A York school says it is acting to make improvements after food hygiene inspectors gave it a poor rating.
YorkMix understands Scarcroft School was given a one out of five rating for its catering, which serves up lunches to many of its around 400 children, aged four to 11.
The report has yet to be made public. But parents told us they were shocked by the news.
Now they have been sent a letter by both the school head and the head of the Excel Learning Trust which runs Scarcroft School.
In his letter Mark Hassack, chief executive officer of the trust, said the catering company the school used, Aspens Services, “does not meet the standards we expect for our pupils, and we are not satisfied with the quality or consistency of provision”.
The trust has told Aspens Services to make urgent improvements around food quality and the “day-to-day experience for pupils”.
Mr Hassack wrote: ““I also want to acknowledge the challenges and frustrations that some pupils and families have experienced as a result of this situation.
“I am sorry that the service has not met the standards we expect on your behalf.”
In her letter, sent to parents on Friday, Scarcroft School head teacher Jen Mitchell, said social media posts about the situation were exaggerated.
“At no point did the inspection detail anything such as squalor or filth,” she wrote.
“There were however some small, easily rectifiable issues flagged, such as hand sanitiser and soap needing to be refilled.”
She said she and other senior members of staff had been in the kitchen and lunch hall to ensure the food being served “is of a high standard… fresh, healthy and safe to eat”.
Her letter included a statement from Tom Anstee, regional operations director for Aspens, which said: “We are deeply sorry that our usual high level of service has not been delivered at your school.
“We have been in business for over 18 years delivering a service for 1,500 schools nationwide, serving over one million meals per week.
“We want to reassure all parents that we have taken immediate action to remedy the current situation and we absolutely take this situation incredibly seriously.
“A full action plan is already in place and additional resources have been deployed to schools, and we are confident that we can rectify the situation.
