Around 20 Primary Kitchen Team Leaders from Carlisle and Eden will be presented with their Healthy School Meals Award Level 1 certificates at Carlisle Rugby Club tomorrow (Thursday 21 February).
Kitchen Team Leaders have the overall responsibility of running the kitchen and providing healthy, nutritious school meals.
Over the past 12 months the Kitchen Team Leaders have been working hard towards the introduction of the Government's new Nutritional Standards into their school meals.
At the same time, they have been undertaking a new accredited one day course which has been developed in partnership with the council's Premises Unit and Cumbria Colleges.
The course includes coaching on practical craft skills, as well as assessment on the theoretical topics such as nutrient values and offers our kitchen based colleagues the opportunity to gain a recognised foodservice qualification.
The training covers such areas as:
• Identifying how to provide a range of healthier foods and meals
• Craft Skills – practical skills
• Developing marketing ideas and materials to promote healthier food choices
Councillor Joan Stocker, the deputy leader of Cumbria County Council, will be presenting the awards. She said:
"I am delighted to be able to present these awards and have this opportunity to congratulate the kitchen team leaders on all their hard work
"There have been a lot of changes to school meals over the last few years, which have meant a lot of challenges. The council's kitchen teams have vigorously taken up those challenges, as can be seen by the increase in the take up of school meals, which is now well above the national average.
"The county council's school meals service has a good reputation throughout the country, and it is important that we provide staff with the right training and tools to continue to do a good job."
End
Further information from Alison Lister, Media Team, on (01228) 606335
Notes
1) The Kitchen Team Leaders receiving their certificates on Thursday are:
Patricia Banks St Cuthbert’s Primary
Pat Bell Stoneraise Primary
Lynne Chapman Stoneraise Primary
Jacqueline Craik Newtown Primary
Marlene Dickson Brampton Infants
Karen Dunlop Kingmoor Juniors
Mary Fearon Thursby Primary
Fiona Ferguson formerly of Penruddock Primary now Ullswater Community College
Wendy Ferguson St Bede’s Primary
Janice Grindal Cumwhinton Primary
Caroline Jackson Langwathby Primary
Sharron Jebson Upperby Primary
Maureen Kerr Beaconside Juniors
Joan Myers Inglewood Juniors
Sheila Raine Appleby Primary
Deborah Watkins Crosby Ravensworth Primary
Lesley Watson Thomlinson Juniors
Alison Whitehead Rosley Primary
Amanda Evans head at Inglewood Infants will be collecting the certificate on behalf of her Kitchen Team Leader Allison Little
2) Cumbria County Council provides meals directly to 160 primary schools and 14 secondary schools within the county.
The remaining schools provide their own meals or contract out to a private provider, but all are bound by the new national nutritional standards that will be implemented fully from September 2008 in primary schools and from September 2009 in secondary schools
In the meantime, the phased introduction of the new standards has removed confectionery, savoury snacks and fizzy drink from school menus and increased the focus on healthier foods
In secondary schools, the Premises team offers a 'cash cafeteria' style of foodservice, where students buy what they like from a menu. The average lunchtime spend per student in directly provided schools last year was £1.25 per day – well above the national average of 97p for 2006/07.
In primary schools Cumbria County Council’s meal provider, Client Services' Premises Unit, provides a set, two course meal. Take up at primary level has continued to grow in the 160 schools where they provide meals. In 2006/07, it was 51.3% of the pupils on roll (up from 48.8% the year before and much better than the national average of 40.3% for the same period)