Wakefield school apologises after serving non-halal meat labelled halal

The principal at Outwood Primary Academy Greenhill said a new catering company had been appointed

A primary school has apologised to parents and carers for serving non-halal meat that was labelled as halal.

The principal of Outwood Primary Academy Greenhill in Wakefield said he discovered last week that not all the meat served to pupils in the past was halal, despite being labelled as such.

Principal Martin Fenton said it had been a mistake and that he was "very sorry that it has happened".

He said the school had immediately changed its ordering process.

The school, which is run by Outwood Grange Academies Trust, set up its own kitchen in 2016, according to a letter sent out to parents by Mr Fenton.

He said the canteen decided to serve only halal meat "some years ago... because that is important to the majority of our community".

Halal is Arabic for permissible. Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran.

After discovering that not all the meat served at the school had been halal, Mr Fenton said senior leaders had made "changes that will ensure this cannot happen again" and a specialist catering company has now been appointed.

"I know that you will be very disappointed to hear this news but I would like to reassure you that it was a mistake and I am very sorry that it has happened," he said in a letter to parents.

'Extremely disappointed'

Wakefield East councillor Akef Akbar said in a statement on social media the council had stopped providing school meals at the site in 2017 and all catering provided by the local authority had been correctly labelled halal.

"Wakefield Council have expressed that they are extremely disappointed that a school in our district has misrepresented food served to their pupils," he said.

"The corporate director for children and young people has confirmed that although the council no longer employs anyone at the academy, we will be considering if any action needs to be taken in relation to the actions of former employees, as more information becomes available."

He said he was "disappointed that the school has misrepresented halal food" as students and parents could have made an informed decision to eat vegetarian meals.

But he said he appreciated the school's "transparent and prompt" action and their "commitment to treating this matter seriously".

'Formal investigation'

A spokesperson for Outwood Grange Academies Trust said the mistake occurred before the school joined the trust in September 2022, when it was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted. .

They said they had been working with the council, which oversaw the school before that date, "to actively engage with the community, local councillors and faith leaders who have told us that they are confident in the actions we have taken".

"Since then, we have been auditing every aspect of the school's operations, including its processes and contracts in order to raise standards," the spokesperson added.

"Moving forward, we will continue our formal investigation to ascertain the full details of the situation."