Collection of Data on the Take Up of School Lunches

You should have recently received a letter from DCSF explaining the intention and rationale behind the collection of comprehensive standardised data on the take up of school lunches, and encouraging you to participate in the data collection process. Further information and a copy of that letter are available at: www.teachernet.gov.uk.

The take up of school lunches is now an indicator for PSA 12 of the 2007 CSR ('Improve the health and well-being of children and young people') and an indicator of the local government National Indicator Set (NIS), NI52 - take up of school lunches. To ensure that all forms of provision of school lunch at all schools covered by school food regulations are included in calculations of take up, Local Authorities are required to gather information from all schools. The information provided by schools will be sent by the Local Authority to the School Food Trust as part of our response to their annual survey.

Wherever possible we will obtain the information required from Norfolk County Services (NCS) and will therefore need to contact only those schools NOT with NCS. Any of these where the school lunch service is provided by a contractor might need to work with the contractor to provide the information.

The information will be confidential to the Local Authority and the School Food Trust. Information on the take up of school lunches will be reported at LA level but not at individual school level.