The academy trust says ‘consolidating meal preparation’ will ‘protect quality, keep costs low for families and maintain long‑term financial sustainability’
Biggin Hill Primary School, where Horizon Academy Trust is based(Image: Google Maps )
Union leaders have accused a Hull school trust of trying “to save money at the expense of children and low paid staff” amid plans to stop cooking fresh meals at three schools. Horizon Academy Trust, based at Biggin Hill Primary School in Bransholme, has announced changes in its school meals provision, with rising costs prompting the move.
The Trust operates a chain of schools in the region including Biggin Hill Primary Academy, Cleeve Primary School, Spring Cottage Primary School, Thanet Primary School, East Park Primary School, Hedon Primary School, Bilton Primary School, Martongate Primary School and Bay Primary School. From September, Biggin Hill Primary School will also cook meals for Hedon, Cleeve and Bilton pupils, while other schools will remain as they are are.
Letters sent home to parents highlight how changes are planned from this autumn, which will see the loss of staff linked to those kitchens. Cooks and kitchen assistants, some of whom have worked at the schools for more than 25 years, were offered voluntary redundancy.
The Trust confirmed that it has concluded consultation with staff and unions and that there were no compulsory redundancies. It said five colleagues have opted for voluntary redundancy, and all remaining staff have been retained within the Trust.
It added that a “very small number of staff may see minor adjustments to contracted hours, which we are working to mitigate” and stressed that every kitchen will continue to have catering staff employed on site at each school.
Union leaders, however, accused the Trust of trying “to save money, at the expense of children and low paid staff” amid plans to turn off the cookers at school kitchens. GMB representatives are unhappy the kitchen changes will mean many children will lose hot meals that are cooked on site and will instead be delivered.
A petition has been set in motion by the GMB, claiming the move is made “to save money, at the expense of children and low paid staff”, adding “is food that’s cold, soggy and unappealing really good enough for your children?”.
In the letter sent to parents by Horizon Academy Trust, which has been seen by the Hull Daily Mail, parents are told: “Food and energy costs are going up. We are changing how we make our meals so we can keep the price of school dinners as low as possible for you. It is important to know that the Trust does not make any money or profit from school meals every penny we save is put back into the school to help your children learn.”
It says that, from September, the Trust’s meals will be cooked in one large main kitchen and brought to the school every day and “our school staff will then make the final touches and serve the food hot. This is a very common way of working that many other schools already use. The meals will still be fresh and follow all the healthy food rules.
“Your child’s lunch time will not change. Come and try it in September, we will invite all parents and carers to school to taste the new meals for yourself. We think our kitchen staff are amazing and we thank them for their hard work. We care about them very much. We are working hard so that they can stay part of our team.”
Liz Marshall, GMB organiser for the North East, Yorkshire & Humber, said: “My initial concerns are that some children heavily rely on school meals. The reality is for some children a school lunch is the only hot meal they will receive that day. Kitchen staff know this and give the children extra. Surely all children deserve a freshly prepared nutritious meal prepared on site?
“The schools also rely on kitchen staff for buffets, pizza nights for year 6, and buns and cakes which are made for school fairs. Staff have been offered voluntary redundancy and some have asked for it, and kitchen assistants are being offered reduced hours, for example, going from 20 hours to 12.5 as they will not need to be in to prepare food, simply serve it.
“It is targeting the lowest paid staff in the Trust, who are all female and some have more than one job to support their families. Some of the ladies have 25-plus years service in the kitchens are like family to each other, all know the children really well – it is sad.”
Diana Johnson, Hull North and Cottingham MP, who has written to the Trust to voice concerns, said: “20 years ago, Hull was at the centre of research that showed that access to hot, healthy and nutritional school food helped pupils perform better at school. This has helped influence Government thinking on school food over the past couple of decades and informs what the current Government is doing with the roll-out of school breakfast clubs. This is why it is so concerning to hear about any school appearing to go in the opposite direction in what they provide for their pupils.”
Horizon Academy Trust said: “The Trust has reviewed our catering operation in response to rising food, energy and staffing costs. To protect meal quality for pupils, keep meal costs low for families and maintain long‑term financial sustainability, we are consolidating meal preparation into a single production kitchen on one of our sites for three of our schools. This enables us to reduce duplication across multiple smaller kitchens while continuing to provide freshly prepared, high‑quality meals. The Trust does not profit from its catering service.”
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