Chapter Summary

Implementation is defined as a ‘specified set of activities designed to put into practice an activity or program of known dimensions’ (Fixsen 2005 cited in Forman et al. 2009b:27) and it is within the process of implementation that policy will take shape, in a relationship that is reciprocal, ‘policy is made as it is being administered and administered as it is being made’ (Anderson 1975 cited in Hill and Hupe 2002:7). Key within a socio ecological framework is the concept of the organisation as a vehicle for the implementation of health promoting interventions. Since few health promotion programmes are free standing, policy implementation analysis will often focus on interaction between the policy and the setting.

This chapter begins with a focus on the national policy context in Wales which is one in which free school meal policy remains means tested. This will have implications for implementation in terms of the promotion of free school meal entitlement, and ensuring the anonymity of free school meal pupils. Other factors at the policy level noted to influence free school meal uptake are broader issues associated with the school food environment and the food that is served.

Schools are nested within a Local Authority and it is at the local authority level that policies are operationalised. Decisions made at the local authority level encompass broader issues associated with the implementation of the Appetite for Life guidance as well as catering provision across the schools. In terms of operationalising free school meal policy, Local Authority staff

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have responsibility for registering families for free school meals and notifying schools of pupils with entitlement, also setting the free school meal allowance.

While these macro level policies and processes have significant similarities, it is in the school setting that variation in policy implementation is most apparent. This chapter has explored the process by which free school meal policy is implemented at the school level. The implementation of four key aspects of policy, noted to influence the uptake of free school meal entitlement were considered; the promotion of free school meal entitlement, ensuring anonymity of free school meal pupils, implementing the minimum nutritional standards and offsite policy.

In terms of the promotion of free school meal policy, the evidence indicates that this is driven by school staff responding to the wider political context, representing an unintended consequence of pupil deprivation grant payments and the introduction of a new school banding system. A difference in attitudes between school staff in the first two schools where data was collected (Ashgrove and Briarwood) compared to the second two schools (Castlebridge and Daleview) was apparent; possibly as a result of the fact that the introduction of the new banding system between two periods of data collection.

It was apparent that the degree to which free school meal entitlement was promoted at the school level was driven by the attitudes of senior school staff and these attitudes were reflected in the actions of administrative staff in terms of the level of home school contact with parents in respect of free school meal entitlement. While levels of contact were noted to be good in Castlebridge and Daleview, in Ashgrove and Briarwood, staff noted that there was little attempt to promote free school meals within these schools. A second key policy noted to impact on the uptake of free school meal entitlement are payment systems, essential to protect the anonymity of free school meals pupils. Where a cash system remained in Briarwood, the

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overall school level of free school meal entitlement was very low and it appeared that as a result, anonymity was not considered a priority compared to other schools where the larger proportion of free school meal pupils would have made administering the ticket system unworkable.

Understanding the broader policy environment in which free school meal policy operates requires consideration of policies which will impact on the school environment in which free school meals are served. Specifically, this chapter explores two related policy areas which have been shown to impact on the uptake of free school meals. First, the Appetite for Life guidelines, introduced by the Welsh Government and operationalised by the Local Authority and consequently in place in each of the schools. Secondly, offsite policy, determined at the school level but which is acknowledged to have significant implications for the uptake of school meals, both paid for and free (Welsh Assembly Government 2010).

In terms of the consideration of the impact of the Appetite for Life guidance, differing staff priorities were apparent. While teaching staff felt that the improved menus were overwhelmingly positive, for catering staff, concerns over falling levels of popularity of school food and the impact that this had on the uptake of meals dominated their narratives. Despite concerns over the new menus, the evidence indicates that catering staff felt that they had little autonomy in relation to making changes to the food served, a lack of autonomy which possibly reflected the level of status held by catering staff . The introduction of the Appetite for Life menus also reveals an inherent contradiction in the role of the school food service, for many years run as a business which was consumer led. It is only recently that school food provision has once again been conceptualised as a means to encourage and promote healthy dietary choice and the changing school food provision associated with this shift has had a direct impact on the uptake of school food and consequently, the viability of school meal provision.

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Another locally determined policy which has been proven to impact on the uptake of school food is the ability of pupils to leave the school site at lunchtime and access food from other providers. The evidence indicates that physical aspects of the school determine this policy although the data revealed that there was some potential for school staff to adapt local conditions in an attempt to overcome these physical constraints.

This chapter has identified the range of factors which influence the way that free school meal policy is implemented within the school setting. Understanding of the variability of context is essential to the understanding of the variability of policy outcomes, since the execution and delivery of policy has been found to be a central determinant (Ryan 1995). To understand the variability of policy outcomes, it is necessary to understand the socially contingent nature of human action and the particular confluences of factors that characterise different categories of settings (Green et al. 2000). The next chapter will explore the link between context and behaviour, emphasising the role that structure plays in constructing choices for people as well as imposing constraint upon their practices (Frohlich et al. 2001; Frohlich et al. 2002).

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8. Chapter 8: The School Food Environment; the