There were jubilant voices when, last week, it emerged that McDonald's is to "refocus" its work in UK schools (Children Now, 19-25 January).
"I am very pleased. I hope that some of the other multi-nationals will follow suit," said Paul Ennals, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau. "We should not be relying on that money to drive our education system," added Joe Harvey, director of the Health Education Trust.
With many of the world's largest companies targeting schools with increasingly sophisticated materials, this hostility is understandable. In the UK alone, according to a briefing paper from the National Union of Teachers, brands are spending an estimated 300m a year on targeting the classroom to increase sales and there have been frequent causes for concern.
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