Family credit & free school meals in the 1980s

[Clarissatheclown]

NC as I’m trying to work out things from my childhood, so may be outing later.

If your family (single parent) received family credit and you received free school meals at primary school in the early-mid 1980s, would you have been considered ‘poor’ as viewed from the standards at the time?

I had FSM in the 80s and don’t remember any stigma attached at all. Although I bet at least half the kids in the school were on FSM, it was a deprived area. We also got vouchers for free school clothing (to be used at one central purchasing office) so lots of kids had the same coat, again no stigma attached but sometimes you took home the wrong coat.

I remember having to go to the office of my (secondary) school to get tokens each week. I certainly felt there was alot of stigma attached. It seemed as though you needed to be considered to be REALLY poor to get fsm then.

[quote AldiAisleofCrap]@Suzysleep your parents can’t have both been working and claiming Income support.[/quote]
To be fair, doing the sums, my dad would have been studying and he did do some work but it was probably cash in hand thinking about it. I was only primary school age so memories are hazy but I do remember income support as I remember being told off for talking about it in public as my mum was ashamed.

Depends.

I had FSM until about 1988 when the Tories changed the criteria. However I went to schools in inner London. Apart from at my infant school were the head was nasty so I didn't have it even though I was eligible for it, at my junior and secondary schools they didn't make a big deal out of pupils claiming FSM and you could mention it without being bullied. In fact in my secondary school there was a black market in the tokens, and randomly someone would give theirs to someone in their form who didn't have money for lunch for some reason. (Normally they had forgotten but in a handful of cases neglectful/abusive parents and it would end up being escalated so SS was involved.)

After the Tories changed the criteria the recession hit a couple of years later and those people who I known had been wealthy were suddenly getting FSM.

Late seventies / early eighties and only the very very poor familes got FSM. I dont think the rest of us were particularly well off, but assistance was sparse and seemed to be for families with literally nothing.

I wasn't entitled in the early 80's because my dad had died rather than separated parents? I'm guessing my mum's widows money took her over some limit to qualify. She was part of a campaign to change things and by secondary school I got free dinners so presumably it was successful. Or the change mentioned above in 1988 affected it as that was when I went to secondary school. I can't remember the details. What was the rule change?

I got free school meals all the way through school and had to do the whole queue up for tokens things in secondary. I was also bullied really badly at school (which has left me with quite bad mental health issues) but it never about the FSM. It didn't bother me at all. I loved bargain now so I probably quite enjoyed getting a freebie!!

I got free school meals all the way through school and had to do the whole queue up for tokens things in secondary. I was also bullied really badly at school (which has left me with quite bad mental health issues) but it never about the FSM. It didn't bother me at all. I loved bargain now so I probably quite enjoyed getting a freebie!!

My Dad was unemployed for a bit and there was the dinner ladies strike so only 20 of us stayed at school for lunch for a while. I also got school uniform vouchers but no one noticed any of this at all.

I had free school meals. We had to go to the office at lunchtime to get a ticket. I don't ever remember being stigmatised or feeling ashamed. There was a recession at the time. I went to quite a mixed comp too. A council estate separated from a really middle class suburb was the diverse catchment.

in the 70s and 80s it was not a secret who had free dinners, and also yes we were all very poor

I had FSM at primary school in the 80s for a short time. Would have been entitled for longer but took packed lunch instead, I think there was something about the meal booking process my mum found difficult. I didn’t think of myself or our family as poor. I don’t know what my friends thought. We lived on a council estate and most other children at the school didn’t, so they may have thought we were poor, but the only time I remember that being expressed was comments about our terrible car, that I was supposed to laugh along with.

I remember getting free school meals in primary school in the 70's. You were called up separately so everyone knew you were getting them and made fun of you.

I remember getting free school meals in primary school in the 70's. You were called up separately so everyone knew you were getting them and made fun of you.

