What was your reaction when you heard that every child at your school would be entitled to free school meals?
I thought it was an excellent idea. We had some concerns about the packed lunches that some pupils were bringing to school and free school meals for all pupils means that every child is eating a balanced lunch that sets them up well for the afternoon.
How has it gone? Have you noticed an impact on the children at your school?
It has been quite straight forward here as most of the pupils either had a school lunch or brought a packed lunch before the pilot began, so we were used to seating and supervising most of the school at lunch time.
Since the pilot began, academic standards have continued to rise here and although it’s impossible to say it’s just due to one factor, I’m convinced that eating a good meal at lunchtime, having fruit at morning break and water available during the day helps to keep the children alert.
Despite the fact that the meals are free to everyone, some families still choose packed lunches. How did you find out what issues were preventing families from choosing school meals?
One of our elected pupil groups is the Food Group. They give regular feedback to the school cook who meets with them to discuss the menus, so by doing this, most of the pupil and parent concerns have been addressed. We’ve had special tasting sessions at open evenings and at our contract caterer’s promotional event, to show the quality and range of food available. Our termly community meals have played an important part in educating parents and pupils.
There’s also our annual school self-evaluation, which gives pupils the opportunity to raise concerns and also applaud what the school does well. I believe parents and pupils know that, as important stakeholders they are listened to and that we use all their responses to improve provision further and that includes what we offer at lunchtime.
What strategy did you put in place to increase registration and take up?
All the things I’ve just mentioned, plus regular assembly coverage of healthy eating and lifestyles. The school curriculum also covers the importance of a balanced diet and eating well at lunchtime.
How do you involve pupils in decisions about school meals?
Pupils give feedback through the elected pupil voice group and through questionnaires.
Tell us more about the community days you do so well at St. Luke’s. What happens on a community day and what are the benefits to school meal take up, healthy eating and the school community as a whole?
The elected Food Group usually agree the theme for the community day. Once the theme is agreed and the date set the school cook proposes a menu based on the pupils’ ideas. Once this has been agreed the kitchen get on with the major catering and prep required because numbers go up with parents, friends and local residents all joining us. The pupils then decide how we can decorate the hall to fit the theme.
There is a small termly budget to cover these costs and judging from feedback, the decorated hall adds to the atmosphere and success of the event. We collect feedback and take photos at each event and use these to improve the next one. We’re always learning.
Today is Italian day! We’ve got Mediterranean pasta bake, spaghetti and meatballs and fish in a creamy sauce. We’ve got Italian flags everywhere, the pupil helpers are in costume and some pupils have made lovely table decorations and each table had cards with interesting facts and phrases to stimulate conversation amongst our diners.
Can you share any individual “success” stories?
We have two siblings that up to a year ago were either going home for lunch or bringing packed lunches. Their Father had been seriously ill and was in recovery and their Mum was very protective. We had concerns about their attendance and punctuality. We encouraged Mum to attend the community meals and staff worked with her to let the children enjoy lunch with their friends and play in the playground. It was a long journey but now both children have a school lunch each day, their attendance and punctuality is above 95% and their general attitude and motivation for learning has improved significantly.
More generally, after a community meal we held in June 2010, we asked the 35 parents who had attended, “If you had to pay for your child’s school dinner would you pay or would you send them with a packed lunch?” 30 said that they would continue to have school meals, even if the free school meals pilot came to an end. I think that was a great result.
Did you encounter any difficulties along the way?
Practical organisation of the community meals is a huge undertaking. Seating, serving and hosting the numbers we get is a task in itself and the teacher lead needs cover to organise things which incurs some cost to the school. But we all work together to make it happen because they’re successful on so many levels.
Did anything surprise you?
I’ve been so impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of staff who give up time to eat with parents and pupils. The parents who come back again and again and rearrange work commitments to come and have lunch with their children. Not forgetting of course the pupils who are always full of ideas about what they want!
What differences have you noticed at your school since you started to implement ways to increase FSM take up and introduced the community days?
There’s been a noticeable improvement in the quality and variety of food. Pupils, parents and staff are not afraid to give feedback and there is a real passion for food generally. The community lunches have been our biggest success – the children really look forward to these special events.
Have the community meals and other strategies you’ve put in place cost you anything?
One member of staff has to put a lot of time into organising the community meals, so when she is very busy we employ someone to cover her classes. We have a budget allocated for resources to support the community events.
What would you say to other schools that want to increase registration and take up of free school meals at their schools?
Find out what your pupils and parents want and what gets them excited, and work with that. Each school is different and what’s worked for us may be different for them. For example, we’re lucky enough to have an amazing outside patio which means we can eat outside in the summer, but this won’t be the same in every school.
What top tips would you give them?
Start small and use evaluations and feedback to plan next steps. Our community meals were quite low key at the beginning but are now major productions once a term. Think about the overall benefits to the school when things are tough and keep your eye on the longer picture. Change takes time.
