The Commission of Education and Universities of the Parliament has approved this Wednesday, unanimously, a non-legislative proposal (PNL) presented by the PP that urges the Balearic Government to develop a specific regulation for school canteens. The aim is to unify criteria and ensure common standards of quality, safety, equity and sustainability in all publicly funded centers.
The initiative, defended by the popular deputy Ana Isabel Curtó, also includes the creation of a specific regulation for the canteens of the 0-3 years stage. This regulation must ensure a quality service, with adequate space, adjusted ratios and sufficient staff, incorporating the proposals of entities in the sector as Adeipib, the Platform 0-3 and Menorca 0-3 group.
The Parliament also calls on the Executive to guarantee minimum nutritional standards based on the recommendations of specialized agencies, in order to ensure a balanced and healthy diet for all students. It also asks to regulate the attention to dietary diversity and develop a system of evaluation and monitoring to ensure compliance with the standards and improve the service on an ongoing basis.
Another of the points approved urges the Government to commit itself to ensure that food purchases for canteens are made under agroecological criteria.
Reinforcement to UEECO classrooms
In the same session, the Commission gave the green light -mostly unanimously- to a PNL of the PSOE defended by the deputy Pilar Carbonero aimed at reinforcing support in regular classrooms for students with special educational needs and promoting shared education experiences.
The Parliament asks the Regional Ministry of Education not to authorize new UEECO classrooms until the existing ones have all the necessary personal and material resources. The groups also agreed to demand that each classroom has stable specialized staff with ongoing training, as well as the development of a complete inventory and audit of these units until the transition plan is developed.
The measures approved also include the creation of a support service for families of students with special educational needs, including guidance, mediation and information.
Three of the points of the PNL, related to the evolution of the UEECOs towards inclusion support units (USI), the replacement of fixed ratios by individualized evaluation models and the establishment of deadlines to remedy deficiencies, were tied.
