CALL FOR A BAN ON TAKEAWAYS NEAR ISLINGTON SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Published: 11th March, 2011
by TOM FOOT

FAST-FOOD takeaways could be banned from opening near Islington secondaries and pupils kept inside the school grounds at lunchtime in a crackdown on child obesity.

Councillors have recommended a range of measures, including kebab and fried chicken shop exclusion zones. Children would be encouraged to eat school meals by being kept on-site at lunchtime.

The proposals follow the first in-depth review of Islington Council’s flagship free school meals policy, which revealed take-up was lower than expected. One school was throwing away almost half of its free food every day.

Acland Burghley School, just over the borough boundary in neighbouring Camden, is changing its policy to prevent pupils leaving grounds for lunch.

Labour councillor Martin Klute, conducting the review for Islington’s health scrutiny committee, said: “It is quite clear some fast-food takeaways deliberately target children with low nutritious and poor-quality food. 

“Where there’s a problem with poor-quality takeaways, sometimes it’s the only answer. Kids will be kids and do what they get away with.” The health scrutiny committee report recommended on Tuesday that “more pressure should be put on schools to follow a similar policy [to Acland Burghley]”, adding: “Even when a school had a policy of not letting pupils leave the premises at lunchtime the council should still set an example by looking to control the number of [fast-food] outlets.”

NHS statistics show one in ten 11-year-olds in Islington is clinically obese.

The committee heard representations from headteachers, pupils and education experts.

Psychological profiling of pupils’ eating habits revealed how most “cool girls” ate lots of flapjacks while pasta was mainly eaten by “football lads”. 

Many young school pupils – tweens – experience a “time of turmoil” in the first years at secondary school and used the canteen because it was a “safe” place. 

Older children demanded “portable food options” – takeaways – “to enable multi-tasking during lunchtime”.

Cllr Klute said: “The subject of school meals and nutrition overall has proved to be far more interesting and complex than the committee had expected.”

The council introduced free school meals for more than 11,000 nursery and primary pupils in September 2009. The majority of primary schools – 39 out of 45 – have contracts with Cater Link company .

In a poll of pupils at Central Foundation Boys’ School, in Finsbury, where meals are provided by the firm AIG, 21 per cent described the food as “dreadful”, while only nine per cent said it was “very good”.

Cllr Klute said: “The quality from the council’s contractor Cater Link is pretty good. Central Foundation School kids said their food was more expensive and significantly lower quality. They were complaining about too much pizza.” 

The council’s health chief revealed he had eaten a freshly toasted focaccia with parma ham and emmental cheese – plus a packet of crisps – for lunch yesterday (Thursday).

He recalled eating from “great big vats of custard” while a pupil at Harrow County Boys’ School in the 1970s. 

The committee’s recommendations will be discussed by the council cabinet later this month.