Neverseconds

Just for the record, Martha praised some of the meals, giving them 10 points. What she had to say wasn't invariably critical. Also , Annobel, she talked about using a camera rather than a phone.

Yes, councils are still in charge of schools and school budgets in Scotland.

The Everseconds blog has now raised over £72,000 for Mary's Meals. What a fab result from a little girl's blog and a council official's stupidity!

NB a council official is not "The Council". The Council was not forced to do a U-turn. The clumsy-booted council official was told to lift the ban s/he had no right to have imposed in the first place.

It is the HT's prerogative to decide about cameras in school. The Curriculum for Excellence requires schools to have photographic evidence of the chidren's activities and it is also encouraging blogs. Looks like Martha learned well!

Luckily this affair has nothing to do with Gove. Scottish education is beyond the reach of Westminster!
I understand that it was the child's father who helped her to set up the blog, though the contents are all her own. I would question a child's being allowed to take a camera phone into school, however.

I understand that her father said that the school had been nothing but supportive and it was the council official who had said that she must stop.
I also find it interesting that this is a child who clearly understands writing / publishing for purpose, has mastered a different genre and can use the internet effectively. This is surely worthy of praise from Gove and co.?

JessM, I don't think school governance works in quite the same way in Scotland as in England. For a start, the power of Local Authorities has not been eroded as it has south of the Border. Perhaps Bags can put us straight on that. Most certainly, council officers should not put their size 12s in before the elected members have been consulted. Who do they think they are?

It has been a very bullying council. A great deal of work went on behind the scenes before the May elections to make sure the council admin would not go back into the hands of the bullying regime. Long story. The whole ethos at the council offices needs to change. I hope it does.

I also wonder at the HT, but teachers, as council employees, have been bullied too.

Quite a way to treat a gifted child isn't it. What I don't understand is why the HT and/or chair of governors did not tell the council where to get off. That is the great thing about having an independent governing body. They can turn round to the LA and say no, you're out of line.
This independence of governors is disappearing under academies unfortunately.

I wrote about this little girl and the quality of her school dinners on the POLITICS Forum, 12th May, 'ACADEMIES'.

I am disgusted the council took such a bullying stance over this. It should not take a pupil of any school, let alone a 9 year old, to tell the council or her teachers how bad the school meals were/are. What are they thinking of, it is beyond common sense for any adault to know the plates of food being served were a disgrace. They all share in this sorry saga and to cover their backs they were prepared to silence a child. Martha deserved better and they all, teachers and council should be ashamed.

Well done Martha.

And why was the Council leaping to the defence of dinner ladies? Surely it's not their fault if the food they're given to work with is laughably inadequate? Who's the real culprit here?

My understanding (from bonny Argyll) is that it was over-officious council officers who jumped in with both feet when some rag of a newspaper said that the dinner ladies should be sacked. The fault lies with the rag and the bossy official. The council leader stepped in and instructed the bossy bootses to lift the ban. Whether the dinner ladies' union had anything to do with, who knows. I've certainly experienced enough utterly stupid, ill-thought out officiousness from council officers (over school closures) in the last couple of years. There was a change of political administration last month. This was its first shenanigans test. The council leader did well and we all hope he will carry on in similar vein and slap down the crass officials who seem to forget that they are there to serve the population via the population's elected representatives.

I wonder if the dinner ladies' union was at the bottom of the row. I have crossed swords with them in my previous incarnation as a local councillor and believe me there was blood on the carpet - but not mine.

Our school dinners weren`t too bad, but I used to dread the dessert being stewed apricots, or stewed ants as we called it, because there always more ants in there than apricots!

Got it Bags! Wonderful...sounded like a Scottish Edna Everage

Yes, £2 a time! (I don't think anyone said they were free, gracesmum)

nag if you're on Facebook you might be able to listen via that:

www.facebook.com/ScottishFalsettoSocks

Just as a BTW I believe that this little girl's dinner were NOT free, but paid for by her parents .

It wouldn't let me watch it!

Scottish sock puppet theatre presents
the song of Neverseconds

I always went home for lunch. There was a piggery next to our school which got the leftovers. The pigs looked healthy enough!

They only cost a shilling when I was at school. The ones on the blog are £2.00!

I had school dinners all through school. I remember some delicious puddings and I remember getting seconds and even thirds sometimes. I also remember eating my best friend's potatoes as well as my own most days. I think the food must have been fine because I don't remember much else about it. I just ate it.

They looked better than the ones I remember!

I was thinking that all school meals could go without a pudding, not just the free ones. That would be unfair and would stigmatise the kids who get free meals.

Not all school meals are like the poorer ones in the blog.

The meals in the old ILEA were subsidised and excellent. All staff would have them because they were worth buying or doing a duty to get one as payment.

The meals the little girl showcased looked dreadful! I have never seen them quite as bad as that!

Not sure I agree that Free School Meals should go without a dessert... could have something healthy and a treat!

I didn't have school dinners until we returned here in my teens - I'd lived abroad for most of my earlier childhood. I didn't always like the meat courses but oh the puddings and custard. The spotted dicks, steam jam sponges, teacle tarts etc - all load with bright yellow custard. I was in love!!