AND THANKFULLY, FRESH FRUIT KEBABS HAVE REPLACED SEMOLINA FOR TODAY'S PUDDING CHOICE

PARENTS and carers in Atherstone and district struggling to come up with fresh recipes for their Covid-lockdown children are being offered a helping hand in the kitchen – from "behind" the closed school gates.

Thanks to modern technology, the favourite lunchtime menus from the school dining room are now just a click away on the phone and iPad or press of the mouse on the laptop and home computer.

Education bosses realise that home schooling during coronavirus has put added pressures on mealtime planning.

Mum or dad's cooking may not be in doubt but the 'at home' guardians may well be getting requests to recreate children's regular school dinners at home – especially now fresh fruit kebabs have replaced that awful semolina pudding on the 'what's for afters' menu.

And here's where pupils from North Warwickshire's Birchwood Primary School in Dordon have "stepped up to the plate" to help.

Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, they were asked to test out and develop some of the recipes included in a book by Warwickshire-based school caterers, Educaterers.

It was specifically designed to help pupils and their families to re-create some of the school meals they enjoy at home and encourage healthy eating.

The book includes a recipe for hand-baked bread called Funny Face Pizza plus Chef's Sausage Rolls with a Twist, Fantastic Fish Cakes and, for the more adventurous, Chilli Chicken Fritta with Coconut Spinach.

For those with a sweet tooth, there are also recipes for Up-beet Chocolate Muffins and Lemon Drizzle Cake.

A recipe a day is being posted on social media on Twitter @warwickshire_cc and Facebook www.facebook.com/WarwickshireCountyCouncil accounts, hastag # Educaterers.

But if you want to plan for more than one meal at a time, then you can download the whole book for free here.

Educaterers employees are also providing meals for the dozens of Atherstone pupils of key workers and vulnerable children who are still attending school.

The school caterers provided their services to around 60 schools that remained open across the county over the Easter holidays.

Director of Educaterers, Terry Tredget, said: "Right from the beginning of this crisis, our employees have stepped up to the plate.

"I would like to thank them all, in whatever capacity, for helping to feed vulnerable children and the children of essential key workers who are on the front line keeping the health service, vital infrastructure and the economy running during these difficult times.

Dordon and Wood End Primary Schools have also thanked Educaterers for everything they have done for their children, commenting that "it has been a difficult situation that has been made easier through your support and openness."

No decision has yet been made by the Government as to when pupils will return from their extended break, although the beginning of June or the start of September have been mooted.

Teachers have repeatedly expressed concerns over "unhelpful" speculation that schools and colleges will reopen soon amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the largest education union in Europe.

The National Education Union has written to the Prime Minister asking for the Government to urgently share its modelling, evidence and plans for reopening schools.

An early return to school will result in an "increased risk" to school staff and children and it could "undermine people's resolve to stick to social isolation", the NEU warns.

Headteachers have suggested that schools should reopen for a period before the summer holidays, rather than September, if scientific evidence says it is safe to do so.

A study led by researchers at University College London indicated that school closures do not appear to have a significant effect on the spread of infections during outbreaks such as Covid-19.

Researchers found that school closures alone were predicted to reduce deaths by around two to four per cent amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the UK, which is less than other social distancing measures.

In America, education leaders have concluded that millions of children's learning will be "severely stunted "and are planning unprecedented steps to help them catch up.

In Miami, school will extend into the summer and start earlier in the autumn, at least for some students. In Cleveland, schools may shrink the curriculum to cover only core subjects.

Whenever schools return, researchers say, the likely result is a generation of students forced to play catch-up, perhaps for years to come.