To think this woman has humiliated herself and her kids?

[QueenOfTheEighthKingdom]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6980167/Children-allowed-bread-butter-lunch-school.html

I don't blame the school at all. I imagine there were repeated requests for payment and she must have known the rule (that the school probably thought they wouldn't have to enforce) Why on earth go to the media publicising something that makes you look like a neglectful parent and embarrasses your kids.

Sorry clicky link

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6980167/Children-allowed-bread-butter-lunch-school.html

To be fair, these ranty articles are often lifted from local FB gossip groups. People like their 5 mins of fame. No child would starve between 8.30 am and 3pm pick up. Bread and butter and an apple is quite sufficient.

This comment is just ridiculous 'It's disgusting making them sit in front of their friends and eat bread and butter. If I sent my children to school with bread and butter I'd have social services knocking at my door. It's child neglect.

Well fed children of course (irony) 'I took them straight to the shop for a meal deal

The mother here is clearly unreasonable in her expectations.

She clearly didn't get the irony that she sent her DC to school with nothing, not even bread and butter, with that comment did she? .

They are such cheeky feckers, pay your bills then, it is always somebody else's fault. They were given food the!

It’s one of these run of the mill ‘daily mail sad face’ stories, not sure why it warrants a thread really. Pretty much what the DM does, lifting threads from here for their readers to sneer at, in reverse.

Why on earth go to the media publicising something that makes you look like a neglectful parent and embarrasses your kidshmm.

I don’t think it makes her read as a neglectful parent at all. She works nights, she wasn’t aware there was a debt and they texted her when she was asleep. Crossed wire all round, not worthy of a newspaper inches, but frothers like to froth and exaggerate the situation on all sides.

Many people I know give children who refuse their meal toast instead and it is suggested on here plenty too.

Maybe if the school had stuck the bread under the grill before they buttered it, it would miraculously have been acceptable!

Alternatively, she could have made sure they had money or packed lunch.

To be honest I can't believe schools did this to children. It seems really harsh to deny a child a meal because a parent forgot you pay.
Last year my DH and I had s mix up, he thought I was paying for dd's school meals and I thought he was. We got a bill for £245 At the end of the year, we were stunned they hadn't reminded us before, but they always fed our daughter a pepper school lunch. We caught straight up and haven't done it since though.

She could have provided them with packed lunches but chose not to. She clearly had the money to pay because she took them for a meal deal. And as for picking them up early missing out on valuable education time. I feel sorry for schools.

She's made herself look daft by overreacting and trying to shame the school, but I think owing £8.80 on school dinners is more likely to be down to forgetfulness than cheeky fuckery. It's probably two dinners for two children, so it doesn't indicate she has a long history of non-payment. The school have made an example of her though, so possibly problem solved for them.

Our school has a number of kids who are waaaaay behind with payment, but they don't chase for payment. They feed the kids, because to do so would be to humiliate a child who has no control over what their parents spend their money on, or if their parents can afford to pay. That's the kind thing to do, from the school's point of view.

From the parent's point of view, I don't get what she thought would happen here; she's annoyed them embarrassed her kids, so she decided to embarrass them on a grander scale??

She could have provided them with packed lunches but chose not to.

The article I read earlier suggested she did send them in with packed lunches, but the children sometimes decided to get a school lunch instead - so unknown to her she was getting billed regardless. Once the bill gets above a certain amount, the school then contacts the parent about ‘no more until they pay up’.

Our old school all meals were payed for in advance, no money no meal. If they came with no packed lunch either, the school gave them water and peanut butter crackers. They would also call the parents or emergency contact first to tell them. Seemed harsh to me at first, then I got to know a few of the piss takers. Once they realised the school isn't backing down they provided properly for the kids.
One boy in my sons class loved Peanut butter crackers and would say he had to lunch to get them, the teacher figured it out and the Mum used to had over his lunch to the teacher in the morning so it didn't go missing.

Whilst the mother is at fault here & I agree with above points, the children are not & have no power over their mother's actions.

Yet they are the one's who were humiliated, did the mother or school have their best interests at heart - I think not.

@MyRankIsSuperintendent

Ms Dakin said she did not realise she owed the money because her sons had ordered dinners as well as taking a packed lunch before the Easter holidays.

Perhaps the school should have a better system in checking which kids are ‘packed lunch’ and which are not, avoiding parents like this getting into unknown debt?

I think they should have still fed the kids and called her later or told her at pick up that she owes money.
I think it's bad form for a school to provide children with bread and butter as a lunch when that's all they would have for 6/7 hours.

She obviously didn't provide a packed lunch on the day the school had to give bread and butter though did she?

They did feed the kids, they had a drink, bread butter and a piece of fruit! It is not going to be six hours until they next get fed, school finishes at 3 so when they come home from school. Maybe they did not have enough hot dinners, as they are ordered in through parentpay in our school, there is no school canteen.

Apologies Kipper, I'll be sure to PM you before I post any further threads so you can check if the subject warrants one .

The school should have given the children a normal school meal. The mother has a cheek blaming the school for her own negligence but the children should not be the ones to suffer - it is a school, it’s priority should be making sure the children are well looked after in their care. The parents must usually pay because the debt is small, it could have been cleared up without the children being punished.

Well fed children of course (irony) 'I took them straight to the shop for a meal deal

I bet that was a Greggs.

How much is a school meal where you guys are? Like its implied that it's one meal for £8. I must be reading that wrong.

My kids would have been happy with bread and butter 🤣🤣

School didn’t deny them food, they had bread, butter and a apple, they are not going to starve, she should have paid up.

The DM know exactly what they’re doing, they post goady stories like this knowing it will divide people/people will call her a CF, then they share it and DM gets more clicks/ad revenue as a result.

@DoneLikeAKipper

With respect her kids are 9 & 10 so she's known the system for 5 years. The school says multiple messages were sent out, presumably via the same system she did receive text messages from. She was quite a lot over the £10 limit so must have had quite a few reminder texts if they are sent daily to debtors.

I imagine she is 'known' to the school and they are fed up with her. That is entirely supposition on my part but she's gone to the Daily Fail so it's not too far of a stretch in my opinion.

An £8.80 debt suggests 4 x £2.20 meals