Does your child skip lunch due to queues?

[Schoolcanteen]

DC’s school has 1,600 pupils. Lunch is at 1.20 -2.20 for all of them, so many are ravenous already. There is one period after lunch, so I understand why many might just wait until they get home or get something on
the way home, due to the queues and late lunchtime. The canteen opens at 8.10, but the playground line up to go to class finishes by 8.20, so it’s a bit pointless trying to get something for later. How hungry is your child and have you made the reluctant switch to packed lunches? Is our school an outlier in trying to cater for this many kids in such a short window or is this just how things are? There are also a few food vans dotted around, but the queues are very long too.

Same for my kids, it teaches them to absolutely inhale their food. Lots of the parents complain about the lack of time for the kids to eat. They aren’t allowed to eat their pack lunches outside the hall so it’s the same issue for pack lunches because they still have to queue for seats.

Yes my child has just started secondary. There’s 1200 pupils and the lunch queue is crazy so after two days we switched to pack lunch! Such a shame because my kid was excited about school dinners.

We just got an app that you can preorder lunch. The collection point is away from the main canteen so avoids everyone in the same place. DD has used it for things like panini's.

This is probably a stupid question, but why is it like this now? My school wasn’t as big, but lunches were staggered and there’d be a bit of a queue, but this seems crazy! We thought nothing of going back to get a piece of fruit or a pudding as queues were fine and we used cash which took longer.

Yes it's bad. My daughter started secondary last year. Initially it was first come first served in the queue. Then in summer term they changed it so it was queuing in year groups, sixth form first and then down to Y7. The Y7s were lucky if they got 5-10mins to buy anything and bolt it down. Plus her bestie brought a packed lunch so she'd miss out spending time together as she'd be queuing the whole time.

I was horrified when I looked on parent pay and saw she hadnt had lunch for days on end. I assumed eating disorder! But it was just the queuing, she had given up bothering. She takes a packed lunch now but makes it herself (I hate that job!)

Edited for duplication.

Is there a reason they don’t stagger them anymore? 1,600+ kids in an hour? What magical planning was that? I must be missing something obvious if this is now normal though. What am I missing?

My DD takes a hot lunch in a flask ( pasta usually ) and eats that at break. She then does a much smaller “ grab and go” type item at lunch which sees her through to home time. Her lunchtime is also quite late which I can’t understand. They only have one session after lunch.

Luckily dd13 can pop to tesco at lunch but she says the lunch hall is very busy

Same here. If their last lesson before lunch is close to the hall they can get a meal, if it’s further away the queues are too long.

My DD has a hot flask so she can eat outside with the other packed lunches. Regularly does tortellini or I bulk cook blocks of curry.

My dc get free school meals but I was happy to top up their accounts. It turned out that my parent pay took an absolute battering though. It turned out the canteen is open at first break time and they all decide to eat then as they don’t get time at lunch. I learned the hard way that free school meals only covered lunchtime meals, not break time meals. At £3.65 for a meal deal, it’s costing me £55 a week for lunches for 3 children. One time my dd queued up at lunch and the bell went to go back to lessons just as she sat down with her tray, she ignored it as she was starving, she ended up with detention. And every year my dc pray for certain form tutors as some will allow you to bring your lunches to eat in form if you’ve run out of time, others will take your lunches off you 😡

My DD gave up on buying lunch last year and just takes a lunchbox most days now, she can’t be bothered with queuing anymore.
It’s not that bad in her tbf because they get 50 mins for lunch and it’s a small school.
In my nephew’s school they only get 30 mins and there’s over 1k pupils all going at the same time, madness!

That’s really rubbish.

When did things start to change between children being able to access lunch easily and this silly situation we have now?

You're missing staffing.

@Marycontrarygardengood point.

It does sound crazy when catering for +1300 students they don’t stagger. Thing is it’s not the catering it’s the ones running around outside and distracting / disturbing those still in classes.

staggering who can enter the hall by year groups is an option or better the school having satellite catering provisions, maybe a seperate hall where some are wheeled over and / or little mobile wagons that have supplies taken over are better alternatives.

Thing is all these things require money being spent and most schools now have to go to sub contractors, schools are in a tricky position as there is less and less funding available or staff available to undertake new contractor bidding. But this would be a good option.

My daughter went to he canteen once and decided never again. She packs. Only 800 kids but queues forever and it’s super hectic.

My child's school does staggered year group lunches but it doesn't really make a difference. As they have to stagger them, it means they actually only get 30 mins for lunch which means after getting to the canteen, queueing and eating she has about 5 mins left 🤦. She now takes a packed lunch and goes out to the hard court and eats as she plays netball/football. I don't think there is a magical solution anymore with the amount of children in schools these days unfortunately.

Schools don't employ midday supervisors as there is no one willing to do the job. Teaching staff cannot be compelled to do a lunch duty. Schools are very full and behaviour is problematic.

Schools have therefore reduced lunch breaks to the minimum.

It will get worse when the new food regs come in because easy serve options like panini will reduce.

Yes, DD now takes a packed lunch with her or a flask with soup or pasta in.

The queues for hot lunches were ridiculous, even though they staggered the lunch hour by year groups.

At DDs school ' bun ' time aka morning break is hell in the lunch hall because all year groups go in and buy their break time snacks and/or lunch for later on in 15 minutes.

DD year 9 prefers to sit outside in all weather conditions with her friends for lunch, well when the year 9 girls are not falling out with each other. Year 9 friendships have been up and down so far, but that's another story.

Our school is getting on for 2000 kids but they have several spaces to buy lunch. Y7/8 have one place, then everyone else has the choice of 2 other places. Plus they have a random pasta station. There is the option to buy things at morning break but they do breakfast sandwiches and bagel pizzas at break so some choose them and miss lunch. They also have an app where they can pre order but food goes missing and my autistic teen couldn’t cope with that. She also had a queue jump pass for when it was busy as she couldn’t cope with waiting or if her specific meal ran out. Down side is the only get 40 mins I think and not the hour.

We went with packed lunches.

It's normal to have only an hour for 1500+ students to have lunch. But lots of them take packed lunches and at my kids' school there's also a separate sandwich/wrap place. My kids take packed lunches about 50% of the time (and eat outside or in a classroom). Their school starts lunch at 12:30 though - 1:20 is very late! I'd be starving!!!