Dirty cups, cobwebs and hot food not being properly checked – these are just some of the findings from Kent County Council’s latest round of primary school kitchen inspections.

The Messenger used powers under the Freedom of Information Act to force the county council to reveal the results of its most recent spot checks.

At one school, inspectors reported “dining tables in need of a deep clean”, and at another the kitchen staff were found to have “either not completed or have outdated Level Two food and hygiene”.

Another note said a kitchen staff member “did not wash hands after coughing”.

Cracked tiles, peeling paint, dirty kitchen equipment, including “debris left on meat slicer”, were also noted.

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Kent County Council is only responsible for inspecting the schools that it provides catering services for – while other schools choose to opt out and provide their own.

All schools in the borough are also subjected to food hygiene checks by the local borough or district council.

If a school has opted out, it can still choose to buy a service level agreement (SLA) from the county council which means three inspections from KCC each year.

But by Kent County Council’s own admission, a new scoring system introduced in 2006 for their inspectors is “meaningless”.

The reports appear to award schools’ staff 100 per cent for merely giving their name, and another score is awarded for telling the inspector how many kitchen staff they have – although not everyone managed to achieve 100 per cent for that.

Janet Stein, client services manager (catering) for Kent County Council, said: “The scores really don’t mean anything.

“We used to fail a school and then go back within three weeks, and then go back again if necessary.

“We didn’t find that was particularly effective.

“Now, because the contract manager is on site with you, they can usually deal with anything immediately. Otherwise we ask them to send in an action plan.

“It is a quicker way of getting results. We are working with them rather than penalising them."