I had FSM when I was in Primary school- that was until I got sent in with packed lunches because school dinners were truly revolting..
We used to have to answer the dinner register 'free' and queue in a separate FSM queue. And yes, the bullying was rife.

I don't remember fsm being an issue or anyone getting bullied for it. None of us were from well off families though, most of us lived in HA houses.
The only thing I remember was going with my friend who was on fsm to pick up a packed lunch in the school holidays. It was for fsm kids and she had a ticket or something. It reminded me of it with all the talk about holiday fsm recently.

I think I probably did think she was poor even though I was a council estate kid too. She always looked a bit scruffy in old clothes and a bit grubby.

I didn't get fsm but my kids do.

Yes, you were considered very poor.

We had them and it was our main meal that day. Thankfully our school meals were really good due to a superb in school cook (unheard of nowadays).

1980s - you were the poorest of the poor.

Had to line up in a corridor to give our names in exchange for a plastic token whilst everybody else went straight in (after laughing at the poor people who'd be there for another 25 minutes).

You'd get there to find the best food had gone and you couldn't afford more than a sandwich and an apple in your allowance - no drinks, no access to water as they'd turned the fountains off when the drinks vending machine contracts were signed, no yoghurt, a flapjack, just a grated cheese or single slice of thin ham in your sandwich.

At one point the qualifying benefit was called Supplementary Benefit, at another, Family Income Supplement.

@DrCoconut

I wasn't entitled in the early 80's because my dad had died rather than separated parents? I'm guessing my mum's widows money took her over some limit to qualify. She was part of a campaign to change things and by secondary school I got free dinners so presumably it was successful. Or the change mentioned above in 1988 affected it as that was when I went to secondary school. I can't remember the details. What was the rule change?

Don't think so. My mother got Widowed Mother's Pension and I always had FSM.

Perhaps she had an additional pension from his employment?

I grew up on family credit and free school meals. Lived in a council house. Didn't have holidays. Used to have to bother the neighbours to change money for 50 pence pieces to feed the electric meter. Didn't have a home phone until I was 10, central heating at 14. Didn't feel particularly poor though.

Ooh, and at some point we ended up with a freezer full of butter because of a butter mountain.

Early 90s... the FSMs would be in a white paper bag. We either weren’t entitled to them because my single mum earned too much or she refused them. I can remember occasionally “forgetting” my lunch so I could get given a fsm bag as they were far nicer and more filling than the minimal crap she used to send me in with.

I was at school in the 1980s and had free school meals throughout. We just had to have our names ticked in a register at the till. I desperately wanted packed lunches like all my friends but mum couldn't afford it.

I also got free school uniform - which meant I stuck out like a sore thumb being one of the few kids in "official" school wear whereas all the rest wore various fashion interpretations of the uniform! I was glad when they had a crackdown on uniform in my 3rd year and everyone had to wear the acrylic jumper and tie!

I was on FSM in the 90s. I can't remember what system my schools had for us vs paying children. I remember putting hands up in primary school, but think that was for anyone having school dinners. The teacher would count how many of us needed them so the right amount would be ordered. I also remember a yellow bag being handed round. I think dinner money was put in it. But what I would have put in I dont know.
Secondary school we queued up. But I cant remember how we paid. Maybe we had a separate queue.
As I can't remember any of this it's probably obvious that I have no idea who else was a FSM child.
I must have been spectacularly unobservant (is that a word?)

I do remember my mum having a benefits book thing that she had to take to the post office (?) every week to cash in. my cousin used to use it as ID to buy alcohol when she was left in charge of us. She was about 16/17. I was about 12

In the 90s FSM was seen as poor.
You had to get your free meal ticket from your tutor and he would call your name every morning for those who are having FSM so the whole class would know - something that I would feel embarrassed about now but at the time I didn't care. I was a child who didn't care what people thought of me but there was also 'cool' kids who got them so I think people were too afraid to be mean about it.