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.

The school letting people away with getting into a bit of debt if they are struggling, does not encourage other people to go into debt. We have an account system in my kids school that I pay money into for my eldest lunch (p1-3 get free school lunches in Scotland) and no one knows how much I pay or if I have debt, the same as I don't have a clue about anyone elses accounts. I think singling kids out like that is embarrassing and the school should be ashamed. Regardless of why the mother didn't pay for the meals, the children should not be singled out.

Up until recently we did have free school meals for kids.

Really? I’m 50 years old and my parents always paid for my school meals.... I’ve always had to pay for my DCs school meals too (they were too old when the KS1 free meals were introduced).

Next time I order a fish and chip takeaway for my family I’ll just say “it’s only £10 so it doesn’t matter if I don’t pay for a couple of weeks” .....

She has 6 children...

Surely she knew she was taking the piss when she sent her kids into school without a packed lunch knowing that she hadn't paid in advance for their lunch that day?

As far as I'm aware, schools pretty much always expect parents to pay in advance for their children's school dinners, and the dc are only asked to 'order' it in the morning to give their choice so regardless or whether there was debt or not, she was still expecting something for nothing that day.

Schools simply don't have the money to pick up after all the parents that don't pay for lunches on time.

I wonder if the place she took them for their happy meal was smiling when she said " don't worry guys, I'll pop back and pay you for the food sometime, maybe next week" . Or did they demand payment up front for her kids food. Bloody restaurants are like that, them and the supermarkets, ruining the getting stuff for free attitude that made this country great............

They should have sliced the apple, put it between the bread and called it a sandwich. Or toasted the bread and called it, well, toast. That might have stopped the hysteria.

Victim of austerity and a crisis in school funding, yes. Pretending this would be normal 15 years ago is ridiculous. When schools are funded correctly owing a mere £17 doesn't get into the newspapers.

In 1978 my mother forgot to pay my school lunch bill at the start of the month. I was fed but I was made to eat my lunch at a separate table all by myself at the front of the dining room - now that really was humiliating.

School lunches must cost £2.20 to run up a £8.80 debt.

Assuming 25% of the 360 school get free schools meals (which would be quite a high figure) if no one paid their dinner money and the school did nothing about it then it would cost £112,860 per year just to feed the children. That's a huge figure that would need funding from somewhere!

Just pay your dinner money, stop making excuses and looking to cause issues for the school. The kids were fine I'm sure. Wonder if she'll miss another payment!!!

I don't think it's ever ok to punish the children, which is what this was.

School absolutely unreasonable and complicit in the humiliation.

The children where fed.

Mum didn’t bother to send a lunch, mum didn’t bother to check dinner balance, mum was completely Uncontactable regardless of it being about dinner balance or deathly fall. Yet school is at fault. Yeah ok then then.

The children were not starved. If they were humiliated it was their parents fault for not providing them with a meal or the cash to buy one. not the schools. Why does nobody take responsibility for their own mistakes anymore?

Mummy only gave us bread and butter for our Tea.
They'd be quick enough to report it to SS.

They bloody would not report that to SS :/

They'd possibly make a note of it with the safeguarding lead, if the was any concern, who would then, take it into account at a bigger picture.

But a kid coming in and saying randomly they had bread and butter and an apple for tea on one occasion, would not trigger a call to Social Services :/

She didn't know she owed money.

Yes she did. She was told at least 3 times.

The fact is bread and butter is not enough for a growing child to get them through the day, weather you do that at home I'm sure you give your kids snacks in between and don't just give them a butter sandwich to last them 6 or 7

The children will have had breakfast, and they were fed a jam sandwich and an apple. Presumably around 12. This is perfectly adequate. Might not be the most filling or delicious, bit still would be around 400 calories, which is plenty. Especially if they have a "proper" breakfast and dinner either side. It's not as if they're Olympians needing a 5000 calorie diet. They're kids.

And they would be home around 3.30.
So the most they had to last was around 4 hours, and that was on whatever the mum gave them for breakfast.

They weren't without for 6-7 hours. Stop being dramatic.

People rich and poor have been cheeky fuckers about paying their dues for ever and a day. It's nothing to do with austerity.

I'm also over fifty and school meals were certainly not free in my day. And then my kids were too old to get the free KS1 ones the LibDems brought in during the coalition. In principle I think it's a great idea to give children free school meals but they aren't currently free and I don't think it's any party's top priority for funding. That DUP bung can't be spent on everything.

No school I've ever worked in would have sent kids into a dining room with bread and butter if sandwiches weren't on offer where it wouldn't be obvious

It doesn't matter that it's the parents fault. Lots of issues are down to feckless parents but we don't make children suffer if we can physically help it.
We HAVE made toast before but kids have eaten it elsewhere.
Tbh most schools I've worked in would have given them dinner. They shouldn't have to but they would have.

It was stupid of her to go to the papers but seriously unacceptable of the school imo.
What if she was a desperate mother who genuinely has fallen on hard times due to an unexpected bill or whatever and was too embarrassed to admit she was too poor to feed her children.
School lunches are the sometimes the only decent meal some children have and to take that away without even speaking to the parents first to see wether there is a problem is awful. A text is not proper communication on what could be a sensitive situation.
£10 debt per family is very low especially when there are multiple children.
With 6 kids working 12 hour night shifts it no wonder she falls behind now and again.

I don't get why schools have lunch box policies and lunch box police if bread and butter with jam and an apple is sufficient and adequate. Lots of primary schools round here give you a list - must contain one portion of veg, one of fruit, some of this some of that etc..

She took them to the shop for a meal deal! 😂🙈 how about sending your child to school with a meal deal or the money you owe??
I don't think she has a leg to stand on to complain about this, but if I worked at that school I wouldn't be able to just give the kids bread and butter. I think there's failures all round here.

She knew she owed the money - my DD's school would text you straight away if your child ordered lunch with no money on the parentpay account to cover it, asking to you pay before a certain time in the morning so the child could have the lunch they wanted (if not, a similar setup to this I think).

I feel sorry for the children who have ended up in the DM because of their mother's actions.

What a thick, entitled idiot.

Her children’s lunches are HER responsibility. If she can’t be arsed to pay her fees, then why should the school give the children a full lunch.

My son forgot his packed lunch a few times in primary school and got bread and butter. At least they fed him something and he was coming home 3 hours later so hardly going to starve. How embarrassing for her kids that she went to the paper with something like that.

not the brightest button is she!

Love how she's considering not sending the younger kids. That'll have them shaking in their boots.

Why are people so upset about children eating a slice or two of Bread and butter ? If it was cut into triangles and had a sliver of cheese, or a dollop of peanut butter, or a couple of slices of cucumber, or a smear of marmite, the nutritional improvement would be minimal but no one would be fussing

I am willing to bet that thousands of children in the country go to school with a piece of toast for their breakfast.

The woman has six kids, if she gets the idea the school will feed them for free that will cost the school £14.40 a day. £70 plus a week. She won't not pay again and she'll be making sure her kids don't order school lunch when they already have a packed lunch from home

My lot actually love bread and butter. They don't like the combination of something in the middle and I've discovered bread and butter is actually delicious especially when in a hurry or very hungry - very tasty!

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.

How, without sending money in, how? How do they order without payment? Our school you always pay in advance. it is not possible to run up a debt.

so upset that they have told her they 'never want school dinners again'.

Problem solved, then, right? No need to worry about it in future.Can't make that mistake again (!)