PARENTS have reacted with concern to news that a South Woodford primary is considering scrapping hot school dinners at lunchtime.

Governors at Churchfields Infants' sent letters from the school last week condemning the meals its provides as “unappealing, unbalanced and luke warm”, along with a questionnaire asking if they wanted the school to continue with hot meals or to switch to cold food instead.

Concerned mum-of-three Samantha Stovin-Clark, who has a seven-year-old daughter at the school, said: “I think it’s terrible. Hot school meals are so important to children - and I can’t believe this can happen at a school of this size.

“We’ve been sent a questionnaire with all these loaded questions, asking if we want out children to have unappealing food or not, but what do they expect parents to say?”

The letters have also led parents to ask why the school had been serving their children "unappealing" food in the first place.

Ms Stovin-Clark added: “What we need to know is why the standards are so low and why they have apparently been like this for so many years.

“I pay £1.75 every day for my child’s school meals, it’s worked out at about £1,500 over the years. If it was a restaurant you’d ask for your money back.”

David Jack, who has a seven-year-old daughter at the school, said: "Parents deserve an informed and transparent debate with governors.

"But the consultation seems skewed towards a pre-determined outcome."

Fellow parent Toby Walne said: “It’s an insult to parents to be told the food their children have been eating is sub-standard.”

A source at the school, who did not wish to be named, said many pupils who brought in their own packed lunches did not eat balanced meals, with one child bringing nothing but doughnuts and coca cola on a regular basis.

A council spokeswoman said: "Redbridge Council is aware that the governing body of Churchfields Infants School is still considering whether to join the Borough School Meals contract in September and that it is currently consulting parents over the decision.

"A complaint has been received from a parent regarding school meals and this has been passed to the school to deal with.

"The last time the council's Food in Schools Team monitored the meals at the school on March 5 2009, they met the recommended Government standards.

"However we have been made aware that there were problems last week with maintaining the food at a hot temperature and this is being rectified as a matter or urgency. Of course the council agrees that a hot meal service should be offered."

She added: "All primary schools in the Borough are currently in the contract and at present all schools except two have said they are planning to be part of the new contract."

A spokeswoman for Eden Foodservice, which has supplied the school with hot meals for the past seven years, said: "Earlier this year we took to the decision not to re-tender for this contract, despite enjoying a good working relationship over most of the past seven years.

“We will continue to provide a nutritional menu for the children until we hand over to the new contractor in August."

Churchfields headteacer Lesley Hook declined to comment.