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1. Background to the Study

Table 1: LEAs selected for Strand 2

1.7 Table 1 shows the characteristics of these LEAs in terms of the main selection criteria.
The sample included four LEAs in which the school meals budget had been delegated
on request to primary schools and eight in which it had been delegated across the board.
(One LEA had delegated the budgets but was de-delegating in April 2003.) In six
LEAs, a central catering service was in operation which had served the majority of
schools before delegation. The LEAs were equally divided between above and below
mean eligibility for free school meals, with a range from 5% to 33%. At least one LEA
was selected from each of the 10 regions of England to ensure a geographic spread.
The LEAs included three shire counties, two metropolitan boroughs, two London
boroughs and five unitary authorities.

Strand 2 Data collection

1.8 Within each of the 12 LEAs, the study aimed to conduct a minimum of three semi-
structured interviews. These included interviews with a finance or policy officer from
the Education department, a representative of the central catering service or the officer
responsible for the central contract and, where applicable, a representative from the
main private catering company. The study also aimed to interview a member of the local
association of school governors in each of the areas. In some LEAs, it was necessary to
undertake further interviews, to include other officers from the LEA or additional
private contractors. Whilst gaining access to LEA officers was fairly straightforward,
private contractors proved slightly more elusive. Some LEAs were more reluctant than
others to divulge contact details for representatives from local governors associations
and this slowed the process of engaging with that group. In some LEAs, governors had
very little to contribute, since the delegation of school meal budgets had not been a
significant issue at the Association level.

Strand 3 Case study schools

1.9 Case study schools were selected to explore in more detail a range of issues highlighted
in Strands 1 and 2 of the study. The selection included five secondary, four middle and
six primary schools with a wide range of pupil numbers. Table 2 shows the
characteristics of the schools in terms of the type of catering provided, the type of
supplier, the percentage of pupils on free school meals, the value of the free school meal
and the type of monitoring in place. The sample includes schools with central contracts,

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