Schools to offer own hot dinners (From Witney Gazette)

Schools to offer own hot dinners

3:01pm Friday 3rd March 2006 in Witney By Giles Sheldrick

SECONDARY schools in Oxfordshire will have to provide their own hot dinners from this April as the county council attempts to make its in-house catering service profitable.

Plans are being drawn up for a radical overhaul of its meals service, which would end the ability of the county's 34 secondary schools to opt in or out of County Hall catering. Concern centres on how the 14 secondary schools in Oxfordshire using CFM will be able to provide a hot meal.

The overhaul, which will involve CFM being renamed, includes: * Primary, nursery, and special schools still wanting hot school meals entering into a contract with CFM's successor to continue the present service * Secondary schools and nursery, primary, and special schools providing their own service will be able access specialist catering advice from the county council to maintain a minimum standard of quality.

In addition, all schools providing their own meals will be given advice on nutrition, food safety, and menu preparation for free.

CFM currently provides more than 9,000 hot meals a day.

Ten secondary schools use private caterers and 10 manage their meals directly, while 224 of 260 primary, nursery and special schools use the present CFM service. The county council has predicted a five per cent increase in the take-up of school meals roughly an extra 500 a day after the changes.

County councillor Michael Waine, cabinet member for schools improvement, said: "Schools are being offered a real choice and the taxpayer value for money."