Agenda item

Report of the Cabinet Adviser for Child Hunger and Expanding Free School Meals.

The Cabinet Adviser on Child Hunger and Expanding Free School Meals here provides the Committee with their report, including recommendations, for discussion.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Adviser on Child Hunger and Expanding Free School Meals.

Councillor Sharon Hardwick, Cabinet Adviser on Child Hunger and Expanding Free School Meals, outlined the report which contained her research findings and policy recommendations on how Camden Council could better serve Camden secondary school pupils and families through the wider uptake of free school meals (FSM). The report covered the following areas: FSM eligibility; the workshop with schools; Camden’s Test and Learn pilot scheme; visit to a Camden secondary school to speak to school and food provider staff; barriers to FSM uptake; and the recommendations from the Cabinet Advisor. The Cabinet Advsor also spoke about her own experiences of FSM.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Advisor for the report and invited questions and comments from the Committee. The following was discussed:

·       In relation to the Cabinet Advisor’s recommendation 5, FSM allowance top-up, a Co-opted Member asked what would be the likelihood of the proposals being accepted in the context of the MTFS. In response, it was confirmed there was short term funding available for some of the projects and if they were to extend further they would implement test and learn schemes to evaluate the impact and whether to make the case for longer-term funding.

·       In relation to the Cabinet Advisor’s recommendation 7, a Member asked how the FSM criteria could be expanded to raise levels of eligibility within Camden. In response, it was confirmed that the criteria scheme was nationally set but Camden could look into a route to supplement the offer and explore lobbying. The Cabinet Advisor noted that a key task was to ensure those who were eligible were taking up the offer.

·       In relation to the Cabinet Advisor’s recommendation 5, a Member asked if barriers to accessing food changed between key stages, for example older children not wanting to spend their lunchbreaks in the school canteen. In response, the Cabinet Advisor stated that canteens were not always welcoming spaces, sometimes crowded and noisy areas, and they were not big enough to fit a large proportion of the school during a break time. The Cabinet Advisor had discussed with the Cabinet Member for Best Start for Children and Families that canteens should be made more fit for purpose and be more attractive areas. To make those improvements, co-creation with young people would be necessary. Officers noted the following points to consider on the subject: the issue of long canteen queues at lunchtime; the autonomy of young people was a key consideration when making decisions; the issues in eligibility of FSM and then whether the young people who do take up the offer ate their food; and the importance of how nutritious the food was on offer.

·       A Member noted that there were many children attending Camden schools who did not live in Camden, and vice versa of Camden children attending out of borough schools, which would create potential challenges in providing a universal offer to Camden children if the Council was to supplement the national scheme. In response, it was confirmed that any scheme to target just Camden children would be a complex system and in practical terms difficult to operate.

·       In relation to the Council making follow up contact to parents to see if their financial circumstances had changed, a Member asked if it was the case that a family could only apply for FSM before the October cut-off date, and if their circumstances changed after that cut-off date they would have to wait until the following year to access the FSM.  In response, it was confirmed this message had also been feedback by school and pastoral leads. Given this situation there was other help which could be signposted, such as school uniform banks and information sharing in how to access other services and eligibility for benefits or funding. It was noted that these challenges were a part of a wider story on poverty. There were drives to make the systems of help more intuitive and able check in on those families on the borderline.

·       A Co-opted Member asked if the Council had any data on children who took up FSM but then did not eat the food on offer. In response, officers said there was a deep dive which involved children and young people, looking into why some children did not eat their meal. Some of the feedback was related to the quality of the food offer. Officers confirmed they would provide the Committee with a breakdown of children and young people who were known to not eat their FSM.

Action By – Executive Director Children and Learning

·       In relation to the Cabinet Advisor’s recommendation 9, a Co-opted Member praised the idea of extending the school breakfast offer to morning breaktime because there were many children who preferred to eat a meal at morning break, noting some schools did not allow spending of FSM credit at breaktime. Revoking this rule may enable more children to eat their meal. Additionally, the Co-opted Member noted that it was not possible to currently spend FSM credit on snacks and there did not appear to be a reason for this and it was unclear which rules were government set or within Camden’s control. In response, officers acknowledged this fair challenge and stated they would investigate how flexible the rules were. They were hearing from children and young people about what they wanted the offer to look like and the Council would be working with schools. It was additionally noted there were good examples of schools getting it right.

·       A Member suggested that the application for FSM could be a part of the admission process, which may increase take up.

RESOLVED –

THAT the Committee 

1.    note and comment on the report, including recommendations; and

2.    note the proposal to bring a Cabinet Report as a response to the recommendations made by the Cabinet Adviser within the next year.