To ask why do people not working claiming FSM get this for free?

Obviously i can't speak for everyone, but going to use myself as an example.

I'm disabled, i'm on benefits, i'm entitled to the FSM, holiday clubs..etc.

I have 2 kids, the oldest is disabled and i'm his carer, my youngest is able bodied. A lot of my time and money is taken up keeping my car on the road so i can get DS to his appointments, pay for the equipment he needs, pay for the food he eats (he has an eating disorder on top of autism/adhd/dyspraxia) and looking after him, DD also helps out at home so is classed as a young carer.

Between my physical limitations (i have a crumbling spine and need a cane to walk) and the time DS takes up, DD misses out on a LOT, because i simply can't do stuff for her as by the time i've dealt with DS, my own disability and pain levels means i have nothing left in the tank for her, and her friends can't come here.

So, we take advantage of the after school clubs/holiday activities to enrich HER life and give HER all the opportunities that being stuck at home with myself mean she'd miss out on, and give her a break and time to be a normal child/teenager with her friends away from the home environment where she has to be more grown up than she should be.

Without the entitlement, we wouldn't be able to afford for her to do them.

I am sorry that you are also struggling, but you're welcome to spend a week in my shoes.

I don't understand what you mean about 'not meeting the criteria'. If you're on UC and you need childcare to work you can claim 85% of the costs back. The proviso is that it's Ofsted registered holiday clubs or BC or ASC and you and any partner are in paid work.

No l mean they start earning enough to be able to pay for holiday and after school clubs etc but as they are still entitled to it for free, they use it. - because it's free.

Not sure why you are talking about my kids, they don’t get FSM and don’t need it.

This thread is about the fact that FSM unlock a number of free services making it unfair for families that don’t qualify but also can’t afford to pay for these services (bk club, holiday club…) - what about their children?

A few of them are 10am-2pm but there is one that is 9am-3pm which I use, I usually work 9-3 but the club is near my work and my manager is flexible in letting me shave 10mins off my day to drop off and pick up.
Annoyingly this Feb there is no 9-3 club so I've taken annual leave to cover it myself.

If it work more healthily for your family to cut your hours then see if you can reduce hours for a couple of years.

Claim the childcare costs back through TC or UC. Hardly rocket science.

What do you mean by 'take advantage of that.' Do you mean they claim what they are entitled to including being Pupil premium money into the school?

His is all part of safeguarding vulnerable and disadvantaged children. It means they have someone keeping an eye out for them, they get fed and feel part of something.

Most of these children will come from homes that can hinder children’s learning due to situations that have happened. Eg emotional abuse, physical abuse domestic violence, bereavement, substance abuse.

please don’t feel Jealous as this help could support a needy child. Growing up i was one of these children as one of my parents committed suicide in our home and the other parent was doing heir best to support the house, their children and keep a job to keep a roof over our heads while grieving their spouse. THis help would have made a huge difference to our lives enabling my other parent to earn more money .

so please do not judge other people or feel jealous, concentrate on your own family.

So for example, I get UC and in December I got a bonus so I brought home £2200 in my monthly pay packet after tax and pension. I got £170 in UC on top of that. If I was unemployed, I'd just get £1400 in UC. So I'm better off working.

That's one hell of a sweeping statement right there...

Don't think like that!
Your house, however shabby and old {depending on where it is in UK of course} should be going up in value over time, and your mortgage payments will be reducing.

Renting really is a mugs game {unless the rent is paid by the taxpayer}

But yes, I understand how you are financially worse off by being above the threshold.

Do you mind me asking - are your HAF clubs more than 4 hours long? Ours are here so not really suitable for working parents.

Because UC is designed so that the more you earn, the more UC you get pound for pound. So those working less hours, are worse off.

I was going to say the same

In my opinion, anything that supports vulnerable children, and gives them every opportunity to break free of the cycle of poverty and low aspirations, has to be a good thing.
The idea of the clubs is to have the children in a safe, predictable, controlled environment, and to support their access into school.

As I've said IRL many times before, it's not the childs fault they're poor and/or have morons for parents.

Am I being a bit stupid, are those earning under £7.5k not being topped up by UC/WTC? How are they different financially? Also I wonder when the stats for poorer outcomes statistics were first and last looked at.

No, because getting that repeated "checking" right every time would be expensive in itself and worse still because some children will fall through the safety net because their parents wont keep on doing the paperwork every year or wont be able to do it correctly. Just because one Mum doesn't need it any more, there aren't very many Mums in that position of never needing it again.

Maybe more children should be included and maybe the gateway should be UC not FSM.

All recipients of FSM are not working? They are all children, surely?

Not being flippant but you are seeing this as a 'gift' for the parents. It's not, it's for the children.

Exactly this!

"Wah wah, I want free wraparound care, I want free school meals. I basically want my kids to be as disadvantaged as possible, just so I can get free stuff!"

This is also a good point- the kids get seen if they turn up for the holiday clubs, so it plays a safeguarding role.

Statistically kids on fsm are at greater risk of harm/violence, so it a) keeps them off the street getting lured into bad situations, and b) keeps them out of violent homes and means there are chances for professionals to see if there are any issues with them.

Circumstances obviously have changed. My husband bought a house when he had a good paying job. He was made unemployed less than a year later and has been able to get a well paid job since. Just because they have a house doesn't mean they are rolling in it now.

When I first graduated from university in 2005 I got my first NHS band 5 job full time.
my 3 kids got free school meals for a couple of years, they did while I was at university too.

This has been shown to be incredibly impactful for chn living in poverty/deprivation. Socio economics pretty much define our lives - if you are born in poverty you are statistically likely to suffer poor health, education outcomes, etc etc. This intervention has had significant impact in addressing these outcomes.

Or do you think these children should suffer because they were born poor?

Well I think you will find the number on FSM with need far outweighs the few who may not qualify according to criteria.

If a child has ever been on FSM then in my last school they fell under the pupil premium category. Some no longer qualified for FSM under the local authority checks.

easier to teach kids who aren’t hungry