In Channel 4’s Political Slot this week, Lib Dem candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade finds out how the party’s policy of free school meals for 4-7 year olds is having a huge impact locally. You can watch it here.
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Well it’s a lot better than the last PPB by Nick Clegg. Is this policy about the cost of living ? (for some people) or about improving performance in schools ? Or is it just to show that the ‘nanny state’ is popular ??
I serve as a Governor on a 160 pupil Infant School, where take up of midday meals was 30+. Over the years the dining facilities and kitchens had been downsized to suit. When the new policy was announced, I got onto the LD Group Leaderat Essex CC. We needed kit, staff training, and help to be prepared and make the policy work. He , in turn, got onto the Local Govt Association LD team. They pushed to get ringfenced extra money available for distribution to schools. It
has worked for us. We now cater on a two shift lunch service, for over 130 children. All staff were trained to cope with
importing the new volume of meals from the adjacent school’s kitchen, serve, clear up and handle double shift service.
Our furniture was replenished, old storage facilities refurbished, and now we run a successful scheme.
What we , didn;t. do was run around in circles looking for problems and someone to blame. We got on with it and
spent the same time finding the way to make it work, rather than finding 30 problems and then blaming Nick Clegg.
Children are more important than armchair carping.