News puts hot meals back on menu for nurseries

HOT meals are set to return to city nurseries after the Evening News forced a council U-turn on school meal cutbacks.

City leader Jenny Dawe today vowed to reverse the decision to hand out packed lunches in 14 of the council's 18 nurseries, wherever there is demand from parents. Three of the six primary school kitchens that were mothballed last term will also be reopened if the number of pupils eating lunches there rises.

Parents, headteachers and a nutritionist and dietician from NHS Lothian will also be brought in to improve the overall quality of school meals, and devise ways to boost uptake.

The measures, which come after the Evening News launched a Save our School Dinners campaign, were today welcomed by parents groups.

Cllr Dawe said: "We have listened to parents' concerns and we recognise the importance of presentation and the content of lunches provided to children.

"I would now like to reassure families in the city that where there is a demand for hot meals in nursery schools we will provide them.

"We will now consult with staff in nursery schools on various production options to identify the best way to take this forward.

"We have worked out the volume of meals the mothballed kitchens need to produce to make them viable and demand must be increased if the kitchens are to reopen in the future.

"Every effort will be made to work with school communities to try to ensure that this happens."

The cutbacks were originally drawn up after the council's supplier, Edinburgh Catering Services projected a near £500,000 budget deficit because fewer pupils were eating school meals.

ECS staff were removed from all but four stand-alone nurseries, leading to protests outside the City Chambers.

In June, the Evening News revealed that instead of food such as roast turkey or breaded haddock, young children were being fed processed cheese, fish paste, flavoured milk, jelly and cakes.

Deputy council leader Steve Cardownie described the quality of food on offer as "scandalous".

At the same time, six primary school kitchens were closed, with meals brought in, and hot meals were scrapped at all high schools.

Jacque Swartz, chairman of the parent council at High School Yards Nursery, today welcomed the decision as "great news".

A spokeswoman for the pressure group Parents in Partnership, added: "Although we're only where we were a year ago, this is a welcome step, which recognises the importance of school meals."

However, former Lord Provost Lesley Hinds said the council should reverse all the cuts.

"It shouldn't be about demand from parents, it should be about leadership and we should have a policy that all nursery schoolchildren receive a hot meal," she said. "The administration needs to admit it made a mistake."

Teaching staff will be asked to volunteer to serve food, or the dining facilities at nearby primary schools could be used.

If this can not be achieved, catering staff will be re-hired at a cost of £45,000.

There are no plans to reopen kitchens at Lismore, Bonnington and Juniper Green primaries, but facilities at Kirkliston, Hermitage Park and Prestonfield will reopen if uptake levels hit 130 a day.