More Jersey schools to serve hot dinners

The Jersey government hopes to roll out school meals to all of its schools

Three more schools in Jersey are to offer pupils hot meals this term.

Meals will be rolled out at Grands Vaux, Plat Douet, and Springfield schools, with five more schools set to join next April, ministers said.

The move is the next stage of plans to make school meals available in all government-maintained primary schools by September 2024.

The rollout is supported by an additional £1.6m in funding which will be used to provide equipment and staff.

Deputy Inna Gardiner, Minister for Children and Education, said: "When children have regular access to healthy food, we see improvements in concentration, energy, and engagement while they are at school.

"However, we know that it is more challenging to provide a healthy packed lunch, especially with the increased food prices we've seen over the last year.

"I am working with officers to make sure that more children can benefit from healthy hot meals."