16th Jan 2009 - 00:00
Abstract
Local authorities who wish to express an interest in the government's free school meals pilot can now check if they are eligible as the Department for Children, Schools and Families releases the criteria.
The project, announced back in September 2008, will see three schools gain overall funding of £40m to supply free school meals to pupils for two years. The pilot aims to improve the evidence surrounding the health and educational benefits of free school meals. Two local authorities will be able to offer a free school lunch to all primary school children. The third local authority will extend the current free school meals eligibility rules to include both primary and secondary pupils in families on Working Tax Credit subject to annual income not exceeding £16,040. Local authorities along with their Primary Care Trusts are now being invited to bid for the chance to run one of these pilots. Successful local authorities must fulfil the following criteria: • Participating areas must have at least 15% of pupils currently eligible for free school meals • Average school lunch take-up in the area must be below 50% • Participating areas must not have already piloted free school meals (unless this has involved arrangements to market school lunches and encourage take-up by, for example, offering a week of free school meals to reception children. • Schools involved in the pilots must be able to provide additional, high quality meals, have sufficient kitchen and good dining environment and capacity, appropriately trained staff and good lunchtime arrangements. • Participating areas must agree to co-operate in any evaluation arrangements. Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, said: "We want to make sure that children, and especially those from disadvantaged areas, have access to a healthy hot meal every day at school. We have made massive investment in school meals and introduced important changes to the quality of school food, including tougher nutritional standards in primary schools. "The pilots will help us to discover whether offering free school meals has an impact on child health and obesity, behaviour and performance at school and eating habits at home. The pilots can help us to have a better understanding of the value for money of free school meals for all and test whether we have the current rules for free school meals eligibility right" Pilots are due to start in September 2009. The deadline for expressing your interest initially is Friday 30th January 2009 and all full bids must be submitted by Thursday 12th March 2009. If you would like to express an interest in running a pilot scheme please email holly.tuner@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk or write to her using: DCSF Area F Ground Floor Mowden Hall Staindrop Road Darlington DL3 9BG To view the letter sent out by the DCSF click here To view the list of LA's that already match the criteria click here.