January 2003

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Healthier school meals are on the menu while children in the first two years of primary will enjoy free fruit thanks to new measures and investment announced today.

A package of improvements, backed by an additional £63.5 million, aims to drive up nutritional standards, improve the health of young people, and tackle child poverty.

The Measures include:

• free fruit for pupils in primary one and two

• new nutrient standards for school meals

• larger portions of more nutritious food at no further cost to parents

• fresh, chilled drinking water available free in school dining rooms

• raising awareness of the entitlement to free school meals

• improved atmosphere and ambience facilities in dining halls

• raising awareness of the entitlement to free school meals

They flow from the final recommendations of the Expert Panel on School Meals which today publishes its final report Hungry for Success. Ministers have accepted the recommendations in full. 

At St Thomas of Aquin's school in Edinburgh, Education Minister Cathy Jamieson said:

"Under the chairmanship of Michael O’Neill, the Panel has produced an excellent set of recommendations which will secure a radical improvement in the quality and attractiveness of the school meals service.

"A healthy diet and lifestyle are vital to developing healthy minds. Research clearly demonstrates that young people perform better academically when they eat a well-balanced diet. and implementing the recommendations from Hungry for Success will revitalise the school meals service in Scotland.

"The new measures will help local authorities and caterers serve up healthier meals in settings that are appealing to children and young people. Pupils can expect to have a greater say about services and to see improvements such as better facilities in dining halls, fewer queues, more choice and generous portions of good-quality food.

"However, these improvements are not just about school lunchtimes - they should be consistent with our efforts to create a 'whole school' approach, towards the promotion of better health through what is taught in classrooms, what is served in breakfast clubs and out-of-school clubs, and what is sold in vending machines and tuck shops.

"And the introduction of free fruit in the first two years of primary will introduce children to the importance of a healthy balanced diet from an early age."

Justice Minister Margaret Curran said:

"If we are to tackle poverty and close the opportunity gap which still stifles the prospects of many young Scots, we need to work together as a government. All the evidence shows that children need a healthy start in life if they are to realise their full potential as adults.

"We also face the problem that one in five children who qualify for free school meals do not take them. It is important that schools do everything to reduce the stigma often associated with free school meals. No child should be made to feel like a second class citizen because their parents have a low income, and schools must make sure that does not happen."

Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:

"Our nutrient standards for school meals are the first of their kind in the UK and form a key part of our campaign to improve Scotland's health record by improving the nation's diet. Local authorities, schools and caterers will work in partnership with parents and pupils to implement the standards in all primary and special schools by December 2006.

"Schools meal facilities will no longer advertise or promote food or drinks with a high fat or sugar content. Pupils will have healthy meal options and access to fresh, chilled drinking water with meals. Schools should complement this with access to good-quality tap water throughout the school day.

"Our Healthy Living Campaign and the Scottish Diet Action Plan seek to increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in our diet, and reduce the high consumption of fat, sugar and salt. Today's announcement will ensure children across Scotland have access to high-quality school meals, which supports those objectives."

The Expert Panel visited schools across Scotland, conducted an audit of current practice, and held workshops with local authorities. It recommended practical proposals based on existing good practice and sound evidence.

The panel's final report report was Hungry for Success - a whole school approach to school meals in Scotland.

Its key recommendations are:

• establishment of Scottish Nutrient Standards for School Lunches for primary and specialist school by December 2004 and secondary December 2006

• schools to explore ways of maximising anonymity of free meals

• schools and local authorities to review current procedures and make improvements to dining facilities to enhance atmosphere and ambience and encourage social experience of schools meals. This should include looking at seating, queuing, length of lunch break, supervision of meals, labelling of meals and to explore introducing pricing as an incentive to healthy food and sending menus to parents.

• monitoring the implementation of the Standards by HIME and other relevant agencies

• all schools should review their current practice in establishing links between learning and teaching on healthy eating in the curriculum and food provision in the school.

• education authorities should promote partnership approaches and schools should develop mechanisms to deliver partnership working.

• processes maximising anonymity for free meal recipients should be explored as a priority in all schools. Primary schools should review their ticket allocation practices to ensure anonymity for free school meals is maximised and education authorities should adopt early introduction of a school meal application for multiple use cards in particular in secondary schools

• improvements to the dining room to enhance its atmosphere and ambience, and encourage its use as a social area should be considered as a priority by local authorities and should be taken into account in their wider school estate planning. It is desirable, wherever possible, that a separate dining area should be provided.

• senior management within schools should strongly support and endorse their school meal provision as part of the whole child approach

Local authorities together with COSLA will incorporate strategies for implementing the recommendations into mainstream planning process that will enable schools and communities to adopt recommendations.

School meals additional grant funding distribution arrangements (not including free fruit)

The free fruit for the first two years of primary will be financed via the National Priorities Action Fund at a rate of £2 million a year for the next three years.

The new nutritional standards will apply to publicly funded primary, secondary and specialist schools, but it is hoped that independent schools will also follow them.

In 2001-02, 19% of pupils were entitled to free school meals in local authority schools, but only 15% were recorded as taking free meals. 50% of all pupils take school meals (free and paid).

The cost of school meals is £87 million of which £30 million is recovered from paid meals. Local authorities receive money for school meals from the Executive based on pupil numbers in the annual school census.

The Executive's Healthy Living campaign is part of a broad and comprehensive campaign to improve the national diet. The aim is to create a climate of change within the country, promoting healthy eating to the public and supporting and encouraging the food industry to play their part.

St Thomas of Aquin's operates a cashless canteen system; pupils use swipecards. This promotes anonymity and encourages those pupils entitled to free school meals to take them up. 53-60% of pupils eat school meals (Monday-Thursday) and approximately 13% of pupils are entitled to free school meals