To think that someone should feed this child

[Bardette]

I work in a number of different schools, visiting once a week to work with selected children.
One particular boy troubles me. His family has heavy social services involvement. His mum is being encouraged to 'step up' and take responsibility for her children. There is a plan in place with certain criteria she has agreed to follow.
One of these criteria is to give the children breakfast before they go to school, and because of this he is not allowed to go to breakfast club any more.
So he gets no breakfast.
Mum is, for whatever reason, not giving him breakfast, and school will not because of the agreement.
AIBU to think that this is wrong? I assume that the school are feeding back to social services and they will take it up with mum, but in the mean time this poor little lad has to go to school hungry. He is 6.

[londonrach]

Sorry i dont cate about ss involvement but if i knew a child was hungry going to school i would bring in food. Report to ss op. Please look after this little child

[PourquoiTuGachesTaVie]

That's awful, poor boy. Social services involvement doesn't sound like it's heavy enough for this little boy :-(

[seaoflove]

Of course that's wrong, it's disgraceful.

It's all well and good giving the mother some criteria to fulfil, but for how long is she allowed to fail miserably before SS intervene again?

Poor boy.

[londonrach]

Care not cate.

[WorraLiberty]

This is wrong.

If the school actually know for a fact that the child is not being fed at home, they should feed him in breakfast club, regardless of what's been decided.

Then they can tell SS that they had to step in and feed him.

[StrawberryMojito]

Yes it's shit, can you take it up with the head? Are you sure of your facts?

[Floggingmolly]

SS should have been on to her the first time she sent him in without breakfast. What's the bloody point of putting criteria in place if nobody's monitoring the results??

[girliefriend]

Surely if the school are aware he hasn't been given breakfast they should feed him and then ring the social worker to pass on the information I think the school are being a bit slack tbh.

[LapsedTwentysomething]

How long before SS will step in and feed him? And the school holidays are four weeks away. What happens then?

[londonrach]

Worral is right. School feed child and report to ss.

[KittyandTeal]

We have a similar problem with many children in our school. Parents don't give them breakfast so we do then they don't bother because they know we'll step up and they don't have to bother/spend the money.

Generally, as a rule, we still feed them as it effects their behaviour so much that not feeding them creates more problems (and in some children's cases leads to downright dangerous behaviour)

We have had this discussion and go round and round in circles. It's so, so wrong that parents don't feed their children properly but if they won't then someone has to!

Many times ss have said similar to us in individual cases but we still feed the child because it seems cruel not to. I do know that in one case ss threatened to cut/stop the fathers benefits if he didn't stop spending his sons bus fair (and making him walk an hour each way to and from school) on fags and booze. That seemed to do the trick.

[LondonRocks]

Bonkers, no one has been identified fgs.

[Thereshegoesagain]

Read up on Daniel Pelka and start shouting louder. Good luck.

[lordsandladies]

Oh FFS this is a massive site and the case isn't exactly unique (sadly) I see no issue with the OPs post.

And yes I'd feed him regardless and report the parents every single morning

[ovumahead]

Put pressure on social services to properly intervene
Mother and SS are harming this child.
In the mean time take breakfast in for him.

[scarlets]

This child is being failed. It's the parents' fault ultimately, but other people now need to step in because he is a defenceless boy. Tell SS that the mother has broken the agreement.

[ilovechristmas1]

what sought of mother dosent feed her child and especially now she has been told ffs

some dont deserve to be mothers,poor child

[QuiteLikely5]

You should not be posting about this. It is a sackable offence.

Advice to you: call the SS if he is still not getting breakfast or report to whoever at the school.

[ovumahead]

This isn't a stackable offence as no confidential information has been shared. Do you know who the child or family are from the OP's information ?

[TheReluctantCountess]

The school shouldn't be stopping him from getting breakfast from their breakfast club.

[girliefriend]

At my dds school so many children were coming to school having had no breakfast that there is a free breakfast club that now runs every single morning.

[Bardette]

Although I work with the child I am not employed by the school, so I don't know the ins and outs of how the school liaise with SS. I mentioned to staff that he hadn't had breakfast (he told me), and they said they know but then explained the situation.
The staff I talk to are TAs and class teacher and the decision doesn't come from them. I'm not in the school again for a week. I have told my manager but there is a limited amount she can do either.