London to offer free school meals to all primary pupils for a year

[Eastie77Returns]

Reported in the Guardian and apparently will begin in September.

Two questions spring to mind: a) why is this only happening in London and b) wouldn’t it make more sense to target this and increase the ridiculous limit for free dinners (households with an income above £7k do not qualify) rather than giving every single child, including those from affluent families, free meals?

@Nimbostratus100 as a mother of three , I don’t think school dinners are a waste of money.

@AmeliaEarhart
yes I’m in the same borough and hoping if this is funded by City hall will it be saving funds for the council ?

We were told it was being rolled out to year one and two after Easter in my county. Our menu hasn’t changed with reception having the free meals

The money saved by parents will be wiped out by Khans low emissions charge which will bankrupt half of London

They are a colossal waste of money because as I explained, out of every pound paid, less that 10p worth of food ends up inside a child.

Far better to give the parents supermarket food vouchers

Scotland free school meals are up to p5 and should cover all primary kids by next year. It’s generally a good thing that young kids get a free hot meal once a day. Stops kids falling through the gaps and encourages them to sit and eat.

In terms of staffing etc. more kids shouldn’t mean a proportionate increase in staffing.

What if the parents spend the vouchers on vodka? Or sell them? Free school meals ensures that kids are actually provided with a meal.

I completely disagree with you
When the kids are at school they all eat whatever their friends are eating and enjoy it
Your idea about the supermarket voucher is very naïve, for me for example , yes I would use it for nutritious meals and I really know how to stretch a budget. Sadly that voucher would be used by most for a bottle of prime and a dime bar.

I would much rather all kids got a free hot meal at school
For some children it’s their only chance

They are a colossal waste of money because as I explained, out of every pound paid, less that 10p worth of food ends up inside a child.

No, as you asserted. You were asked to show your evidence.

If you could cost up your alternative packages, that would be great too.

It would make more sense to focus on unaffordable nursery fees

Offering to all removes the issue of families not applying due to the stigma which is a massive issue

If you're worried about children in poverty going hungry it makes more sense to focus on unaffordable nursery fees? How?

Why is stigma a massive issue? My understanding is that these days, all kids pay for meals by beeping a card of some kind, and nobody watching the queue can actually see whether the cost is being covered by parents or by the government authorities. It’s 100% discreet.

I know there are London boroughs where free school meals for all primary school children is already in place. The borough neighbouring mine currently does this. I understand means testing must be an administrative nightmare at a local level. It just seems wasteful. I wouldn’t have any issues continuing to pay for my DC’s meals if it meant more money could be spent on families in need. I think (hope) most affluent/better off parents would feel the same.

I guess your children aren't very hungry.

Eh?

Really pleased with this.

I’ve been a bit on the fence about Khan, but the recent expansion of the ULEZ showed cojones and a commitment to health, including that of children, whose lung function is currently being stunted for life by the outrageous levels of particulates and NO2 in London.

This will go some of the way to putting food in the bellies of the poorer children in London. Of course, government should be doing this, and more, but they clearly don’t give a shit. So I think it’s great someone’s doing it, and at the same time, showing up the Tory government, like he is with their woefully supine attitude to air quality.

In scotland, it is Free school meals provided , if you felt more affluent you can send your child in with a packed lunch.
They only cater to those without packed lunches
They take orders at the start of the day.
I tried my DC with packed lunch but it’s expensive by the time they need a lunch box / flask each then all the items to go inside
I am very grateful for the free school lunch
I work but am a minimum wage earner
It saves me a lot of money per day ( approx £6 across three DC , so £30 a week )
I am dreading my oldest two moving up to academy as I will need to pay then.

@noblegiraffe if you’re paying over 1kpm per child it’s likely you’re struggling to afford food costs too

If you're paying over 1kpm for a nursery, you'd hope that would include food?

Many children in poverty in primary school don't have siblings in nursery so subsidising nursery fees won't help their parents feed them.

I’ve worked with families in the past that wouldn’t apply as they didn’t want the school to know about their financial situation and deem their children vulnerable.

Well done London. They've acted locally and put pressure on the government.

I think this is a brilliant initiative, actually doing something to help London families, including those struggling to feed their children, during this cost of living crisis.

Yes I agree well done London

A lot of schools have children from extremely deprived areas

Sadiq Khan will use Council Tax money to fund free school meals between September 2023 and July 2024.

The next London election is May 2024.

A cynic might think there's a connection...