to be annoyed that the council is being hypocritical about healthty eating

[prettybird]

Ds is at primary school in Glasgow. Glasgow City Council recently circulated leaflets about healthy lunch boxes which recommended provding low fat yoghurts (to children) and not including even home made cakes and biscuits. Now, I have issues with "low fat" at this age, as we should be enouraging portion control and the right food, rather than ways which allow you to, in a sense, "cheat" and eat more, but that is really a separate issue because......

.......in the same week, Cordia, (the "arms length" organisation who run the school dinner service), introduced a new scheme where in addtion to the healthy meals that are now provided in all primary schools (ie not chips, healthy pick and mixes etc), the kids can pay an extra 30p or 50p and get.....cakes (sticky buns/fairy cakes) and ice lollies

Because this is in addition to the "school meal" this means that kids on free school meals are not eligible for it. The school says that this has now introduced peer pressure and bullying as kids are now bringing in "extra" money into the school (including the kids on free school meals, who are pressuring their parents for money that they can ill afford).

It also means that the teachers are now having to patrol the lunch hall getting kids to eat their ice lollies before they melt - but at the same time, eat the "healthy" bit of their lunch. To make matters worse, the lunch hall is also the gym hall - which makes gym afterwards a somewhat sticky affair.

The school as been told it cannot opt out - that Cordia needs to be allowed to make money

To add insult to injury, because the school is also having to work towards being a health promoting school (as required by the Health Promotion and Nutrition)(Scotland) Act (2007)), it has been forced to stop offering Baking as an option for Golden Time (the Friday "treat": a school wide hour long session which includes things like Board Games, Football, Scottihs Country Dancing, Lego etc) as it is not "health promoting" . Surely, teaching kids to make their own food and to get pleaure from the activity is one of the steps towards healthy eating.

That's ridiculous - not everything you bake has to be unhealthy. In fact, the lesson could be used as a way to show children how to bake healthier foods as well as, like you say, teaching them how to make their own food

(Climbs into underground bunker, determined that DC1 will not be subject to the craziness).

And low-fat yoghurts usually have more sugar in than non-low-fat ones.

I used to work for the NHS, unhealthiest workplace I've ever worked in. Oh the irony.

I'm not surprised you're cross. This all sounds bloody stupid.

Can you protest to the governing body?

That is ridiculous - to be able to buy a mass produced cake at school, but not to bake one?

Take it to the top.

Scotland doesn't have School Boards.

The school has already taken it to the highest level within the council's education department and been told that the school just has to accept it.

The Parent Council (which is a sort of cross between a PTA and the School Board, but with no powers) is now going to try complaining and we will ask if we can opt out. Not holding out much hope though - as the council will just say that it is part of the contract with Cordia (which is the arms length organisation that was spun out of the council last year)

Write to the papers?

I had been meaning to write a letter of complaint about the guidelines for the packed lunches. I will now need to make it broader.

I'm sure Cordia would claim that these are healthy cakes and ice lollies , low fat etc - but it is the principle.

Parents and the school are being discouraged but they can make money from it???

Every one used to get a turn to do Baking - it was a really popular option.

Boycott if the school can't opt out. I would be livid. Ice lollies ffs? You'd have to eat them first!

I do have fond memories of my school's iced buns though so I am being a hypocrite

WTF, that is totally ridiculous and unfortunately typical of councils.

I really like butterfly's idea :).

Homebaking = unhealthy . Depends on what you bake surely. As for low fat yoghurts for infants no,no,no!

Ice lollies, how impractical.

I am a big fan of balanced diets. This scheme is just asking for the kids to get hang ups about food.

Ooh Prettybird a timely post. (I've namechanged for this by the way) I got that very same leaflet from Cordia (also in Glasgow) and it prompted me to write to them to ask for a nutritional breakdown of all the meals THEY provide. Got a reply back and have been pointed in the direction of the local rep (who I think is actually a Council person who liaises with Cordia) and am having a meeting with her at my child's school. They have just this minute sent me some nutritional info and guidelines which I will read later. I'm also getting my parent council involved.

I have not heard of this "extras" menu (yet!?). I just wanted to make sure that my son's meals are all low sugar/salt and contain no hydrogenated fats (not worried about stuff being low fat either). Hopefully it will be an interesting meeting and I'll ask them whether they are thinking about introducing a similiar scheme here because I am sure it would not be welcome.

I gave my child the choice of having school dinners and he loves them - I think he likes the whole buzz of it being like a cafe plus the fact he can eat stuff like hot dogs and drink chocolate milk

I decided that I should be a bit more proactive about it so am very much looking forward to the meeting!

Xstitch - that's a good way of putting it.

TBE: yes, Golden Time is for good behaviour but in practice it is rare for kids to lose more than 5 minutes of the hour. The fact that if you lose any golden time means that you have to see the headmistress is deterrent enough

Hmm, I saw that leaflet too. Until the good citizens of Glasgow wake up and stop electing fucking labour again and again, we are never going to get a say in how education is run. The corruption in this city is rife. Cordia are in the pockets of Glasgow City Council, it's all jobs for the boys.

I saw Cordia in a tv interview recently bemoaning the overly strict limits the council made, including no salt, no sugar and they find it almost impossible to temp children with the bland food. They are asking to relax the rules a little. Until some up his own bum city fathers decide to allow this, there will frozen ices with artificial sweetners and preservatives galore.

My child asked for extra money to buy the cakes and ice lollies too. I refused and said I would pack some home made cakes we made together the night before.

Get a petition going, I'll sign and so will loads of parents I know.

I am also unimpressed with the 45minute lunch break. They talk about healthy eating and then expect kids to wolf down this crap in ten minute sittings

Ds usually has packed lunches. Last year, there was one day a week (fortnight?) when he wanted school lunch as that was the day that frozen yoghurts were served. This year, the mnues still haven't been issued, so he's not sure which day that that is.

And I do still put in full fat yoghurts and the occasional piece of home baking into his packd lunches

We gave him 30p a couple of times - but then we kept on "forgetting" - and he has stopped asking!

Hear, hear, PerfumedLife!

(About GCC, I mean)

Unfortunately, I don't see that happening :(

And even complaining to the Scottish Government would have no effect because it's SNP and therefor not to be listened to (according to the Council)

Tautliner - do feed back please! :)

I should perhaps have name changed as teachers nowadays get into trouble if they don't "toe the council line"

I'll let you know how I get on - will be reading the material tonight. Was going to be printing it out but the one document is 92 pages long! Don't know if my piddling printer will cope with that. I don't think the meeting will happen until early-mid-October. I'll probably post on the Glasgow board about this too. So you are a teacher I take it?