SEVERAL Swindon schools are considering closing their kitchens to end the in-house provision of meals.
"Early indications show that a large number of schools may be considering either complete kitchen closures or the provision of sandwich meals to meet the free school requirements," said John Short, director of Swindon Services.
Swindon Services are currently negotiating a new deal with 64 schools.
"This is the first time that the primary schools have had to set up their own arrangements for this service and many are taking the opportunity to review the type of provision they will provide from next April," said Mr Short.
"To date, a number of schools have already committed to Swindon Services, five have tendered with an external consultant and 30-plus have registered with the LEA brokerage service for a variety of requirements.
"In the meantime, Swindon Services are continuing to promote and develop the school meals service."
Most schools have taken up the opportunity to have a Christmas lunch, Mr Short said. Swindon Services provide an additional 6,000 meals during the last two weeks of term to meet the extra demand.
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