From 21 April 2008 MKC entered into a 3 year authority wide catering contract on behalf of 73 MK Schools and 9 Day Nurseries. The contract was awarded to Sodexo Education Services. For further information about Sodexo please see their website:
www.uk.sodexo.com/
Historically schools purchased school meals on an individual basis from various catering providers, including our own 'In-house DSO', which has now ceased operating.
Like many other authorities, Milton Keynes has inherited the consequences of school kitchen closures some 20 years ago. However, despite this our 7 'hub' kitchens feed the 73 schools and 9 day nurseries within the new contract, by way of food cooked in these MK kitchens and 'delivered in' to schools by hot boxes.
Not every MK school opted to be included within the LA wide contract and a small number of schools have an 'In-house' catering service (mainly Secondary/Special Schools) or make their own individual arrangements. Client Services meets on a termly basis with a group of 'In-House' Catering Managers to share ideas/good practice and generally offer support to those schools that run their own service. The authority has recently purchased nutritional analysis software and demonstrated this at a recent meeting to show how 'In house' schools might make use of this service to demonstrate compliance with the nutrient standards that come into effect in Sept 2008/09.
The Client Services Dept is monitoring the Sodexo contract on behalf of schools.
For more information
Contact us.......
We hope the information provided on our School Meals page will be of interest to Schools, Parents, Governors, Caterers and anyone else with an interest in School Food. You will be able to find out how we currently operate in MK, information about the new Nutritional Standards for School Food and what we are doing here in MK with the government funding we have been allocated as a Local Authority. There are also many useful links. This information will be regularly updated to keep pace with this agenda and with both local and national progress.
In a unique place such as Milton Keynes, with so many young people, we are working hard to ensure that the government agenda for improving school meals is driven forward. The Authority has been allocated a further 3-year grant (2008-2011) to help support the provision of healthy and hot (where possible) meals in MK Schools/PRU's. Currently the new standards do NOT apply to maintained Nursery Schools, though they will be required to continue to follow the existing 2001 standards. The Dcsf is currently consulting on The Early Years Foundation Stage.
