to think the new free school meals for all KS1 children is a ridiculous idea?

[Flexibilityiskey]

I just don't see the rational behind it, when benefits are being cut to the bone, why give free school meals to people who don't need them? Yes it may benefit the odd family but there will be loads who just don't need free meals, and at what cost? My DS's school will have to build a new kitchen as they currently don't have the facility to provide hot meals. There must be loads of schools with similar issues. Add to that the cost of feeding all the children in KS1 for each school year, the cost must run into millions. Surely the money could be better spent being targeted at those who genuinely need it or am I missing something?

Well, for a start, not all school meals are crappy. Many of them are very good.
If a kid gets a standard packed lunch of white bread, processed meat, crisps and maybe a bit of fruit there's not a lot of good nutrition there and they won't have the option of getting anything better. They may well get the same or very similar packed lunch every day. Having a school dinner they will get a choice of lots of different foods.
Some kids never get a balanced meal at home. If they have school dinners they will get a balanced meal, even of the quality of it isn't great.
Some kids never eat vegetables at home. They will be offered vegetables every day if they have a school dinner - even if that is just sweetcorn (not sure what's so bad about sweetcorn?

Im not saying they are perfect - some schools could and should offer better quality food but that doesn't mean that the idea behind this policy isn't sound.

I don't like it because it just becomes something else that people come to expect the government to provide. If you choose to have children, make sure you can afford to feed them. If you are not sure, choose not to breed. I don't want to live in a country where child-rearing is the states job.

I watched the Mr Drew programme about boys who were on their last chances at school.

One of the things that really struck me was that several of them were drinking coke all the time, and breakfast was coke and biscuits/chocolate bars. They were allowed this because #the like it and it doesn't hurt and they won't eat anything else.

When Mr Drew banned fizzy drinks at break time the parents were in uproar. So he got the science teacher to do an experiment with them. The took their pules, drank a large glass of coke and then took their pulse again. The teacher then also added that smaller bodies would be more effected, and 2 glassed increases the effect etc.

All the parents were shocked at the effect coke had.

These sorts of things will get parents to change, not school dinners.

I'd like to see proper home economics come back too. Not the jar of sauce plus meat and micro rice kind but proper basic skills. So kids can show parents and have some foundations on which to hopefully build an interest in food and cooking.

If they got a soup, a tomato sauce, a mince mix, and a cheese sauce under their belt they are part way to be able to make a few basics like mac and cheese, spag Bol.

Exactly,meanwhile there is less money to spend on education as schools will have to make up shortfall. The kids in primary schools that won't even be getting the free meals will lose out on top.

It's a vanity measure to appease NC.Cross with the Tories for giving it to them and cross with the Libdems re pushing this through to buy votes.

Bracing myself for NC to bring a demon lunch box along to his next TV discussion re this measure like he did with the Ukip brochure.Seems to have a history of demonising things in order to avoid questions re his own crappy policies.Lazy.

Not one discussion from any politician ever scrutinises the at best mediocre school lunches the maj of kids are eating,the ineffectiveness of the measure,the money that could be spent elsewhere,the unfairness re spending money yet again on wealthier kids when money on those less well off is taken elsewhere,the fact that DC is friends with the owner of a catering company that is pushing this......

No all they do is focus on the "demon" lunch boxes,never the good and never on the poor quality school dinners.

Well said retro

I can't believe so many supposedly intelligent people have fallen for this.

It beggers belief. So busy trying to make out how much they care about other people's children that they are missing the obvious.

Exactly Giles spend the money on weekly family after school cooking lessons with parents if possible.They could budget and menu plan.Cook a meal in school to take home,with a bit of creativity they could come up with some fab ideas.

Providing a mediocre meal a day parents never see so stay uneducated as regards food in which very little veg actually gets eaten is pointless.

