Preparations are well under way for reception pupils in Denbighshire schools to start receiving universal free school meals from September.
Following receipt of £859,000 from Welsh Government
to support the roll out of Universal Primary free school meals across
Denbighshire, works have begun to increase the capacity of the Authority’s
Primary school kitchens. Work commenced before the start of the Summer
holidays, and will continue until the end of August 2022 at 13 sites across the
County.
In December 2021 Welsh Government (WG) announced
plans to offer free meals to all Primary school pupils. WG later announced a
phased delivery approach to be implemented from 1st September 2022 to September
2024.
Delivering Universal Primary Free School Meals
(UPFSM) will increase Denbighshire County Council’s (DCC) Catering service
daily meals from 3500 to 7687. After an initial review it was established that
a number of the current school kitchens were not fit for purpose to deliver the
increase in meal numbers and a significant investment would be required in
order to meet the roll out deadline.
Councillor Gill German, Lead member for Education
Children and Families said, “Delivery of Universal Free School Meals to all
Primary pupils is a top priority for the Authority. This project has been a
significant challenge with tight timescales, and I am delighted to see that
through excellent cross service working by DCC officers and outstanding support
from local suppliers, contractors and WG we are on target to roll out the UPFSM
offer to all Reception pupils attending Denbighshire schools from September
2022”.
The next phase of the works will focus on ensuring
that all Primary schools are able to deliver to Years 1 and 2 by Easter 2023.
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