“We should be reducing the cost of school meals” – Salford headteacher criticises increase of school meal prices

Teachers have slammed Salford City Council’s decision to raise school meals by 10p in price.

The decision will come into effect on 1st January and impact up to 57 schools in the area.

The decision was made after a consultation with local headteachers, and the extra revenue will be used to offset costs, caused by the cost-of-living crisis, so they can continue employing people from the local area.

Around 11,000 school meals are provided every day in Salford, with the price increase expected to cost parents an extra £19 per school year.

Phil Denton, who is a former headteacher in Salford, said: “It’s not just the amount, it’s everything rising at the same time, whereas wages aren’t necessarily rising, so you’ve got this on top of your gas and electric, electricity bills, your car insurance, and your mortgages.

“At a time like this we should be reducing the cost of school meals.”

Mr Denton is the CEO of Evaluate ED, which helps to identify issues and emerging problems within schools. He is also the director of OPOGO which helps schools to become more cost-efficient.

Citywide Services, who provide meals to the area, say this is the first price increase in over 2 years and still make their meals ‘noticeably’ lower than other local authority caterers.

The council also say Salford school meals remain the cheapest within Greater Manchester, and parents can get help with the cost of meals through their ‘Better Off Service’.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We have held prices unchanged since April 2019 and consulted with head teachers before proposing this 10p rise in the cost of a school meal from January 2023, with no compromise on the quantity or quality of food served.

“The increased cost will not affect our most vulnerable children who qualify for free school meals”.

However, the group acknowledges that this may cause further financial hardship on families.

They continued: “It has been identified that this may result in increased financial pressures for households, particularly those who do not qualify for free school meals or universal free meals but are on the border line.”

A price review into the meals is due to take place on six month’s time.