Alongside that the message schools will be sending home is that a healthy meal consists of an abundance of white carbs,sugar,a daily pudding and negligible veg or protein.Sorry that isn't what I want my kids to think a healthy meal consistently consists of.

B

As a PP made out they are going back to the same cap they would have had for lunch. Yes so they had one better meal at school, so what. It's solved nothing and everyone's giving NC a huge pat on the back.

Those kids will get to yr three and back to square one. We need education efforts and classes not a band aid on a broken leg.

Crap not cap

Rather than introduce free school meals for ALL children, they need to properly means test it, it is UNACCEPTABLE that two people on the same income are separated because one of them works and that person is not given a benefit.

No wonder it is cheaper (for some) to not work.

I agree, it is a gimmick to win votes.

It could be a fabulous idea.

But then they'd have to invest in school kitchens, give schools a ringfenced budget to provide it properly, insist on trained staff, & get Ofsted to report on the quality of provision.

None of that is happening.

Incidentally, I have dd2 in year 2 next year, & two older dcs in the attached Junior school. The school has decided to stop offering Marvellous Mondays & Fantastic Fridays to the junior kids as, with this initiative, they now can't cope with any fluctuations in demand. So it's bloody lucky my older two aren't going malnourished for lack of a school lunch...

No one complained or criticised when we had free milk at morning break time, so why complain at having free meals? It was a third of a pint in case anyone didn't know.

Because it's not going to be a free meal is it.

It's taking away from resources schools could spend on their actual job of teaching.

YANBU. It's ridiculous. My son is due to start school in September and I don't want him to have the free meals. I want to make him a nutritious packed lunch myself. I can guarantee that most other other children will be having the free meals and it won't be long before my son will be grumbling to have them too. There are so many budget cuts going on for things that are far, far more worthy that the spending on this cannot be justified.

*I can't believe so many supposedly intelligent people have fallen for this.

What's a 'supposedly intelligent person'?

I actually haven't talked to a single person in RL who is opposed to free school meals. I guess I don't mix with intelligent enough people.

YES it is you are aware nick has only allocated money for the actual meals NO money for the new kitchens schools will have to put in no money for kitchen and lunch staff that they didn't have before and money is going to be allocated on size of school not need to a brand spanking new academy with 2k children will get more money than a village school that currently has no kitchen at all

Nick Clegg is a dick and didn't think it to the end to busy trying to chase the mummy vote well he don't have mine

My nephews school will have to find 5k to kit out a new kitchen which they didn't have as every one was packed lunch they also will loose two class's room and ironically one on the class rooms is the cookery room

I actually haven't talked to a single person in RL who is opposed to free school meals. I guess I don't mix with intelligent enough people

Clearly you have only met people who can't see past the benefits to them.

Also I pretty much feel this will be the death nail for quality of the food as I presume there is a limit of how much per her were as when people were paying the school with parents consent could charge more or less

Oh I know plenty opposed in RL.

retro

I think we are banging our heads against a wall here. We have had several school staff members post, saying how they face loosing PP money, how they are having to sub some of the cost (taking away from other things). How space isn't there and it's requiring re structure of entire school days (pe/hall availability). How quality is a real concern, how some catering companies can't cope with demand, how many schools don't cope now and kids are left with dregs, how many don't have kitchens and are having to re fit or put in a kitchen at great cost!

But still it's all about how parents won't have to pay.

Can people put that aside for one moment. Stop thinking about free food and kids stomachs.

Will someone acknowledge other points made and admit that it ill thought out

Actually, it's the complete opposite.
I work in schools and when I've talked about it with colleagues not 1 person has said it wouldn't be good for the kids they work with.
Otoh all the complaints on this thread are that people don't think it will benefit their kids - their packed lunches are better, the money should be spent on stuff their kids will benefit from.
Those other kids that may NEVER get to eat a meal with fruit and veg in unless it's given to them at school, let's just ignore them. As plenty of pp have been quick to point out, they'll still get junk when they go home, so there's really no point bothering with them.