School meals contract

Wokingham Borough Council's central school meal contract is managed by Edwards and Ward.

To see the current school menus go to our school meal menus website page.

Contract period and monitoring

3 months or 1 terms notice - whichever is the longer - will be required if a school wishes to opt out
Contract monitoring is the joint responsibility of the school and the council. The school should take up any minor issues with the on site supervisor or local manager. Any serious or persistent problems should be referred to the Contracts Team
The Contracts Team can provide advice on technical and contractual matters, for schools that participate in the contract, via the help desk number given below

The Contractor is the registered operator of the food business within each school and is responsible for operational hygiene and health and safety*
The Council is responsible for the overall management of health and safety within the school meals kitchen, not the school*
The Council is responsible for the maintenance of the kitchens and equipment, including light equipment - within the resources available, and any problems or shortages should be reported to the catering contractor who will liaise with the Contracts Team*
In the event of a gas leak within the kitchen, Property Services should be called immediately
The school must consult the Local Education Authority in good time about any new buildings or maintenance within the school which impact directly or indirectly on the school kitchen or the catering service
The Council is responsible for the management and funding of school kitchen waste collection, pest control & high level cleaning*

School meal kitchens are the joint responsibility of the council and the Contractor. If the school wishes to use the kitchen for it's own purpose or hire it to a third party, the catering contractor must be consulted. Please see the separate guidance which is available on the Intranet.

The school must inform the Local Education Authority and the catering contractor of any pupils with special dietary requirements by completing a Special Dietary Needs Form and sending it to the Contracts Team
Generally, changes to the published menus are not permitted apart from individual pupils who have special dietary requirements. However, if schools have a valid reason for requesting a change to the schools menu, the school must complete and submit a Menu Request for Change Form to the Contracts Team and the request will be considered
Portion sizes for junior pupils will be larger than those for infants. The school will therefore be asked to assist in identifying which pupils are infants, and which are junior
It is the Council's responsibility to ensure that the Government's nutritional standards for school meals are met*

School meals are subject to an annual price increase, linked to inflation, which schools will be notified of in early July and will become effective in September. It is the school's responsibility to inform parents of the price increase before the end of the summer term.
The meal price from September 2008 will be £1.80 for all primary / infant schools and £2.00 for secondary schools

In primary schools, the school will need to provide the caterer with an estimate of the number of meals required on a daily basis
Each week the Head Teacher or authorised representative will be asked to sign the Free Meals Authorisation Form
Each school must maintain proper records of pupils entitled to free schools meals
The relevant forms and guidance for schools relating to free school meal eligibility are available on Wokingham Schools' Learning Community web site.
Each week, the Head Teacher, or their authorised representative will be asked to complete a service satisfaction form. This essential to the effective monitoring of the service so please ensure that any complaints about the service are logged at this point.

*Note: all of these duties would transfer to the Governing Body of any school choosing to opt out of the of the central contract

Fax: 0118 974 6259