Dear Parents and Carers,
I am reaching out to seek your assistance regarding our school’s processes for managing potential complaints.
At Hook C.P. School, we pride ourselves on being open and honest. We regularly seek the views and opinions of pupils, families, governors, and the wider community and strive to reflect these. Governors, staff and I work hard to ensure that our ‘door is always open,’ and we actively encourage all stakeholders to talk to us if something is causing concern.
Recently, we have been made aware of numerous messages circulating about school meals on a social media platform. Apart from one phone call, we have not received any direct complaints, and no parents have visited the school to discuss concerns. Without receiving any complaints, we are unable to address the issues and find a suitable solution.
Despite the lack of direct feedback, we have noticed a 30% decrease in the uptake of universal free school meals. Mrs. Moore works incredibly hard to prepare and serve our pupils using a menu set by Pembrokeshire County Council, with little flexibility in what she can serve and how it is cooked. It is worth noting that during a recent Food Standards Agency inspection, Mrs. Moore was awarded the highest rating, 5 out of five.
I am writing to you because of the financial constraints affecting all government departments, including education. If the decline in school meal requests continues, it is possible that we will no longer have sufficient demand to keep a school cook on-site. The alternative would be having meals shipped in from another school, which would negatively impact the quality and freshness of the meals. Additionally, this would reduce the flexibility we currently have in catering to individual pupil preferences, something Mrs. Moore excels at providing.
It really is a case of ‘use it or lose it.’ Therefore, if you have concerns, please talk to us. If you are satisfied with the school meals, please encourage your child to use them. If your concerns are specific to our kitchen’s preparation and delivery of school meals, please speak directly to us. However, if your concern is with the menu itself, we encourage you to contact the catering department at Pembrokeshire County Council at 01437 774551.
Our school complaints policy is available on our website, but we always strive to resolve issues before they escalate to formal complaints. I hope this letter is received in the spirit it is intended. We encourage open communication and welcome your feedback. Social media messages that we are unaware of and cannot respond to are not helpful.
Thank you for your continued support. If you would like to discuss this matter in more detail, please do get in touch. Our door is always open.
Warm regards,
Mr A Davies
Headteacher