Big business scuppers Jamie’s school dinners

WHO RUNS our schools? Teachers and elected councillors or private companies
with juicy profitable contracts? That’s what people are asking after the
Guardian’s latest revelations on school meals.

The TV programme Jamie’s School Dinners had shown what privatising
companies were doing to children’s school meals. Firms such as Scolarest sold
schools salt-ridden, fatty, un-nourishing junk food such as Turkey Twizzlers.

Jamie Oliver’s hard-hitting exposŽ enraged parents, teachers and other
education workers. They were angry at the privatisers, at the councils using
them and the government that under-financed the schools’ budgets and that
insisted there was no alternative to privatisation.

Shaken

Shaken by support for Jamie Oliver, the government rushed out new
proposals, promising to impose new nutritional standards on caterers and
improve school meals. But when parents and campaigners tried to force action,
these big contractors, many with long-term Private Finance Initiative (PFI)
contracts, threatened them.

Scolarest themselves surveyed head teachers in Islington – nearly half of
them rated its food as poor. But if you try to get out of the maze of
contracts and subcontracts, they say they’ll take you to the cleaners.

Merton council in London says six new PFI schools could be exempt from new
government guidelines after a company called New Schools had locked them into
a 25-year contract. 450 other PFI schools nationally claim they can’t be
touched regardless of what rubbish they feed our children. PFI, a cornerstone
of New Labour policy, brings massive profits for big business.

Massive profits

Even non-PFI schools have been threatened if they get tough to ensure good
food. Private company CEA, contracted to run Islington’s education services
from 2002 to 2007, warns schools that they’d face "substantial financial
penalties", equal to the profit they’d have made during the rest of the
contract, if they try to opt out of the contract they signed with Scolarest.

Many contractors put vending machines in their schools. The Department for
Education and Skills warns that if contractors lose money by removing them,
the loss might be put on the schools! What a cheek! Are Mars bar pushers now
running our education?

These private companies exist to make profits. Keeping the present system
just puts profits before nutrition for school children. The government should
ensure that every school has the money to do its work.

We say: Private-sector involvement in education must end. Reverse all
privatisation! School meals should be produced either in schools by local
education authority employees or by publicly owned companies democratically
elected and controlled.


Poor food hits children’s health

NICKY DOWNES, a primary school teacher, parent and Socialist Party
candidate in Coventry North West, comments on the school meals controversy.

"IT’S NO surprise that PFI contractors are preventing nutritious meals
replacing junk food in our schools. These contractors will make meals that
give them the biggest profit over the longest time.

They know that changing eating habits, particularly of secondary age
children, will hit profits in the short term.

The other issue is commercialisation in schools. Labour’s education
minister Ruth Kelly spoke about providing better food from vending machines.
Unfortunately the privatised firms know that big brands like Coca-Cola sell
and will make big profits.

In primary schools, we don’t make dinners from scratch on the premises.
There are just facilities to reheat prepared meals made centrally.

Ten years ago, staff and parents campaigned unsuccessfully to keep school
kitchen facilities that had salad bars, meat and vegetarian options. Even the
teachers ate there each day.

Now school children are being given cook-chill food of a nature that will
adversely affect their long-term health."