Nursery World - Training aims to end 'cheap slop'

Up to 15,000 school catering staff are to be trained to prepare healthy meals from scratch to phase out the 'cheap slop' served in school canteens, education secretary Ruth Kelly said last week. She told school meal workers at a conference in London, organised by public sector union Unison, that catering staff had been taken for granted, and promised 'a new vocational qualification that will recognise for the first time their crucial skills and experience'.

She told school meal workers at a conference in London, organised by public sector union Unison, that catering staff had been taken for granted, and promised 'a new vocational qualification that will recognise for the first time their crucial skills and experience'.

The courses, developed by the Learning and Skills Council, will start in September.

Ms Kelly also said that 'cheap processed bangers and burgers' and other unhealthy foods could be banned from menus under new minimum nutrition standards developed by the Government's school meals review panel, to be applied from the autumn and mandatory by September 2006.

Ms Kelly said, 'No one wants to serve up cheap slop. We have to reverse a trend where a majority eat too much fat, sugar and salt and only a minority eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. If there is a vicious circle, we will break it.'

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