Agenda item

With reference to article 5 of the minute of its meeting of 19 April 2018, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer in response to the instruction at that Committee for a report prior to the close of each school year which detailed the numbers registered for and taking free school meals by school; assessed the progress made by implementing the new workstreams; and detailed any required adjustments for the following school year.

The report recommended:-

that Committee –

(a)      note the increase in the number of children and young people registered for free school meals;

(b)      instruct the Chief Operating Officer to monitor the impact of the future work of each workstream outlined in the report;

(c)       note the evaluation of the programme to deliver free school meals during school holidays;

(d)      note the evaluation of the Food and Fun Programme for 2018/2019; and

(e)      instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to continue with the Food and Fun concept, but examine alternative models of delivery which are less staff resource intensive.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to thank officers for the work undertaken;

(ii)       to note the increase in the number of children and young people registered for free school meals;

(iii)      to note that the Scottish Government had qualifying criteria for free school meals which could be varied by Councils using the Education (Scotland) Act 2016;

(iv)      to note the workstreams being progressed by officers to increase the uptake of free school meals across both the Primary and Secondary school estate; and further note the potential for Universal Credit or other benefits to have an adverse impact on eligibility criteria for free school meals, and instruct the Chief Operating Officer to investigate whether the Council should develop a free school meals policy to address anomalies in legislation as part of the wider Universal Credit impact report due to come to the Operational Delivery Committee and also now the Education Operational Delivery Committee in November 2019, and to report back to the Education Operational Delivery Committee with details of any proposed policy and detail of the indicative costs involved;

(v)       to note that following the transition between Primary School and Secondary School the numbers of children and young people in receipt of free school meals declines, and to instruct the Chief Operating Officer to devise and implement a system to ensure that children and young people transitioning from Primary School to Secondary School continue to benefit from the entitlement to free school meals where the entitlement exists and Aberdeen City Council is unaware of any change in family financial circumstances and to report back to Committee with the outcome;

(vi)      to note the evaluation of the programme to deliver free school meals during school holidays;

(vii)    to note the evaluation of the Food and Fun Programme for 2018/19; and

(viii)   to instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to continue with the Food and Fun programme examining possible alternative models of delivery which are less staff resource intensive and which may allow for expansion of the programme with the help of partner agencies.

-     COUNCILLOR JOHN WHEELER, Convener