Kitchen at a tiny primary school could be shut down
officials plan to get rid of cook to save £7,000
Published:
THE kitchen at a tiny Moray primary school could be shut down and replaced with a hot meal delivery service to save £7,000 a year, it has emerged.
Moray Council officers want to get rid of the cook at four-pupil Cabrach Primary, claiming it is “not sustainable” to keep her on.
Parents object to the proposals, however, and accused the council of “chipping away” at its facilities after Scottish Ministers rejected its plan to close down the whole school last year.
In a report to go before full council on Wednesday, environmental protection officer Ian Bruce proposes the school kitchen is closed, with the cook being made redundant.
Meals would be instead be put in insulated containers and brought to pupils by taxi from Mortlach Primary School in Dufftown, about seven miles away.
Mr Bruce said parents had raised numerous concerns about the plan after attending a consultation meeting in June.
These include fears bad weather could prevent the meals from being delivered.
Mr Bruce said concern is unfounded, however. “It is accepted that accessing rural schools during periods of snow could be a problem but officers are of the view that, during periods of bad weather the schools would be closed and would therefore not require a school meal service,” he said.
Parents also claimed children would miss out on the experience of seeing meals made from raw ingredients, but Mr Bruce stressed that cooks are not employed to assist with teaching.
Another issue raised was that the move would not help the council claw back much cash, but Mr Bruce said £7,324 would be saved each year.
Concluding, he said the status quo is “not sustainable” at the school.
Parent Helena Sierakowska, 47, who lives about a mile from the school at Lower Cabrach, remains unconvinced.
She said her two children, nine-year-old Aaron and seven-year-old Lily, benefited from having the cook on site, and it was not practical to transport meals to such a remote area. She added: “I just feel this school is being chipped away at from every possible side just because they could not close it down.
“They’re chipping away at the local economy too. That’s another job gone, and jobs are few and far between out here.”
She submitted a formal objection to the plans along with another parent, Anna Jones.
In April, Moray Council closed kitchens at Logie, Glenlivet and Crossroads primaries.
The change was backed by councillors despite the results of a public consultation which showed two of the schools were 100% opposed to the proposals.
