Free school meals holiday vouchers ending, worried about affording holiday outings

[elliejjtiny]

Free school meals holiday vouchers are going.

I know people are going to say don't have children you can't afford etc etc.

But when our youngest was born dh had a good job, I was a SAHM and we could afford stuff.

We can still afford to feed us and the dc but those vouchers meant we could afford to go out once in the school holidays. Not to alton towers or anything like that but somewhere local like an interactive museum or soft play. These outings mean so much as the dc are getting older and I am conscious that our time with them being able to do stuff like this is running out. Our food shopping bill goes up a lot during the holidays as well.

I wouldn't mind if we could use the HAF scheme as that would give the dc the opportunity to go out and do something fun but we can't because of the dc SEN.

Maybe

if they are on uc (like me) but work , so yes be nice to get £60 a month that I don’t have to pay now

but I choose for dd8 to have school meals. I could make her a packed lunch but I cba

it will effect those struggling much more who earn less than £7k ? Or what the threshold is v me getting fsm as same for anyone on uc

I'm on UC too and mine gets a packed lunch which won't be changing in September.

I do think it will really help some families though, especially those who are currently just above the cut off.

4dc here, work FT, disabled husband so I’m doing it all with a household income less than yours and paying £3 a day per dc for school meals. Never had FSM and worked FT since way before dc slept through the night.
I struggle to afford days out too, and would find it massively unfair if other families who work less than FT equivalent with 2 capable adults could whilst I work myself into the ground and pay taxes to fund it.
It’s not just you struggling OP, it’s all of us, subsidised or otherwise. We haven’t been able to afford a day out in a year. And packed lunches (because I’m at work) in school holidays are way under £15pp. I manage on about that for 5!

Oh I totally agree it will help many just above

but if they stop the vouchers during holidays I think it will hit those more who cant feed their kids during those 3.5mths of school holidays then help you or me iyswim

Though OP is saying she can afford food and that's with a large family, she just wanted the money saved for a day out so some people might be fine for essentials like food and will miss out on extras.

Have you looked at Olio?
it’s an app where people upload food they’ve collected from supermarkets which you request, if you are successful you then collect it from them
it is area/volunteer dependent but if there are a few volunteers nearby there could be a lot of food. There’s always a decent amount. Of bread but also fruit/veg, anything that’s Use By that day.

I volunteer over the school holidays in a scheme that runs free lunch for school kids, it’s once a week but we run it a bit like a Subway sandwich bar so the children can pick what they like and we make the order up. There are also a few activities at this lunch. Look for schemes in churches, you do not have to be a Christian to attend or volunteer actually.

I've had a look at the local offer and found a couple of things that might work.

The local churches don't seem to do very much at all which is a shame.

I think our biggest problem is that my youngest is ageing out of a lot of things he enjoys. He's 11 but with the emotional development of a toddler. He can't engage with activities aimed at his age group but he is too old to do the things that he would like to do. Also the gap between him and my 15 year old widens every year so finding something they will both enjoy at a price we can afford is getting harder. Sometimes I will take 1 or 2 of them out separately while dh looks after the others and vice versa but we like to go out as a family sometimes.

I can't remember who asked but the older 2 have SEN as well but not as severe as the younger 3.

No, we don't get £65k a year in benefits, nowhere near. It's more like £34k plus the dla for the younger 3 which goes into a separate account. Which sounds like a lot but for a family of 7 it really isn't. And yes we could afford the children when we had them. Only my 4th had disabilities when youngest was born. Sometimes I feel envious of people on the tv or on social media who say drs told them their child would never walk, talk etc and then they did. We were the other way round. Apart from dc4 we were constantly told they would grow out of their disabilities or it was all in my imagination.

Do you get 34k in benefits, plus your wages?. Some people only make 27k a year and manage. You had two Sen children so thought it was a good idea to have 3 more? You had 7 children so it’s your job to pay for them. Jesus I can’t quite believe what I’m reading.

Usually in libraries activities are run for children. Over the summer there is the reading challenge, it is free and children can win little prizes. That would fill a morning or afternoon.

National trust usually do nature trails for £2 which get a little prize. Usually an egg at Easter

and free activities

I think you are right that the aging out is an issue here. Of all the days out you've mentioned here I think I'd struggle to get my youngest to any of them at 15, and an awful lot of schemes stop abut age 11.

The obvious constraint to drop here is the idea that family outings all together are the aim. I really don't think most families with a range of children 11-19 are all going on family outings together. With SEN in the mix islt is especially important that siblings aren't always limited to what their sibs can manage. Divide and conquer is such a key strategy at any age and I would say completely organic & age appropriate when you have older teens.

You're moving into a new period of life. Perhaps go back to the drawing board. Bringing the family all together can perhaps be a mainly home based thing - Sunday lunches, pizza night, that kind of thing. Trips out can be more piecemeal rather than trying to include everyone. Focus on planning for the younger two and fit the older ones around that. Plan a specific thing that works for each of them and don't bring anyone who doesn't suit it.

Where I live it's £20 for half term and £40 for Easter and Xmas. Also the HAF scheme go up to 16 and families get up to 4 little activities each week. Most are holiday sports clubs but occasionally horse riding or paddle boarding or similar. People have to be very quick because some like horse riding or trampolining book up within 10-15 minutes of opening.

OP has 5 children, not 7.