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MEALS AND MILK
Meals
Nutritionally balanced meals are served in maintained schools on 91 different premises. The average
number of pupils provided with a meal on each school day during 1971/72 was 26,140 and 200 per day
during the school holidays.
Three play centres were open at Whitsun 1972 and eight will be open during the summer holiday,
an average of 250 children receiving meals at each centre.
Milk
One third of a pint of milk was supplied free to children in maintained primary, non-maintained
primary and special schools up to the end of the summer term 1971, but from the commencement of the
autumn term 1971, milk was restricted to children of infant age only, special schools, and also, on health
grounds, to children of junior school age.
A census taken on a day in October 1971, showed that 11,802 children each received a third of a
pint of milk. Of these, 11,170 were attending maintained and 632 non-maintained schools. This represented
44.3% of all children present in primary and special schools on that day. On this particular day, 23 children
of junior age were receiving milk on health grounds, but this number is expected to increase.
School milk is pasteurised and the supplying dairies are supervised by the Director of Health.
Cost of Meals and Milk
The total expenditure of school meals and milk estimated for 1971/2 was £1,103,345 and the income
from payments and other sources at £450,300, giving a net expenditure of £653,045.