Hull is set to become the first local authority in the country to provide free meals to all primary school pupils. The move aims to improve the health and educational attainment of children in the city.
The Department for Education and Skills approved Hull's scheme last week. The first primary schools will start serving free breakfasts and lunches to all pupils in April. Free snacks and fruit will also be available at after-school clubs. The scheme will be phased in at all 79 primary schools in the city this year.
Council leader Colin Inglis said: "This is a huge first for Hull, linking education and health in a radical and pioneering programme which should set new standards for the whole country. Elsewhere in the world, tackling children's nutrition has had a dramatic effect on health and longevity. We also expect it will impact dramatically on levels of attendance and attainment in Hull schools."
He added that health and education were big issues in Hull, where life expectancy is six years less than in the South and students have one of the poorest GCSE pass rates in the country. The council had to make school an attractive proposition to parents, and working families would welcome the scheme, Inglis said.
"This will put an end to the rushed breakfast or no breakfast," he said. "Hull has a low-wage economy, and the £200 saving a year for every child will be particularly welcomed by those families just above benefits level."
Hull's in-house catering service feeds 22,300 children of primary school age, of whom 28% are currently entitled to free school meals.
Inglis said the council had found £1.7m to introduce the scheme this year and £2.7m for each following year from within its existing budget. He said: "You have to prioritise, and what better way to spend £2m than on the health and future of children?"
sample Hull school lunches
- Monday: Baked bean pizza or chicken risotto, half a jacket potato, peas, mixed salad, carrot cake and fruit squash.
- Wednesday: Fresh mince and vegetable hotpot, or mega-macaroni bake, duchesse potato, green beans and cauliflower, rice pudding and tinned peaches.
- Friday: Tuna fish cakes or cheese wedge, both served with tomato sauce, chips and bread, dried peas, beetroot, steamed apple and syrup roll with custard.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 19 - 25 February 2004