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CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND AND METHODS
Background
1.1 The role of school education, and especially of school meal provision, in influencing children's eating patterns was recognised by Scottish Ministers in January 2002 in the establishment of an Expert Panel on School Meals.
1.2 The final report of the Expert Panel, Hungry for Success: a Whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland, was published in November 2002 and included 24 recommendations on school meals, all of which were accepted by Scottish Ministers. Implementation of the recommendations was scheduled to take place in all publicly funded primary and special schools by December 2004 and in all publicly funded secondary schools by December 2006.
1.3 Four different levels of monitoring implementation of the recommendations were proposed in Hungry for Success:
- Level 1 - for every school and education authority each year, as part of annual reporting on National Priorities, starting from 2003
- Level 2 - as part of HMIE programme of school inspections, starting from August 2003
- Level 3 - by HMIE working with Associate Assessors to produce a detailed evaluation in 2006
- Level 4 - by independent research commissioned by the Scottish Executive in 2007 to assess the implementation and impact of the recommendations
1.4 This research study, commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department and carried out by TNS System Three Social Research was the first stage of the level four monitoring. Its main purpose was to provide a baseline picture of school meal provision across a range of case study schools. The research was intended to form the foundation for longitudinal case studies, allowing the progress made on implementation and impact of the recommendations in Hungry for Success within case study schools to be assessed in the future.
1.5 Although some primary and special schools had already taken some steps towards implementing Hungry for Success at the time of the baseline study, this stage of the research was not intended to provide a critical assessment of the extent to which case study schools had met the recommendations. The research was carried out in primary and special schools at the start of the 2004 - 2005 school year, immediately prior to the deadline for implementation and identifies the starting position prior to implementation of case study primary and special schools. It is important to bear this in mind when reading the report, as it would be expected these schools would have made further progress on implementation since it was conducted. In secondary schools research was carried out between January and June 2005, between eighteen months to two years in advance of the deadline for implementation. As such the research provides a picture of work required in case study secondary schools to enable them to meet the deadline for implementation.
1.6 Given the case study method employed and the fact that this was a baseline study, these findings should not be interpreted as a final critical assessment of school meal provision against the recommendations in case study schools, nor should it be interpreted as a critical assessment of the position in all Scottish schools.
Case Study Methodology
1.7 This research uses descriptive case study methodology. The use of the case study as a research tool is applicable in situations where an in-depth examination of a contemporary, real-life situation is required. A key strength is that it draws on multiple sources of evidence and employs a variety of techniques to provide an understanding of the case and answer the research questions.
1.8 In this research, multiple case studies were undertaken, each one consisting of a separate enquiry. Each study followed the same method and used the same research instruments, ensuring the reliability of results.
1.9 Individual schools were the case study unit. They were selected to provide a range of schools in different circumstances across a number of criteria. It is important to note that case study research is not sampling research, so that the sample was not intended to be statistically representative of all schools.
1.10 The results are reported individually and presented in a systematic way in the individual reports based on specific themes. They are work in progress, intended for use as baseline texts against which progress at the case study schools can be measured in the future, and are unpublished. The evidence arising from the different elements of the research is available in a comprehensive database which accompanies the reports. This ensures the case studies are replicable over time, a key requirement of the research. It is the intention of the Scottish Executive to use the results as a baseline and that the research is repeated among the participating schools in two years time.
1.11 This report, and the Insight report that accompanies it, provides a collective view of the individual case studies. When reading it, it must be remembered that this is only a summary of the situation in a limited number of schools and does not reflect the situation in all schools in Scotland. Results are empirical and designed to enable greater understanding of a particular situation, in this case progress towards the implementation of the recommendations of Hungry for Success, to be developed. Specifically, the results of a case study or of multiple case studies cannot be generalised to the overall population statistically. It is particularly important to bear this in mind when interpreting the results of the quantitative elements of the research. The information on pupils' wider diets, food preferences and opinions of school meals, cannot be assumed to represent those of all pupils across all schools in Scotland; instead they are indicative of pupils' behaviour and opinions across and within the case study schools.
Baseline Research
1.12 Baseline research was carried out at 18 case study schools from 8 local authorities across Scotland during the 2004-2005 school year. The research is described more fully in Annex 1 and in an accompanying database of materials and guidance notes on the method. It involved different elements including the following:
- diet diaries completed by a sample of pupils in each school
- attitudinal questionnaires completed by a sample of pupils in each school
- qualitative interviews with pupils in pairs or small groups
- qualitative interview and consultation with the Head Teacher or a member of senior management with a relevant remit and (informally) with other staff in the school
- interview with the catering manager/head cook and informal discussion with some catering staff
- observation (and sampling of meals) over the lunch hour
- collection of menus and recipes
- observation of alternative food outlets in the area
1.13 These elements generated a large amount of information which will be available for comparison in the next stage of research. The results discussed here are designed to show the situation across case study schools or illustrate a particular case. Where possible they are validated by more than one of the elements above.
1.14 Throughout the report, the results relating to the questionnaires and diet diaries are provided for each type of school. It should be noted that as the base sizes for questionnaires and diet diaries completed by special school pupils (82 and 40 respectively) are less than 100, these results should be interpreted with caution.
Structure of the report
1.15 This report is structured as follows:
- Section B summarises the key characteristics of schools and outlines recent and planned changes to school meal provision
- Section C focuses on where pupils eat, including the dining room; lunchtime rules and procedures; the extent to which lunchtime is currently a "social experience" for pupils and pupils' decisions about where to eat
- Section D describes what pupils eat, summarising the types and size of meals offered by the school meals services; providing information on special diets; presenting findings on pupils' current lunchtime choices and pupils' and teachers' views on school meals
- Section E examines pupils' wider diets in and out of school, by analysing the diet diaries completed by pupils
- Section F examines pupils' food and drink preferences, including descriptions of the pupils' ideal lunch
- Section G examines the marketing and promotion of food and drink within the schools, including use of advertising or branded products, what types of information are provided to pupils and parents about school meals, how food is presented, and whether attempts are made to incentivise healthy choices
- Section H investigates the current processes for managing school meal provision within the schools - for example, how and where food is prepared; numbers of catering staff at the school and levels of training provided; supervision in the dining room; and the extent to which pupils, parents and staff are consulted about the school meals service
- Section I summarises current procedures for paying for meals and claiming free school meals, identifies the costs of meals; as well as summarising pupils' and teachers' views on free school meals and payment systems
- Section J outlines findings on the broader provision of food and water within the school ( e.g. tuck shops, breakfast clubs, free fruit and water) as well as on health and the curriculum
- Section K briefly summarises the overall situation in relation to Hungry for Success recommendations and highlights those on which more or less progress has been made
1.16 At the start of each chapter, we highlight the relevant Hungry for Success recommendations before discussing baseline findings in relation to these.
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