To be pissed off with school ?!

[MyPandaisasecretmonster]

Ds5 went back to school today (Y1)

Everybody in the school has packed lunches as their are no cooking facilities .
When we got to school the Teacher informed us from tomorrow that we can no longer take our own pa led lunches in as school will supply them due to the new law that has come in .

They will be providing packed lunches for all under 7s which will be a choice of a Cheese or Ham sandwich , a piece of fruit and a drink of water

AIBU to think they could of sent a blooming letter out before everybody wasted their money on new packed lunch boxes etc , Oh and not forgetting the fridge full of packed lunch stuff that I bought yesterday for the next fortnight

The choices are ridiculous my Dn attends the same school & she is Muslim so can't eat the Ham & she won't eat cheese so what is she suppose to do ?
Also my Ds&Dn take pasta salad etc in as well yet now because it is law they have to have a sandwich

I'm actually fuming at this

[Nanny0gg]

It's not compulsory.

That's it really.

[EmeraldLion]

I wouldn't be cross about 'wasting' money on a lunch box etc, because my dc would still be taking them. End of.

A typical lunch for ds1 who's 6 would be a tuna and cucumber roll, a largeish yoghurt, cheese, carrot and pepper sticks, a tub of grapes and a treat - a small chocolate bar or pack of mini cheddars.

He always eats it all and he'd be starving and utterly miserable all afternoon after a ham sandwich and an apple.

I'd politely tell the head they'd still be bringing their own lunch and progress to kicking off massively and writing to the Governers/MP/anyone i could think of if I was refused.

[echt]

Years ago, school kitchens were allowed/encouraged to be run down as it was deemed better value to buy in ready made food that require little expertise or equipment. At the time there were confident predictions that a situation such as this would arise.

It's appalling that a sandwich and fruit are considered suitable for a child. Every day of my school life I had some version of meat, spuds and veg, with pudding. It was very unusual to see overweight children.

[rumbleinthrjungle]

If parents want to send in something for them to have instead or as well then that is fine. For those kids that parents are really struggling then the lunch is significantly better than what they are having right now.

This.

This is mostly to benefit the kids who have never seen veggie sticks, dips or pasta salads in their home and are doing well if they get sent in with a pack of cold chips, or if anyone got round to feeding them at all last night. Or the siblings that were given a small shop cake to split between them by the eight year old eldest. I wish I was exaggerating. Not that that makes a ham/cheese sandwich and fruit appropriate, ok or enough, but at least it's a start.

[Mumoftwoyoungkids]

The whole point of this policy is that research has shown that children who don't get an adequate nutritious meal at lunchtime tend to underperform at school.

I'm not sure that making the entire class hungry is quite what the government meant when they said they want "equal opportunities for all".

This is so easily solvable. All kids get the sandwich and fruit. If parents want to send in something for them to have instead or as well then that is fine. For those kids that parents are really struggling then the lunch is significantly better than what they are having right now.

[HappyAgainOneDay]

A choice of two dry sandwiches. No mayonnaise or mustard or sliced tomato or sliced cucumber?

[AnnieLobeseder]

That's what I thought, rocky. The poor kids on school sandwiches will be howling that they don't get tasty sandwiches like the other children.

[rockybalboa]

I don't see how they can forbid children taking in their own packed lunches. Maybe they don't want to make it blatantly obvious how dull their own offerings are.

[cakecake]

mypanda of course you are allowed to put your imput - as i said in my previous comment, i just suggested rather than being angry about it and complaining, you could appreciate the effort that goes into something like this and make helpful suggestions (e.g. would be better if it was optional, or if there was alternating choices).

i have absolutely no problem with people voicing their opinions but there are ways of doing it.

[MarchEliza]

sorry x post Annie

[MarchEliza]

I disagree that this is too trivial to be annoyed by. If I was told I would be eating an (almost certainly crap) cheese sandwich and piece of fruit for lunch five days a week for the next two years I would be horrified - I can't imagine expecting my child to tolerate the same.

[AnnieLobeseder]

cakecake - but the school is making like harder for themselves by insisting that all children eat this new packed lunch instead of only those who choose free meals. And what they are offering is not adequate. Would you be happy being told you had to eat a low-quality cheese sandwich and one piece of fruit every lunch time for the foreseeable future? No? Then why would you just accept that for your child without questioning it, when you already had perfectly good arrangements in place to provide a lunch that suited you and your child?

[MyPandaisasecretmonster]

Cake So would you be happy with your Dc eating Cheese/Ham sandwich & a piece of fruit for their dinner every day ?

I'm allowed to complain when it will affect my Ds

[cakecake]

mypanda - sorry, fuming? Life is too short to get so worked up about things like this. I imagine they were unorganised about the whole thing (yes, their fault) but it is difficult to implement things like this at first so are bound to have teething problems. I'm sure they would appreciate constructive feedback (lack of choice etc) but there is nothing worse when you're working with children and trying to do your best with something and parents complain about every tiny detail.

[ThatBloodyWoman]

I wish mine had been offered free school lunches.

[Summerisle1]

I have a particular dislike of people/organisations quoting non-existent law as a means of justifying their (in this case inadequately notified) policies.

There's no legal reason at all why your child can't continue to eat a packed lunch prepared at home. As a pp has said, I'd be printing out the new guidelines and quoting them to explain, calmly and politely, why you will continue to provide your child with a packed lunch.

[indigo18]

PS Surprised there's no CAKE> Schools specialise in cake ....

[indigo18]

I would be beyond disgusted at this; you can bet your life the bread will be longlife white stuff, with cheap ham and cheese of no discernable nutritional value. I know; tons of this food is served daily at the (secondary) shool I work in. Plus, which of us would like the same crap sandwich 5 days a week?
the fruit will be a small apple or banana, not a lovingly prepared pot of fresh pineapple, grape etc etc. No variety. Refuse!

[MyPandaisasecretmonster]

Cake I never once used the term 'raging'

Yes it would be nice if they had bothered to tell us about it & the choices weren't so pathetic

[DogCalledRudis]

Its good that they offer, but force-feeding sandwiches?????

[Ledkr]

We were discussing this yesterday.
The school dd will go to next year is doing only packed lunches and if it's just like you describe I'm definitely sending my own.

[cakecake]

Raging? Really?? I think it is great that schools offer this as i have seen the junk that goes into packed lunches at times. I'm sure if you nicely explained you would rather give your child a packed lunch from home.

I honestly think that sometimes schools cannot do anything right. Just go for a picnic at the weekend and use up the packed lunch stuff.

[DogCalledRudis]

Does a school have a right to do this? What about children who are allergic/religious/vegetarian???

[AnnieLobeseder]

The new law is that schools have to offer a free school meal to parents who want them, not that every child has to eat what they offer.

What a ridiculous interpretation on the part of your school. I would print out the new guidelines and explain to the school very calmly and clearly why I would be continuing to provide my own packed lunch to my child.

[edamsavestheday]

Outrageous that they are mis-using the new policy to ban home-made packed lunches. That is NOT the purpose -merely, the government is instructing schools to provide free school meals for infants. Complain!