15363/3/5THE food provided by Sodexho has received the thumbs up from pupils at Potterne Primary School even though the headteacher has worries about how healthy it is.

The quality of the food provided by Sodexho was criticised by some parents and schools in a survey carried out by Wiltshire County Council.

The survey revealed that ten per cent of schools would like to end the contract with Sodexho and Potterne School is one of them.

Headteacher Clare Brookes said: "The school governors are concerned at the high costs of the contract and would rather have freshly produced food than processed food."

Last Thursday Education Secretary Ruth Kelly announced plans to make school meals healthier.

Processed foods like burgers, sausages and cakes will have to meet new standards from September designed to cut levels of salt, sugar and fat in school dinners.

The Gazette visited Potterne School last Friday when the choice of hot meals was cheese and tomato pizza or fish octopus with chips and baked beans.

The meals are ordered by the children either in advance or on the day. The food is cooked at Southbroom Junior School and delivered to Potterne School where it is served up by catering assistant, June Bushell, who said the meals are kept hot in insulated trays. She also uses a heated trolley if required.

Also listed on the menu for that day were peas but sweetcorn arrived instead. Salad, fruit and slices of bread should also have been available but, for some unknown reason, they were not delivered.

Mrs Bushell thought it might have been because it was the last day before the schools broke up for a week's holiday.

Of the 62 pupils at the school, 23 had a hot meal while the rest brought in sandwiches.

Of the seven pupils the Gazette spoke to six had pizza and chips followed by an iced sponge for pudding.

All seven said they enjoyed their food although nine-year-old Paige could not finish her pizza because "there were some lumpy bits in it."

Five-year-old Madison, who had baked beans with her pizza and chips, said: "It was really nice. I sometimes have the sandwiches that are provided but I prefer a hot meal and think the choice of food is good."

Lauren, ten, said: "The pizza and chips was scrumptious, the food is generally really very good. The only meal I didn't like much was macaroni cheese because it had a lot of cheese in it."

Gary, ten, said: "The pizza was better tasting than some I've had elsewhere, there was more sauce on it."

Cassie, ten, said: "The food is very tasty and nice and there is a good choice. The chips were crispy."

Nine-year-old Kyle opted for fish octopus and chips followed by a chocolate Rice Krispie cake.

Liam, seven, brought a packed lunch into school which consisted of a turkey sandwich on brown bread, plus a packet of crisps, a strawberry yoghurt and a chocolate bar.

He said: "I enjoy the hot meals at school and sometimes I have them. It all depends on what time my mum is up if I have a packed lunch or hot meal."

Sodexho also provides sandwiches and jacket potatoes and some of the staff at Potterne School order these.

Headteacher Miss Brookes said she had a tuna salad baguette earlier in the week and said it was tasty.

She said Sodexho improved the hot meal menu when she made representations to them. Michelle Philpott, admin officer at the school, has had sandwiches and jacket potatoes from Sodexho and said she enjoyed them.

The school has signed up to the Government funded School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme where all the children in the two younger classes have a piece of fresh fruit every day.

"It has really made a difference to the children's tastes. They will have a go at tasting everything now," Miss Brookes said.

What's on the menu for pupils?

There are three set menus which run on alternate weeks and the menus change every term.

Pupils are encouraged to book their preferred meals a week in advance although a meal can often be booked on the morning. The cost of a meal is £1.65 which comprises a main meal, dessert, and fresh fruit or yoghurt.

Monday: savoury turkey grills, fish sea shells, potato choice, sweetcorn, peas, carrots. Freshly produced apple and blackberry crumble, custard, melting moments, fresh fruit wedges/yoghurt.

Tuesday: freshly produced chicken curry and rice, turkey pyramid, chips/wedges, peas, spaghetti hoops. Freshly produced chocolate sponge and chocolate sauce, biscuits, fresh fruit wedges/yoghurt.

Wednesday lamb grill, jacket potato and cheese, roast potato, carrot, broccoli, gravy. Freshly produced shortbread, lemon mousse, fresh fruit wedges/yoghurt.

Thursday: freshly produced shepherd's pie, macaroni cheese, potato choice, green beans, sweetcorn. Freshly produced cherry crunch, fruit jelly, fresh fruit wedges/yoghurt.

Friday: cheese and tomato pizza, fish octopus, chips, peas, baked beans, salad. Freshly produced iced sponge, Welsh biscuits, fresh fruit wedges/yoghurt.

Parents should practise what they preach

A CATERING manager at a school in Wiltshire said parents need to take responsibility for their children's diet.

The manager, who is employed by Sodexho and wanted to remain anonymous, said: "It's catering managers who get it in the neck from parents about the food served up to their children.

"You should see some of the packed lunches that the kids bring to school. They are full of crisps, chocolate bars and white bread. Parents shout about healthy eating but they are not giving healthy food for their children to bring in.

"Parents have to practise what they preach at home."

The manager said meals had improved under Sodexho, the French-owned provider of catering services.

"Sodexho have been trying and the food has improved. The menu changes every term and Sodexho uses a nutritionist to devise the menus. We cook the pies ourselves, they are not brought in. Parents want roast dinners and they want us to cook joints of meat but that isn't feasible for £1.65 per meal," the manager said.

The manager added that as a result of the story in last week's Gazette, which revealed the concerns of parents over school meals, five youngsters who were due to have hot meals cancelled.

Sodexho welcomed the announcement by Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, on making school meals healthier and believes it is a good foundation for improving school meals.

A spokeswoman for Sodexho said: "Sodexho actively supports the need for a 'whole school' approach and welcomes changes towards this.

"Sodexho is committed to encouraging children to think about what they eat and the lifestyle they adopt. It continually reviews its service and organises promotional campaigns which help drive home the healthy eating message."

Sodexho won the contract to supply school meals in Wiltshire in 2001 when the county council's in-house contractor Wiltshire Direct Services folded.

Sodexho currently supplies meals to 119 of the county's 260 schools. The contract runs until March 31, 2008. Sodexho also supplies meals to hospitals in Wiltshire including Devizes and Malmesbury and also has the contract for the new Savernake Hospital in Marlborough.

Hygiene standards at a catering factory owned by Sodexho came under scrutiny in Channel 4's Dispatches programme in May last year.

Tillery Valley Foods' managing director Michelle Hanson said the company was committed to safe, nutritious food and produces 25 million meals a year and in 20 years had not had a single case of food poisoning reported.

The factory was given a clean bill of health by Wiltshire County Council when it sent two officers to the factory last October.