School meals boost

Jamie Oliver's joy as extra £280m to "transform" school dinners is announced on GMTV

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly chose GMTV to announce an extra £280 million to "transform" the quality of school dinners.

The funding package includes a requirement that schools spend at least 50p per pupil per day for all primary schools, and 60p per pupil per day for all secondary schools.

Her announcement comes on the same day that celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver delivered a petition to Downing Street demanding better food for pupils.

Jamie's Feed Me Better internet petition (see link to the right) has now been signed by 271,677 people.

The petition's demands include qualifications for dinner ladies, more money to be spent on meals for children and more time for catering staff to prepare meals.

Transform dinners

"It's the biggest sum that I've ever heard being put into school food and I think it will make a real transforming difference to school dinners," said Ms Kelly.

"What we are saying is to local authorities and to schools that you now have the money you need to spend at least 50p on ingredients for primary schoolchildren and 60p for secondary schoolchildren, but recognising that it's not just about the cost of ingredients.

"It's also about training for chefs and catering staff at schools, it's about having the modern facilities and specialist help, it's about having new school kitchens."

More money

Ms Kelly denied she had changed her mind about putting cash behind school meals, after GMTV's Kate Garraway said education minister Margaret Hodge had told her in an interview earlier this month that there would be no more money.

"I have consistently been saying we are going to bring forward a package of proposals with significant resources behind them," she said.

Many parents were shocked to learn from Mr Oliver's recent Channel 4 series, Jamie's School Dinners, that schools spend just 37p on a typical meal. Critics argue that the new figure of 50p is still not enough.

School Food Trust

A new School Food Trust is also being created to provide specialist support and advice to "transform the quality of school dinners".

Ms Kelly refused to go so far as saying junk food would be banned in schools, but the School Food Trust would be able to make such recommendations.

"I think in primary schools, for example, there is a very strong case for restricting choice," she added.

"But what they need to know is how to cook healthy food which is far more difficult than just banning junk food."