Agenda item

6.1  The chair drew attention to the review. He reported that next year this sub committee had been invited to scrutinise the roll out of the free school meals programme. He asked members if they would like to consider rolling this review on to the next administrative year so that the obesity component could be considered together.

6.2  A member commented that free school meal provision is about more than obesity and this is not the main focus; free school provision is about expected gains in educational attainment, increasing nutrition and other expected positive impacts. Another member commented that children often arrive in reception overweight or obese, and usually the patterns of behaviour that have triggered obesity have been developing for the 5 years before they start school. Free school meal provision can therefore only reduce the impact.

6.3  Another member recalled earlier discussion which took place last administrative year on the number of hours children spent playing sports and asked officers if this was 2 hours. Officers confirmed it was. The member responded that we need clarity on if this can includes playtime.

6.4  Members commented that some of the questions on diet on the circulated questionnaire might not yield the results hoped for. The Scrutiny Manager reported that the Assistant Director for Leadership & Learning Support had indicted that this questionnaire could inform the free school meal pilot and that this might be a more sensitive time to ask these questions and give more robust data. It was agreed that only the sports questions would be circulated.

RESOLVED

The sports questionnaire will be distributed via social media and other networks to get the views of parents and young people on sport provision.

An interim report on this will be reviewed at the next meeting, at which point the committee will decide if it wishes to roll the obesity part of the review on to the next administrative year.