WelcomeAs 2015 draws to an end, we want to take this opportunity to update you on the exciting progress the school meals programme has made over the last few months. There has been lots of activity in each borough, from ‘cook offs’, completing contractor site visits, awarding winning contracts in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, finalising procurement in the City of Westminster (WCC), and designing evaluation questions with schools in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. So read on to find out more…

School Meals Contracts Awarded for RBKCWe are delighted to inform you that the winners of the school meals contracts for nursery, primary and special schools (Lot 1), and secondary schools (Lot 2) in RBKC have been decided. After a rigorous and in-depth assessment process, Caterlink for Lot 1 and Eden for Lot 2 have been awarded the school meals contracts.

The School Meals Contract Team (SMCT) had the opportunity to visit schools where the shortlisted, bidding contractors currently supply meals, in order to see first-hand how they operate, and gain direct feedback. They also put the contractor’s culinary skills to the test in a ‘cook off’ and question and answer session with school representatives. Caterlink and Eden were assessed separately and stood out in the following areas:

•Their ability to provide fresh, tasty, seasonal food•Innovative and fun ways to educatepupils/students as well as parents in food and wellbeing •Their understanding of the importance of building good relationships with the wider school community

As well as offering a high standard of service, the new catering contracts will enable us to make considerable savings. For schools, this means that costs will either remain the same or they will be reduced, offering individual savings.

Latest news for WCC The procurement process for WCC has now ended and we are now evaluating the bidding contractors. We want to make sure that the contractors meet your needs, so have engaged interested schools to shape the evaluation questions as well as the process itself. Before the requirement for the final sign-up from schools to access the contract, we will be in touch with the outcome of the procurement process as well as the financial implications for your school.

Latest news for LBHF In LBHF we are busy working with schools to finalise the evaluation criteria. The procurement process will begin in early January, and final contract go-live is 6th June 2016.

No. 7December

2015

Contractors competing at the Lot 2 ‘cook off’

Key dates Here's a reminder of the key dates for each borough…

 

Volunteers needed

Managing the transition periodOnce the winning contractor/s have been announced for your borough, the School Meals Contract Team (SMCT) will work closely with you to ensure a smooth and professional transition process. This will involve practical, on the ground support for your school in order to minimise any disruption including:

•A contractor meeting - the contractor will get in touch with your school (in early January 2016 for schools in the RBKC) to set-up a one-to-one meeting to discuss the transition process in more detail, and provide you with the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have. During this meeting, the contractor will also discuss your bespoke offering •Site specific events - you will also be invited to attend site specific events such as tasting roadshows (for primary schools), events at secondary schools, nutritional awareness assemblies, and fun with food activities where you and the wider community will have the opportunity to engage further with the contractor•SMCT advice and guidance - the SMCT will support you throughout the process to give you advice and guidance with regards to the new contract•Ongoing support - the SMCT will also continue their support after the contractor has gone live by carrying out unannounced visits, measuring user and school satisfaction and conducting rigorous monitoring against the food specification and the Food for Life standard

Get involvedIf you would like to volunteer to become a member of the School Meals Contract Board for your borough, you can find out more by referring to your School Agreement document or by emailing us.

Thank you for your continued support. We are committed to working in partnership with you in order to make this change a success. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and as ever, please feel free to contact the school meals client team on 020 8753 3604 or email us if you have any questions. Thank you for your support from the School Meals Contract Team:Lynne Richardson 020 8753 3604Allison Yeomans 020 7641 3391Susanne Kent 020 7361 3340Tim Harvey 020 8753 6073

BOROUGH CALL OFF CONTRACT GO LIVE DATE

RBKC Complete February 22nd 2016

WCC November/December 2015

April 11th 2016

LBHF January/February 2016 June 6th 2016