All children attending an Enfield primary school are being offered free school meals for the next two years.
Enfield Council has made the offer to parents of pupils at Eastfield Primary and now over 350 children are receiving a nutritious meal every day.
Cllr Ayfer Orhan, cabinet member for schools and children’s services, said, “We are determined to do the very best we can to give all our children a good start in life. Our school meals service prepares thoroughly nutritious and appetising meals every day. We want to ensure that all the children at the school enjoy them.”
Eastfield School was selected for this pilot based on the analysis of a number of significant indictors including obesity data, poverty data and current take up of paid meals.
The purpose of the scheme is to provide a good meal at midday which will help parents under pressure who may not have the time or cash to prepare meals after a busy working day.
Cllr Orhan continued, “We believe in making this borough fairer, especially in the areas of highest need. We will monitor the take – up of meals and measure the effects on the children’s behaviour and ability to learn. This is money well spent.”
Head teacher, Chris Luck, added, “We have had a tremendous response to this pilot with the take up more than doubling. Apart from the obvious benefits of treating all children in the same way, we have been able to dispense with the administration of separating paid for meals, and saved staff time. The scheme is working very well.”
The additional cost of the scheme over two years is £235k. Of this sum £25k was spent on equipping the kitchen and this was funded by Government Grant.
The scheme will be reviewed after the pilot period.
A typical menu includes:
- Hot options such as pasta and Bolognese; moussaka; chicken curry; jacket potatoes with tempting fillings; seasonal vegetables;
- Cold options – salads including couscous; cold meats; fish dishes; rice salads
- Fresh fruit and yoghurt; fruit crumbles; some puddings
- Menus have also been influenced by local communities and their preferences
