MORE schools across Dorset have blasted a new provider of hot meals just days into the school term.

Chartwells Catering, which won a four-year contract to provide around 11,000 meals a day to Dorset schools, has been criticised for the quality of service it has been providing.

Chartwells is not the only provider of school meals but it has come under fire – while schools using other providers have praised the high quality of service they have received.

Carl Winch, headteacher at St Mary’s Middle School in Puddletown, said the service the school has received from Chartwells had been appalling. He said: “We are very concerned about the quality and level of service we are being provided with when we were promised a very good service.”

The school has had problems with the quantity of food provided and had to go buy frozen vegetables from a local shop when none were provided.

“Our vegetarian option of a vegetable chilli was just a pasta dish. I tried it and, to be honest, I would say it was inedible,” Mr Winch said.

Other schools have been forced to raid the supermarket shelves and one school in the Bournemouth area had to order takeaway pizzas to ensure pupils were fed.

Cllr Toni Coombs, Dorset County Council’s cabinet member for education, has asked Chartwells to refund schools that bought food out of their own budgets.

Claire Cook, a reception teacher from Cerne Abbas First School, said they had switched suppliers from Chartwells to Sunninghill Preparatory School before the school year began.

Miss Cook said: “It has been going amazing so far, it’s just beautiful food. I have tried some myself and it is really good.

“Yesterday, the children had a roast chicken dinner and they all said how much they enjoyed it.”

West Dorset-based company Local Food Links has also been praised for its provision of school meals.

Headteacher at Weymouth’s Radipole Primary School, Veronique Singer, said: “We have used Local Food Links since we started supplying school meals over two years ago.

“The food quality is still very good and staff are working really hard. It’s a good thing that our children are offered a nutritious, healthy meal at lunchtime.”

Schools using catering services from WeyCo, provided by Weymouth College, have said the food they received has been very good.

Buckland Newton School is also supplied by Chartwells Catering and headteacher Nicola Ralph said they had no problems with the firm so far.

A spokesman for Chartwells said: “Following some unexpected operational issues at the start of this term, there have been some initial challenges in the delivery of meals to some schools.

“We are working with each of these schools to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

“We are liaising with the council to ensure we rectify this situation quickly and effectively.”