FAO Schools in the KCC School Meals Framework Contract

As you will have seen in the news, there is a shortage of workers across the country, mainly that of skilled workers. Whilst our catering companies placed a lot of emphasis on recruitment over the summer, they have seen a lot of movement and currently have vacancies in many schools. Once they do appoint, the staff cannot work in a school until they have an enhanced DBS in place which are also taking longer than usual to be process, due to the high volumes. This has impacted some sites who currently are working with less staff on site. Please be assured they are doing everything they can to mitigate this; it does mean there are occasions when the Area or Operational teams are having to work in kitchens to support to provide pupils with a lunch.

Added to this they are also starting to see the impact of supply issue through their supply chains on receiving goods into schools and also availability, you may also have seen the effect in local supermarkets.

They all have their own commercial teams working hard with their supply chains to resolve these issues, however there will be times when the advertised menu will need to change due to shortages of food items or delivery issues.

Some schools will be holding an increased stock level and they are listing food items with alternative suppliers where they can support the supply chain into your schools. Should there be a need to change the menu the onsite Chef will notify the school and report into their Area or Operations Manager and KCC for authorisation.

I do hope these disruptions will be a short term but we are seeing the effects country wide in all areas of the hospitality and food business.

If you need to discuss these points further please contact Tracy.Davis@kent.gov.uk.

Contact Details

Tracy Davis
Email: Tracy.Davis@kent.gov.uk