Dinner lady moves on as primary school lunch uptake falls

Catering assistant taking up new position

A reduction in the number of pupils taking up school meals in an Angus primary school has led to the loss of its dinner lady.

Eassie Primary School’s catering assistant has moved to a post in another school after a review of the service by Tayside Contracts.

The school has a roll of 14 and The Courier understands that as few as four pupils took up the service on some days.

Tayside Contracts facilities business manager John Bow said pupils would still be able to get a hot lunch at the school but they would be delivered to pupils in a different way.

He said: “We continually review the school meal service, in conjunction with Angus Council, to ensure that we are delivering the correct service for each individual school.

“Unfortunately we have seen a reduction in meal uptake at Eassie Primary School over the last 15 months and this has resulted in a review of our service delivery being carried out.

“We will continue to provide school meals to the pupils at Eassie Primary School but they will be delivered in a different format.”

Mr Bow continued: “Currently the school meals are transported to Eassie Primary School from our production kitchen at Newtyle Primary School in large containers.

“The only change that will happen is that the meals will be transported in individual containers for each of the pupils that orders a meal.

“The pupils will receive the meal they have ordered but will get this in their own individual container.

“The food will still be prepared at the production kitchen then transported to Eassie Primary School where the pupils will collect them in the dining area and then have their lunch.

“The difference is that there is not a need for a catering assistant to serve the meals as these are already plated up in the individual containers.”

Parents became aware of the review in the service in the past couple of weeks.

The chairwoman of the school’s parent council, Audrey Duffy, said: “I have spoken to Tayside Contracts about why they feel they have to do this and it’s because we don’t have enough children taking school lunches.

“If we had 15 children taking up school lunches then we’d have a dinner lady back but our school roll is only 14 at the moment. Children will still get lunches but it will be served up in a different way. They have assured us that the lunches will still be hot.”

The only change that will happen is that the meals will be transported in individual containers for each of the pupils that orders a meal. JOHN BOW TAYSIDE CONTRACTS