Comments on: School Supermarket Vouchers Special: Part 3 – Winners, Losers And Fighting Back

By: Supermarket Voucher Schemes Exposed : Campaign for Commercial-Free Education

Supermarket Voucher Schemes Exposed : Campaign for Commercial-Free Education — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:25:14 +0000

[...] November 18, 2008 by Joe Fogarty Writing in The Unsuitablog, Keith Furnish has published a series of articles analysing the way that school supermarket voucher schemes work in English schools. There are three articles in the series, which can be read by following the links below: Part 1: How They Work ( http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/10/13/school-supermarket-voucher-special-introduction/) Part 2: Greenwashing Children ( http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/10/15/school-supermarket-voucher-special-greenwashing-children/) Part 3: Winners, Losers and Fighting Back ( http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/10/17/school-supermarket-vouchers-special-winners-losers-an...) [...]

By: Liam

Liam — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:54:16 +0000

Very interesting articles. As a school Principal here in Ireland I have always had my concerns about these campaigns. This is how i have dealt with this issue. Many of the parents of children attending my school shop in the local Tesco. I tell them that if they are given vouchers to take them and we will make use of them. However, I do not display posters from Tesco. I do not send out to parents the prepared letter supplied by Tesco. I do my own letter which tells parents that if they happen to shop in Tesco then take the vouchers. I make a point of telling parents that they should not change their shopping patterns. I am well aware that the cost of products supplied to schools is small change to supermarket chains especially when compaired to the amount of shopping required to get these vouchers. At this stage I am strongly considering abandoning all involvement with these campaigns.

By: keith

keith — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:34:59 +0000

Hi Richard

Legally, the school is bound to the policies of the local authority, which (from what I have experienced) delegates straight back to the school. In other words, the school can do pretty much what it likes. Expect far more advertising in schools in the future.

This complete lack of control is the reason we need to take things into our own hands. As Derrick Jensen says: “The property of the rich is worth more than the lives of the poor”, which is a perfect analogy for the power of advertisers over the minds of ordinary people.

See how you feel about the January task (the latest Unsuitablog article) – if you can turn off a few TVs, then — as I will be going onto — you might be able to do a bit of an advert take-down.

By: Richard Kenyon

Richard Kenyon — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:20:25 +0000

Very pleased to find this article. This is a growing problem.

This week a school I teach in is displaying a poster promoting a Rugby equipment manufacturer in association with the DAILY MAIL. I intend to challenge the school about it.

However, I would like to know the legal position with regard to advertising in schools. I am also wondering about Hospitals / Libraries / Prisons etc. Do you have any insight in to this?

Let me finish by adding my disgust at Councils that accept advertising on Civic property… roundabouts etc. We need to fight against this too.