What’s happening in your school kitchen?

My six-year-old son, Jamie, has just gone back to school - St Oswald's Primary, in Fulford, York.

A new teacher, new class and improved school dinners.

There are new Government food standards for school lunches this term - more fruit and veg, oily fish, and less fatty sugary food that will cause future health problems. All this thanks in no small part to Jamie Oliver.

In his new programme next Monday, Jamie will be updating us on what's been happening since his campaigning television series, Jamie's School Dinners, exposed the poor quality of many school meals - and looking at what still needs to be done.

About a year ago, I began investigating what is served up in my son's school and, with the support of head teacher Paul Marks, trying to improve it.

Why me? I care what my son eats. Also, before I became a mum, I myself made some TV programmes about improving children's diets with the help of the Caroline Walker Trust, which campaigns for better food.

Even tougher nutritional standards - over and above the food standards introduced this term - will become compulsory in schools in 2008.

In most York schools, the food comes from North Yorkshire County Caterers with a contract from the council.

Not at St Oswald's. It is a PFI school and got its new building as part of the Government's private finance initiative.

The firm that built the school runs it - and employs the caterers.

So, since January, Sewell Education has employed Dolce to provide St Oswald's school dinners.

The school got a brand new kitchen - although it opened without a rumbler, a piece of equipment that washes and peels root vegetables and which, in my view, is vital for the preparation of fresh potatoes.

As a member of the school's Healthy School Committee, I decided to ask Dolce to get behind the Soil Association's Food For Life campaign targets - which call for 50 per cent of ingredients to be local, 30 per cent organic and 75 per cent unprocessed.

I thought I'd make a start by trying to improve the potatoes.

In the spring, Dolce agreed to use a rumbler to prepare fresh potatoes.

The LEA has been given some Government money to improve school meals - £350,000 over the three financial years to 2008.

St Oswald's got a grant to buy a rumbler and were hoping it would be up and running at the start of term.

Sadly, it isn't installed yet. The delay is apparently down to the extra staff hours needed to use it - but we have found some money for this, so the delay is hard to understand.

We also wanted to send our cook and her assistant on a more advanced training course run by Jeanette Orrey.

Jeanette is school meals policy advisor for the Soil Association and is also on the School Food Trust, which recommended the new food standards introduced in schools this term.

Jeanette met our dinner ladies at St Oswald's last April. The city council is spending some of the £350,000 it received from Government to improve school meals on training, and some of the extra £240 million from the Government that schools will get nationally from 2008 is also earmarked for this.

But how much use is this when advanced training doesn't seem to be compulsory?

City of York Council has already given £30,000 of its £350,000 of Government money to its contractor North Yorkshire County Caterers to improve the quality of ingredients.

It has been working with them to ensure more local/ organic food, fresh meat rather than frozen, fewer additives and preservatives.

Powdered mash is off the menu. And we're getting oily fish (required every three weeks) in the form of salmon bites.

For pudding, sponges will now be made from fresh ingredients. It's a start...

The Government has said caterers will need to change their recipes and cooking practices, and kitchen staff will need more time to prepare "home cooked"

dishes.

Whitehall is putting money where children's mouths are. It is probably still not enough, but let's hope as it is spent we'll see further improvements.

Fingers crossed St Oswald's will have freshly rumbled potatoes before too long. Maybe they'll even be organic.

But what's happening in your school kitchen? What's in the freezers? Ask.

You have a right to know what your children are eating.

Hilary's verdict on St Oswald's School dinner

On the menu at St Oswald's School on Tuesday was pork curry - made, I understand, from fresh meat - and rice.

I found it delicious and it seemed to go down well with the kids.

The accompanying broccoli was fresh, although I don't know whether the baked beans were a low sugar/salt variety.

It's a pity the alternative dish, Hawaiian pizza, (vegetarian) had a base made from a packet mix.

Also, the bread, required to be available every day, was triangles of white sliced bought in. There wasn't any brown bread, but I believe it is usually available.

For pudding, most children chose the "home-made" chocolate Catherine wheel made with cocoa powder (allowed), over healthier fresh fruit or stewed plums and custard.

Even my son did, and he loves plums.

Is the answer to serve only fruit-based puddings, on some days at least, as kids are always more likely to choose the cake?

The verdict - good in parts.

Statement from Dolce

Dan Curtis, Dolce managing director, said: "School lunches created by Dolce meet all the current guidelines and regulations.

"The catering is carefully monitored by the City of York Council Environmental Health, City of York Catering Monitors, OFSTED and Sewell Education.

"Dolce places emphasis on creating tasty dishes that, as well as being healthy, are freshly cooked from raw ingredients and use many classic recipes.

"This format has attracted over 130 schools from Cumbria in the north, to London in the south, and the Dolce menus have been praised by dieticians who have examined the meals.

"Management of Dolce know that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. They are therefore keen to point out that across the whole of their business, schools taking the Dolce meals have seen a 20 per cent increase in pupil demand for school dinners.

"In York, in the three PFI schools managed by Sewell Education - St Barnabas and Hob Moor Children's Centre, as well as St Oswald's - there has been a 30 per cent increase in children opting for school meals."

Council statement

A spokesman for City of York Council, which monitors the running of PFI schools like St Oswald's, said: "Virtually no schools in York have potato rumblers as potatoes can be sourced pre-peeled and pre-washed. A rumbler is certainly not essential.

"Every school in York complies with the Government's nutritional standards. We believe our meals are actually much better than the minimum standards and every child in York has the option to eat a tasty, healthy two-course meal that is value for money.

"All contractors make every effort to provide ingredients that are fresh, locally sourced, healthy and tasty. All cooks in York are thoroughly trained by their employers. Hilary is talking about advanced courses and we don't want to give the impression that untrained staff work in kitchens - it is simply not true."