational attainment and behaviour/concentration levels and with a commitment to provide a well-balanced nutritional lunch to all pupils.
Schools will work in conjunction with the Schools Meals Service to provide:
Service Delivery Arrangements
This section of the document sets out the operational and management responsibilities of both the School Meals Service, and the Schools who buy into the service level agreement (SLA).
School Meals Service responsibilities:
School responsibilities:
Working in Partnership
The Charter/Policy seeks to establish a collaborative working partnership between schools, School Meals Service, parents and pupils and other stakeholders. The document is jointly owned and managed by all stakeholders to ensure that healthy eating is at the heart of all aspects of the Charter.
Appendix A
Prohibited Food Additives
Colourings
E102 Tartrazine | E104 Quinoline Yellow | E107 Yellow 2G | E128 Red 2G | |
E110 Sunset Yellow | E120 Cochineal | E122 Carmosine | E131 Patent Blue | |
E123 Amaranth | E124 Ponceau | E127 Erythrosine | E132 Indigo Carmine | |
E133 Brilliant Blue | E151 Black PN | E154 Brown FK | E155 Brown HT | E160b Annatto |
E210-219 Benzoates | E220 - 227 Sulphites | E250 Sodium Nitrite | E251 Sodium Nitrate |
E320 Butylated Hydroxyanisole | E321 Butylated Hydroxyanisole |