NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne 'banned' from taking school dinner photos – Page 2 – Chat Forum

bruneep · 2012-06-15T07:56:16Z

Martha Martha's NeverSeconds blog started as a writing project with her father A nine-year-old girl who became an internet hit after blogging about her school dinners claims she has been banned from taking photographs of her meals. Martha Payne, from Argyll, began publishing photographs of her school canteen lunches on 30 April. Her NeverSeconds blog got more than two million hits in just a few weeks. But in a post published on Thursday evening, Martha said her headteacher told her not to take any more photos. Under the headline "Goodbye", the post stated: "This morning in maths I got taken out of class by my head teacher and taken to her office. I was told that I could not take any more photos of my school dinners because of a headline in a newspaper today. "I only write my blog not newspapers and I am sad I am no longer allowed to take photos. I will miss sharing and rating my school dinners and I'll miss seeing the dinners you send me too." The council's decision to impose the ban came after the Daily Record newspaper published a photograph of Martha alongside chef Nick Nairn under the headline "Time to fire the dinner ladies.." Martha had been using the blog - which she started with the help of her father Dave - to raise money for the Mary's Meals charity. 'Inspirational blog' An explanatory note posted on the blog by her father read: "Martha's school have been brilliant and supportive from the beginning and I'd like to thank them all. "I contacted Argyll and Bute Council when Martha told me what happened at school today and they told me it was their decision to ban Martha's photography. "It is a shame that a blog that today went through 2 million hits, which has inspired debates at home and abroad and raised nearly £2,000 for charity is forced to end." Mr Payne later told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme his daughter was not happy about the council's decision. He added: "I can see that the photographs at the start didn't look the most appetising, but Martha marked the last school meal 10 out of 10. "I understand that it's brought pressure from around the world and media interest, but that is really out of our control. "But we are very supportive of the school - the fact that she has been encouraged to blog and she got permission to do this is testament to them. "Everyone in the kitchens has been wonderful to Martha and she enjoys going into lunch every day." Martha's blog was featured by media across the globe, with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeting: "Shocking but inspirational blog. Keep going, big love from Jamie x." Photo of Martha's school lunch Martha gave this cheeseburger a health rating of just 2/10 Among the pictures she published was one featuring her £2 lunch of a pizza slice, a croquette, sweetcorn and a cupcake. Martha wrote: "I'm a growing kid and I need to concentrate all afternoon and I can't do it on one croquette. Do any of you think you could?" She gave each meal a 'food-o-meter' and health rating, and also counted the number of mouthfuls it took for her to eat. Argyll and Bute Council has so far not responded to Martha's claim. But in a statement released last month, it said: "Our school meal provision is fully compliant with nationally agreed nutritional standards. "Young people make a choice from at least two meals and salad, vegetable, yoghurt and cheese options are available each day." [url[urlPersonally I think its a overreaction by the school. Daily record headline didn't help with their headline tho.

drlex

Posts: 2423

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Would it be ok if she drew pictures of the meals instead? Ideally using crayons.

I'd thought this, too - probably easier to recognise the foodstuffs than the defendants in Court sketches - the one of Rebecca Brooks and co. at Leveson looked more like Carol Decker meets the Mitchell brothers. Anyway, moot point now that the Council has been introduced to the Streisand effect.

Posted : 15/06/2012 1:52 pm

Cougar

Posts: 78479

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Interesting press release from the council leader.

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/2012/jun/statement-school-meals-argyll-and-bute-council

Published Date:
15 Jun 2012 - 10:53

Updated: 14:19 - 15 June 2012

Statement from Cllr Roddy McCuish, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council

"There is no place for censorship in this Council and never will be whilst I am leader. I have advised senior officers that this Administration intends to clarify the Council's policy position in regard to taking photos in schools. I have therefore requested senior officials to consider immediately withdrawing the ban on pictures from the school dining hall until a report can be considered by Elected Members. This will allow the continuation of the "Neverseconds" blog written by an enterprising and imaginative pupil, Martha Payne which has also raised lots of money for charity.

But we all must also accept that there is absolutely no place for the type of inaccurate and abusive attack on our catering and dining hall staff, such as we saw in one newspaper yesterday which considerably inflamed the situation. That, of course, was not the fault of the blog, but of the paper.

We need to find a united way forward so I am going to bring together our catering staff, the pupils, councillors and council officials - to ensure that the council continues to provide healthy, nutrious and attractive school meals. That "School Meals Summit" will take place later this summer.

I will also meet Martha and her father as soon as I can, along with our lead councillor on Education, Michael Breslin to seek her continued engagement, along with lots of other pupils, in helping the council to get this issue right. By so doing Martha Payne and her friends will have had a strong and lasting influence not just on school meals, but on the whole of Argyll & Bute."

This statement supersedes all other council statements on the matter already issued.

Posted : 15/06/2012 3:13 pm

CountZero

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Re: Cougar's post, 'council shows common sense' shocker!

Posted : 15/06/2012 6:31 pm

donsimon

Posts: 0

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Publicity caused by the ban helped her smash through her £7,000 target - with total pledges of more than £16,000 being made by Friday lunchtime.

The total stood at only about £2,000 on Thursday evening.

[cynical]They were in it together[/cynical] 8)

Posted : 15/06/2012 6:39 pm

brooess

Posts: 7

Free Member

Worth reading this: always worth remembering there's more than one side to every story...

To give the DR their due I'm not sure their story is asking for dinner ladies' heads. My interpretation here is some over-sensitive canteen staff got upset about a story and the Council over-reacted...

[url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/06/15/council-ban-school-dinners-blogger-martha-payne-from-taking-pictures-then-do-a-u-turn-after-outcry-86908-23896283/ ]Daily Record current story[/url]

[url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2012/06/15/read-the-martha-payne-article-that-made-council-bosses-overreact-and-ban-her-blog-86908-23896447/ ]Background to the original story[/url]

Posted : 15/06/2012 10:06 pm

Cougar

Posts: 78479

Full Member

Here's an interesting thing.

Before the press statement above, A&B issued another one. Which they then [i]overwrote.[/i]

Fortunately, due to the power of the Internets, you can read the original here.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/hrom1r

Posted : 15/06/2012 11:40 pm

Cougar

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Posted : 16/06/2012 10:59 am

Cougar

Posts: 78479

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One last comment here. Worth a read.

http://ashinyworld.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/communications-void.html

Posted : 17/06/2012 12:29 am

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[Closed] NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne 'banned' from taking school dinner photos