The Department of Landes is committed to supporting families and ensuring the purchasing power of students as they head back to school in 2024. One of the key initiatives in this endeavor is providing balanced and secure meals to middle school students, which is a major public health priority. This is a core focus of the Department’s territorial food plan, « Les Landes au menu! »
The cost of a meal is set at 3 € (for 4 and 5-day packages), while the actual cost of a meal is over 10 €. To assist schools in sourcing from local and organic producers, the Department is increasing its support through specific training actions. Additionally, plans are in place to establish purchasing groups to further enhance the procurement of local products for schools.
The effort towards purchasing local and quality products is gaining momentum, with 33% of products meeting official quality and origin standards (SIQO) being purchased, representing an increase of 10.1% in just one year. Furthermore, 21.29% of products purchased are organic, showing a year-on-year increase of 7.6%. These figures for public schools in Landes significantly surpass the national averages (10.6% for organic and 23% for SIQO). However, there is still work to be done to meet the goals set by the EGAlim Law for collective catering, which aim for 50% of sustainable and quality products, including at least 20% organic, by January 1, 2022.
In efforts to support families further, the Department has decided to maintain the free transportation for school students. Following the introduction of a fee for school transportation by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region in 2019, the Landes Department has opted to cover the cost of this service for eligible students (based on the regional school transport regulations). This decision equates to an average saving of around 90 € per student per year and represents an annual budget allocation of nearly 2 million euros for the Department. This financial support has been extended for an additional three school years starting from September 2022.
The Department also offers departmental scholarships to help alleviate the educational expenses incurred by families residing in Landes. These scholarships are available to families with middle or high school students who are boarders or part-time boarders. A new tool, the « calculator, » allows families to quickly check their eligibility for this aid, which is granted based on income conditions and household composition. Starting in mid-September, families can submit an online application per child by logging onto the messervices.landes.fr portal. However, paper applications are still accepted, with forms available for collection at the student’s school.
Furthermore, as part of its sports policy, the Department aims to promote sports participation, particularly among young students, by facilitating enrollment in sports clubs for 6th-grade students residing in Landes. The Department provides a sports voucher to cover the costs of joining a sports club or a school sports association affiliated with the UNSS. The fixed amount of the sports voucher is 50 €. If a student opts for a second membership in a different discipline in the same school year, they can request a second sports voucher worth 25 €.
Encouraging educational trips and activities, the Department supports the participation of middle school students in discovery classes (focused on the environment, culture, heritage, etc.) and Olympic classes with their teachers. The Department contributes towards the travel expenses, varying based on the duration and location of the trip, provided that the educational project of the trip, aligned with the school’s overall objectives, has been approved by academic authorities.
In order to streamline the application process for departmental assistance, the messervices.landes.fr platform allows individuals to submit requests for departmental scholarships, computer equipment, individual transport allowances, sports vouchers, and more. This centralized platform aims to make it easier for families to access the support available to them.
With these initiatives and ongoing support, the Department of Landes is dedicated to enhancing the educational experience for students and easing the financial burden on families, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to thrive in their academic journey.