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.

@Cherylshaw it's what a lot of people have for breakfast or lunch are neither of them a meal?

Errors happen (but schools shouldn't allow pupils to run up lunchtime debts without parental consent)

Why broadcast it though? The article has been lifted from a local newspaper and the way it reads and from the photos, she has chosen to engage with interviews. If she was mortified and appologetic, that would provoke a different reaction to accusing the school of neglect despite providing more than she did.

The school has to have boundaries. £10 per family puts children with siblings at a disadvantage to to families with only one child paying for dinners, but schools have such inadequate budgets. They can't afford families to run up debts that they can't or won't pay. The school have covered the compromise of not letting the children go without completely, but have given something very basic and undesirable in order that the parent knows there is a consequence to not paying up in time.

it's what a lot of people have for breakfast or lunch are neither of them a meal?

Not according to a lot of schools' "lunch box policies"

Cherylshaw Wed 01-May-19 16:47:55
Bread and butter is not a meal.

Tell that to the starving kids in Africa.

Bread, butter, jam and an apple is perfectly acceptable.

@SmarmyMrMime I do agree maybe a better system would be to send a text to the parent after a child owes one school meal and notify the parent to make the payment by a certain time

"State School lunches should be free. "

No they shouldn't. They should be means tested. Otherwise who is going to pay for the 7 million odd daily meals?

Where is that money going to come from?

"Bread and butter is not a meal."

Tell that to my nephew who had bread and butter and 3 cherry tomatoes for his lunch the other day....

She owed £17.90, not £8, I'm sure the school let her know, most schools ask who is a pack or school lunch so for her to claim they were taking a school lunch when they had a packed is probably a lie. Does she not speak to her kids?

Tell that to the starving kids in Africa.

Well, everything's relative. But you really can't use that as an excuse. To some kids, a pair of shoes a size too small and a dress with a holes in it is an outfit/decent clothe, but I'm pretty sure social services or DC's schools wouldn't think so, and saying "well tell that to XYZ kids who live in absolute poverty" is going to sway them.

The children where fed just not the normal meal because the parents hadn’t paid for it. Each child had a £8 plus debt. I doubt both where taking packed lunches and did the same number of days of lying and getting a hot meal too so I call bullshit there.

If the school still provides the normal meal parents won’t pay up, they made sure the children’s basis needs where met a jam and butter sandwich with an apple and water. I can’t imagine letting my children’s lunch money get £3 in debt let alone £8plus.

Also, "It's disgusting making them sit in front of their friends and eat bread and butter." They were taken away to eat on their own.

And "State School lunches should be free.

The law says your child has to go - so they should feed them whilst there" I think the law says your child has to be educated (you can do home-schooling) and you have to feed your child the rest of the time, when they are not at school. Free school lunches for all would be great, in theory, but most people would prefer more teachers and resources when budgets are limited.

She owed 8.60 per child. I think it’s the equivalent of a weeks worth of lunches. Why should her kids get something for free that other parents have to pay for?

Where is that money going to come from?

If the government can find a billion to bribe the DUP (to no effect), and waste millions on a shambles of a Brexit (to even less effect), then I’m sure they can find the money to feed school children - many of whom are living in poverty and have parents worrying about them having filling meals at home as it is. Though that’s a ridiculous idea, of course.

Moonchild1987 "I do agree maybe a better system would be to send a text to the parent after a child owes one school meal and notify the parent to make the payment by a certain time"

The kids did order meals, ate them, and the school did notify the parent to make payment though. This happened before Easter. She had two weeks notice and "can't recall" seeing any messages, which totally means she saw the messages and ignored them for whatever reasons.

How long should the school give the parents to pay if two weeks over Easter Holidays isn't enough?

donelikeakipper

But those families in poverty are getting FSM.

Why should it not be means tested? It shouldn't just be free. Because otherwise, where does the argument end?
All kids get free school meals. But the government makes the law saying they have 6 weeks off in the holidays... should the schools feed them over that period of time as well? What about breakfast? Should that be free too?

I think if schools didn't do this, some folks would simply just not pay and expect their kids to get fed for free. The schools on a budget, and if you spend on this, then it's a book less or a teacher less, or whatever when it all adds up.

She has indeed humiliated herself. She's just pissed off her kids didn't get a proper free feed and she had to pay.

I love how she says I always pay it yet she’s racked up £17.00. Gotta love these people that never take responsibility for thier own actions. CF that’s for sure. Then goes to the paper and paints herself in a bad light.. my life is spent making sure that my kids have everything they need so they aren’t ever in this situation, dd gets free meals at the moment as she’s in year 1 but come year 3 she won’t be getting it.

Why should it not be means tested? It shouldn't just be free.

Because many of those living on the breadline don’t qualify for means tested help! This is the trouble, people think that ‘poor’ has a face - the parents don’t work (or do so in blue collar, zero hours jobs), have 20 kids and ‘expect to be taken care of’. The truth is, many people are living month to month, that ‘one bill’ that knocks your financial situation to shit until next month, and children can and do suffer for it. Making sure all children have at least one decent meal in them during the day makes sure they all have a fair advantage in their education. So yes, it should be free for all children, especially in primary.

@001000001 that's not ever going to happen though, is it? (expecting meals in holidays for kids).

Up until recently we did have free school meals for kids. It isn't at all unreasonable given the research showing the extreme net benefits on society to expect our govt to have our children's best interests at heart. Society isn't just made up of the poorest, we all have to work together.

"Ms Dakin, whose children are Callum, Levi, Tyler, Kaitlin, Poppy and Lilly, is now reconsidering sending the younger ones to the same school."

I imagine the school will be delighted

The woman's a dick.

She thinks it's disgusting that they had to eat bread and butter and an apple 'in front of their friends'.

So she does a story in a national newspaper.

Yeah, like that won't embarrass them more...

racked up £17 a whole 2 week's worth of meals! You get more time to return a dress to the shop and many people wear these and think nothing of it. I fail to feel angry that a child in the UK was fed for 2 weeks. How very terrible that we let this happen !!!

It must have been humiliating for the kids. Imagine queuing up and picking out chicken or something and the staff saying 'sorry - it's bread and butter for you I'm afraid'.

Surely a reminder to send in a lunch or pay would have been better for them.

Haha my dcs would be well chuffed with bread and butter - but mine have the blandest food requests