Minutes:
Report: See main agenda, page 105
The guillotine having fallen, Councillors Lewis Robinson and Michael Mitchell, formally moved and seconded the motion.
Councillors Rosie Shimell and David Hubber, formally moved and seconded Amendment F. Amendment F was put to the vote and declared to be lost.
Councillors Catherine McDonald and Nick Dolezal, formally moved and seconded Amendment G. Amendment G was put to the vote and declared to be carried.
The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.
RESOLVED:
That council assembly notes:
1. The current administration’s manifesto commitment to provide a “free healthy school meal” for every primary school child studying in the borough.
2. That officers are currently working on proposals and costs to implement this commitment.
That council assembly believes:
3. There is a considerable body of evidence, both academic and within the education profession in our borough, supporting the introduction of “breakfast clubs”, especially in primary schools. This has mainly been driven by concerns that a substantial proportion of pupils are not eating breakfast and arriving at school hungry, impacting on learning and behaviour during the school day. Breakfast clubs have a wider impact in assisting pupils to arrive at school on time and provide a safe and calm environment before the school day.
4. Evaluations have taken place in inner city boroughs similar to Southwark (Camden, Haringey and Lambeth in particular) where schools participating believed that benefits derived were: children no longer hungry at the start of the school day; more focused on their work; improved punctuality and less unauthorised absences. It was also concluded that the introduction of a “breakfast club” in schools in deprived neighbourhoods was associated with an improvement in pupils’ Key Stage 2 average point score.
That council assembly therefore requests the cabinet:
5. Many of our schools in Southwark have different needs and circumstances. It is often the headteachers, the education professionals at each school, who best understand the needs of their schools pupils rather than politicians.
6. Council assembly calls on the cabinet member for children and young people to explore with officers whether the provision of free breakfasts would be more appropriate than free lunches across the borough and the feasibility of allowing schools to choose themselves and to report back to councillors.
7. Council assembly welcomes cross-party support for the principle of universal free school meals.
Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.