AQW 16442/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 09/10/2024
Answered On Date: 15/10/2024
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the schools in County Down currently without school meals provision due to staff shortages; (ii) any contingency measures in place to ensure all pupils in these schools continue to have access to school meals; and (iii) when full school meal provision will be reinstated in these schools.

Answer:

There are currently no schools in County Down without school meals provision. Due to staffing issues, the Education Authority (EA) is currently only able to offer a packed lunch service to all pupils at Downshire Primary School.

The EA has a number of contingencies in place when disruption to school meal provision occurs and these are considered in the following order:

Meals can be transported from another school with a production kitchen if it has sufficient capacity;

Prepared meals can brought into the school, providing there are sufficient staff and oven capacity available to heat/ serve the meals;

Packed lunch service can be offered to all pupils, subject to the capacity of the external provider;

Packed lunches can be provided for pupils entitled to free school meals only, subject to the capacity of the external provider.

EA Catering will continue to prioritise the resumption of a normal meals service in Downshire Primary School as soon as staff are in position to ensure meals can be prepared and served in a safe environment, meeting food safety regulations. As this is dependent on staff returning to work and/or the completion of a recruitment process, it is not possible to provide a definitive date.