Tag Archives: schools
22 Oct |
How are free school meals working? |
Last year the Government announced that all children in key stage 1 should be guaranteed a free nutritious lunchtime meal at school.
This initiative has been welcomed by schools, parents and caterers alike, in fact by virtually all those involved in catering for educational establishments.
However, such an initiative brings with it certain problems in implementation: deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was confronted in July by figures obtained by the BBC, which revealed that of the 99 councils who replied to a BBC survey, a third (34) were having to use money from their own budgets.
And the Local Government Association has further warned that 47% of local authorities report not having enough money to ensure their school kitchens are up to scratch.
So there have been comprises being made for instance, the pledge of hot meals has been amended to include cold meals, sandwiches and healthy snacks. And for those establishments who have found funds to refit, refurbish and in build the necessary kitchens, the date of implementation, September 2014, has been extended.
All Change
Mr Clegg responded to the negativism by saying: “All I would say to those people who would constantly undermine and cynically seek to denigrate a policy which is as popular as this, as well-researched as this, as well-funded as this, let’s wait . . . because this is a big change and in any big change of the school system we have hundreds and thousands of schools of course there will be some schools who will have some difficulties.”
In addition to introducing new lunchtime procedures schools will have to contend with new food standards from January 1, 2015 as well, new food standards will come in that include:
• The school’s approach to its provision of food
• Food education (including practical cooking).
• The role of the catering team.
• The school’s strategy to increase the take-up of school lunches.
However, the guidelines are still adamant that schools should be working towards providing hot meals and therefore, schools need to work towards that aim.
Effectively, this is a major opportunity for schools to upgrade their catering facilities and operate a successful working business. A world of potential opens up: corporate events, external clients, extra income . . . and whether you are refurbishing or starting from scratch, the most important item in your kitchen will be the oven.
What do you look for in an oven?
• Reliability
• Reputation
• Performance
• Maintenance support network
Rational ovens, as recommended by AC Services (Southern) have proved their resilience and reliability, as well as their cost efficiency. The manufacturer has a long term relationship AC Services as an approved partner, with numerous maintenance and service packages available to suit any budget, even that of an educational establishment.
The fact is that the implementation of free school meals means that educational establishments must take advantage of the pledge of £150m to improve kitchens and dining facilities and the promise to small schools of £22.5m to extend or improve kitchen facilities. Invest in Rational and reap the benefits!
Published Date: 22nd October 2014
Category: Blog, News, Rational
Tags: Rational Ovens, schools
15 Jul |
The Importance of the School Kitchen in Education |
With the School Food Plan being implemented, what about the school kitchen itself in educational establishments?
The Plan is designed to shake up current school meal menus and get pupils interested in school food.
From September, all Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children in state-funded schools in England will be entitled to free school meals.
But there are a range of issues that will affect the success of this approach.
New Rules
The rules for what is allowed have been recently changed. From September 2014, the school meal requirements include:
• one or more portions of vegetables or salad as an accompaniment every day
• at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week
• an emphasis on wholegrain foods in place of refined carbohydrates
• an emphasis on making water the drink of choice
• limiting fruit juice portions to quarter pints (150ml)
• restricting the amount of added sugars or honey in other drinks to 5%
• no more than two portions a week of food that has been deep-fried, batter-coated or breadcrumb-coated
• no more than two portions of food that include pastry each week
• a portion of milk (lower fat and lactose reduced) to be made available once a day.
Cater for the Masses
School chefs tend to get put under a lot of pressure to serve food en masse, especially as now menus are changing for the better and different methods of cooking are being used. There’s a big difference between lowering the industrial chip pan into burning oil and ensuring that the pasta is cooked a la dente!
According to the Government, schools have a real opportunity to shine in the catering department. Dietician Ursula Philpot, has revealed that currently, 57% of pupils had packed lunches.
“We have to rebrand school meals and make them something that children want to do. That can only be done by training the chefs, by training the catering staff, by making the school environment – where children eat – better,” she states.
According to reports, over 2,700 schools in England will need to improve kitchens to provide free meals for infant school children under the Plan, and more than 1,700 schools did not even have a kitchen. However, money is being made available to rectify this problem, with the Government announcing that it is providing £150m to improve kitchens and dining facilities.
Reliable Suppliers
So what will this money be spent on? Here’s a suggestion, a long lasting, proven reliable oven that is covered by maintenance plans and packages from installers local to the area, who can be relied on to immediately react should any problem arise. Companies like Rational which sells ovens and AC Services (Southern) who installs and maintains them in the South West of England, Southern England and South Wales. http://www.rational-online.com/en/home/index.php
“With these new avenues and extra funding offered to schools, it is essential that they get the best advice possible on renewing their catering facilities,” comments Helen from AC Services. “Many school kitchens have old fashioned appliances that have not been upgraded recently. Now is an ideal opportunity to spend the allocated money on quality appliances, such as Rational.”
With a new, modern kitchen and high quality catering equipment, school catering services can be transformed, with not only the quality of meals going up as a result of more efficient catering equipment, but also the interest of impressionable age pupils in a career within the catering industry. So let’s not underestimate the importance of the school kitchen in education.
Published Date: 15th July 2014
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News, Rational
Tags: Catering business, Rational Ovens, schools
22 Jul |
A Rational solution to school dinners |
What a month it’s been for school dinners! It all started off with a focus on healthy eating as National Childhood Obesity Week got under way on the first of July.
Then a couple of days later, the school dinner ladies were serving lunch to MPs in the House of Commons to launch National School Meals Week, which will run from November 4th to 8th. Schools hope the government will help to fund a day of free school meals for every pupil in England and Wales in an attempt to lay the ghost of old school dinners that still haunt so many parents.
Then, last week, school dinners were top of the menu again as the School Food Plan, an independent report commissioned by the Government said that packed lunches should be banned.
Energy Efficient
What’s sparked off our sudden interest in turkey twizzlers? Well, apart from the fact that some of our best customers are school kitchens, our partner, Rational, was exhibiting at the Local Authority Catering Association’s (LACA) annual bash in Birmingham last week. They are finding that more and more school kitchens are specifying Rational ovens so that they can deliver the quality and consistency that parents, politicians (and celebrity chefs) demand. An added bonus for them is that Rational ovens are just about the most energy efficient way to prepare cooked meals.
Prize Draw
Rational was demonstrating its amazing ovens to the thousands of local authority catering staff who attended LACA’s Main Event in Birmingham last week and, to mark its 40th Anniversary, it even gave delegates the chance to win one of its latest SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency® models, worth £8,000. In fact, anyone attending any of the Rational CookingLive seminar between June and November 2013 have the opportunity to enter the free prize draw. If a school wins the prize but wants a larger unit, it can put the value towards an upgraded model, at a discounted price.
If all school kitchens start to turn out the quality of food we have seen at the school kitchens we visit, then I think we will finally lay the ghost of school dinners past.
Published Date: 22nd July 2013
Category: Blog, Catering Business, News, Rational, White Efficiency
Tags: schools