To think that you just can’t leave kids without a meal?

[FrizzyMcFrizzface]

We have just been informed that the school dinner provider will no longer provide a lunch (primary school) if the account is not in credit. The school will contact the parents to bring in a pack lunch if that is the case.

I understand the provider is fed up of being in debt but surely you can’t leave a child without dinner for the day? If the parents can’t be contacted for whatever reason or are too far away at work/no relatives nearby etc.

There are always those days for all of us where with the best will in the world you forget or there is some sort of emergency/crisis. AIBU to think this is wrong and in those emergency/rare situations a meal should be provided?

At primary level leaving a child hungry (and humiliated) seems unkind and unnecessary.

I so agree with this statement.

I know a lot of people take the p*ss but I'm surprised at the hard-heartedness towards young children whose only fault is having feckless parents. Yes, you might not starve in 7 hours but you'll certainly be humiliated and sad.

Blusapp all children in reception to year 2 get universal infant free school meals.

west

So when a company goes bust and people lose their jobs how are they meant to feed their kids.. .

You won't be humiliated, you will be sad as a child left without a lunch.
But I wonder what schools are supposed to do when as one person on the thread said, their school is owed hundreds of pounds? And staff spend a lot of time chasing non payers. Schools are not parents, they simply can not fill all the gaps for useless parents.

The company will not be paying for the extra meals, the school will be.

I understand the provider is fed up of being in debt but surely you can’t leave a child without dinner for the day?

If you haven't paid then it is you leaving them without a meal. Your responsibility, not theirs.

There are always some parents who know if the school will feed their child anyway, will not pay.

These letters are not aimed at the one off offenders. We have parents £50-£100 in arrears.

This is how that policy will work in practice:
A) Child forgets lunch/no money in credit, it's never happened before, has always been paid up to date: school may try to phone parents to bring in packed lunch but will give a meal if needed then chase parents to repay. Schools know the parents who will pay.

2. Parent's owe £20 already, child comes in with no lunch again. School will phone parents, grandparents, ring around all contacts they have to bring in lunch- repeat each day as needed to make a point. If lunch hasn't been brought in my lunch time, of course the school will feed the child. No headteacher is going to actually let a child go hungry. It may just be a simple sanwhich- as the policy is saying the dinner option will not be available without payment.

I can imagine my DP's mother refusing to pay - as school will feed them anyway.

Have you not all seen what some feckless parents put in their children’s packed lunches?
Cold chips from the night before.
Happy meal from night before.
Stale bread.
Bag of crisps and can of coke.
Packet of biscuits.
Etc.
There are some vile people out there who really need parenting classes.

It's no different walking into a restaurant or cafe and ordering food then leaving without paying.

Schools lunches are not a charity item, either parents pay for them or send a packed lunch.

A one off emergency isn't who the letter is aimed at, it's those who feel like everyone else should fund their children bar them.

No its not those who think everyone else should pay for their children; it is those who know if they can get away with being cheeky and not paying, will do that.
Not everyone is interested in doing the right thing.

I do understand the arguments and agree to some extent with the points other posters are making. It isn’t fair to be subsidising feckless parents but it’s just wrong in my view to punish little kids for having shit parents.
Kids whose parents don’t care enough to pay for their lunch are already not winners in life.

And sometimes I couldn't afford to pay when DS2 was in nursery because it would have made me short of money for the other 2 meals, or shoes or clothes for the DC. I paid as soon as I had money. Things are only better now because I'm taking more money out of the WTC.

I agree that for repeat offenders ( more than one or two days a year) that the school should contact SS. Feeding a child is a parenting basic, failing to do that is neglect.

SS will not take any action for that, unless there are other issues.
As I said, I can imagine my DPs mother doing this. She fed her kids, but if someone else would feed them,she would take advantage and leave them to it. So if the school stopped feeding them, she would send in a packed lunch.

This letter will be aimed at the people who owe a few dinners £10+, some people won't pay. Imagine the school will give basic food like crackers and some fruit or sandwhich

But that is why they will not pay. Because the kids will still get fed. A sandwich is perfectly fine for lunch.

Haven't RTFT, and apologies if this has been said already.

A friend of mine's DC apparsntly managed to ŕun up a £27 bill in one weel, via his school canteen card, because the school was allowing him to effectively "borrow" on his card- ie, the parents are billed for any extra they use.

May be a good idea in circs such as this.

Certainly would be the parent leaving the child without a meal but seems harsh on the poor child who cannot help whether the parent pays/provides packed lunch and will miss lunch. My 8 year old certainly wouldn't starve without a lunch but she would be very upset and confused as to why she had no lunch and that is pretty sh*tty! Even if it was my fault it seems horrible for my child. Although I also agree the company shouldn't provide meals for free, so not sure what the solution would be

My dc went to primary school in Australia. No school lunches, just packed lunch for everyone. If a child doesn’t have a lunch the teacher would say “ok, you can go straight out to play”.

We will call the parents and ask them to bring something in, or they can order and pay online for the school canteen. If nothing is provided, then we make them a vegemite sandwich (plus every classroom has a box of fruit they can help themselves to). One mother sooked at me one day because she was 'lunching with the girls' and refused to bring her child his lunch and apparently a vegemite sandwich wasn't good enough for him.

So always make sure the account is in credit?? Mine is set up to give me an email if it drops below £5. My dd paid for her friend to have some food but usually the school or teacher will make sure a kid doesn't go hungry if they can't get hold of you.

If the parent was in dire financial straits, presumably the child would be on FSM

Because nobody every had temporary financial difficulties? In July we had a series of things go wrong and it cost us an extra £1,000 which is nearly 50% of our combined take-home pay. We were skint.

Yes, people forget to pay accounts but surely if you had a call saying your DC would get no lunch, you'd be able to stick a tenner on a credit card?

Not everybody has a credit card. Or they've maxed out it in the aforementioned financial crisis.

Not sure you can pay for the School meals with credit card anyway!

I have an alarm on my phone the pings me every Sunday evening to remind me to top up my children's lunch money if needed. It's easy to forget but I don't expect anyone else to pay for my kids lunch.