Wick nursery worker attacks council snack move
A YEARLY budget of less than £175 to provide snacks at a Wick nursery was yesterday described as “absolutely crazy”.
A spokeswoman at the North school nursery hit out after the Highland Council decided to stop parents giving their children £2 a week for snacks in local authority-run nurseries.
The move was prompted by the council after an audit report found some schools were making unreasonable charges to families and breaching financial regulations.
But the nursery spokeswoman, who wished to remain anonymous, said parents were unhappy with the decision and preferred the previous system which ended shortly after the start of the new school term.
She said the £2-a-week provided a variety of snacks for the youngsters who helped in their preparation. It also assisted their social skills and helped fund some other activities.

The spokeswoman said the nursery now has a budget of £174.90 a year to provide snacks for the youngsters. “That is absolutely crazy and means we have 87p a day for snacks for 34 children,” she told the Caithness Courier yesterday.
She said the Highland Council argued pre-school education should be fully funded by the local authority and not involve parents paying for snacks.
But she pointed out primary school education is financed by the council but youngsters still have to pay for snacks.
“If we had any extra money left from our snack fund it would help pay for some activities and treats but we will not be able to do that now,” said the woman. She claimed if the audit found a problem with unreasonable charges the council could have introduced a charge of £1.50 a week at all schools rather than scrap the system completely.
Opponents of the scheme made their views known to the local authority and a meeting with parents is due to be held to discuss the situation on Thursday, September 8.
A spokeswoman at the Three Bears Nursery in Thurso said a letter had been received from the Highland Council informing staff not to take any snack money from parents.
“We are planning to hold a meeting to get the views of the parents,” she said.
Nurseries do have a fruit and milk budget provided by the local authority and it will now pay for a small snack in the form of a section of fruit and glass of water or milk.
Jonathan King, the council’s head of Integrated Children’s Services, said action was taken to stop families being inappropriately charged for snacks. He stressed the local authority has not banned snacks.
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“We required to make changes because the audit report found that some schools had been making charges to families that were outwith what is reasonable, involving processes which were in some cases in breach of financial regulations and that could not be justified in terms of accountability for public funds,” he said.
Mr King said if food is to be offered as part of curricular activity then it will need to be funded from the school budget or, as with many activities offered, through fundraising efforts.
“Schools are supplied with free milk and funding towards the purchase of fruit and vegetables. All pre-school education providers in Highland receive funding from NHS Highland’s health improvement programme, the aim of which is to encourage children to enjoy eating more fruit and vegetables. This year the amount provided to pre-school education providers towards the purchase of fruit is £5.83 per pupil per year,” he stated.
Children of pre-school age attending a registered nursery or childcare provision are entitled to 1
In Highland, a company called Cool Milk arranges delivery to the majority of local authority-run nurseries and partner providers through a contract with local dairies, added Mr King.