FURTHER discussions are set to take place with schools over the future of the school meals catering service.
During the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the council decided to continue exploring with schools ways in which the school meals catering service can be maintained.
Prior to the meeting, school staff, children and trade union UNISON staged a protest outside Barnsley Town Hall in an effort to appeal to ruling cabinet members who were set scrap the council’s school meals service.
Cabinet decided that the council should continue discussions with schools about their future plans, while also exploring digital improvements that could make the service more attractive.
Talks will take place over the coming months with schools around cost and the type of service that they wish to purchase which will help the council to determine the number of school contracts they are likely to keep.
Coun Jenny Platts, Cabinet Spokesperson for Communities, said: “It is important for us to continue discussions with schools to see if we can work with them to deliver a service which they can make a long term commitment to.
"Schools are currently purchasing from a range of suppliers, and by having this period to explore options, we can determine whether a sustainable model can be created.”
