I feel bad for the kids on free school meals

[thegasp]

Our school has sent out its plans for September.

Among them, only those children eligible for free school meals will be allowed to have school meals. Those kids will be sent to the hall for those meals.

All other children must bring in packed lunches, which must be eaten in their classes.

AIBU to feel sad about this sort of segregation? It feels like something from decades ago, when they might have sent the "poor kids" off to a different place. I'm worried about stigmatisation.

Is this standard, and going on in all schools?

All our FSM or universal FSM are getting a packed lunch made and sent to school from our satellite kitchen at another school. We are unable to serve dinners as our serving hatch is in 1 room so children can't collect there and our hall is a classroom so we can no longer eat in there. Also we rely on other children setting up/cleaning up the hall normally but we can't now. We have bought tables so all children can eat in their own rooms. Reception is all tables now and nothing else.

To be fair the school is doing the best it can to keep everyone safe in a pandemic. It may not sit right but at least these children are getting some food.

My dd school is only doing this for the first week.

Is this even following guidance? I thought schools had to still offer meals to all children who were attending. But I could be wrong.
I've a few teacher friends and I know it was a bit of a logistical nightmare but all children who've been in school have had the option of a school meal, paid or free depending on circumstances. One was doing them in the takeaway style containers and taking them to the classrooms, that's the plan for September too. Not the most environmentally friendly but I think schools must find solutions that don't involve making it obvious who is on fsm and who isn't!

Is this even following guidance? I thought schools had to still offer meals to all children who were attending. But I could be wrong.
I've a few teacher friends and I know it was a bit of a logistical nightmare but all children who've been in school have had the option of a school meal, paid or free depending on circumstances. One was doing them in the takeaway style containers and taking them to the classrooms, that's the plan for September too. Not the most environmentally friendly but I think schools must find solutions that don't involve making it obvious who is on fsm and who isn't!

@Alloftheboys the classrooms are off each corner of the hall so no real corridor, thank goodness and I’m in ks2. However in the reduced menu I hope that sausage rolls are taken off, one bite and it’s like an explosion of pastry.

Schools can’t win in these situations. It’s shit, but it’s far from the only thing that’s shit in schools right now, I think we just have to trust that schools are doing their best.

I agree that’s not a great plan. I would definitely point it out to the school. When I was at school you could always tell which kids got free school meals, it would be nice to think we’d moved on.

I agree it might not be ideal separating those who have fsm and those who don't, but they need to ensure they are receiving a hot meal (and this might be the only hot meal they receive that day).

The UK has a major problem with food poverty. The pandemic has seen a rise in families unable to feed themselves and their children. The cases of child malnutrition is rising and can disproportionately affect the health of these children i.e. they are at a higher risk of developing chronic health problems like asthma and diabetes as they grow up. Lack of a nutritious meal can affect a child's ability to concentrate at school, thus, being detrimental to their educational attainment (and the cycle of poverty continues). So, yes separating is not ideal, but I see the bigger picture.

@JaniceWebster

I don't think this has anything to do with segregation, it's a number thing! They obviously cannot serve hot diners in classrooms, and if they take entire classrooms in lunch hall, they would have to stagger lunch time and use so much of the staff time, it really cannot work.

It sounds like the only sensible thing to do.

We are having hot dinners in our classrooms. My class have always done so - it doubles up as the dining hall.

Hot dinners for other classes are being served up in boxes and delivered to classrooms by a member of staff belonging to each bubble. They will obviously have to clean up afterwards too.

Guidance says it is expected that school kitchens will be open as usual...perhaps check why this is not the case.

@IggyAce
Might not be too bad then.
At least I know I won’t have to clean up a full dropped roast dinner for a while.
Sandwich crumbs I can handle!

Rather than worrying about singling out FSM children and creating a 'stigma', it would be much better to deal with any 'stigma' and bullying that may result. Rather than make a sham and empty pretence, preferred by the middle classes, that poor people know damn well is a lie, that everyone is the same, we should be acknowledging the economic difference and dealing with it.

I also see no reason why FSM children should be deprived of what might be their only source of hot meals to soothe middle class embarrassment and inability to stop their pretensions of superiority. Before anyone asks, I was an FSM child, in one school where it didn't matter, and one school where it did. It gave me a lifelong twisted dislike of the middle classes and Britain's inequality levels.

School isn't providing any food in school at all here. Not even to FSM. Everyone brings in a packed lunch, eaten outside where possible but if not possible in their classrooms.

Those on FSM are still being given a £15 voucher each week.

Just to clarify something:

Schools aren't obliged to provide any hot meals at all, even under normal circumstances pre Covid.

The school near me, like many, did away with any sort of kitchen and only provides sandwich lunches to the infants from an outside caterer.

Same at our school

I’ve already had to pay for meals for September for DD2. If I find out they are giving packed lunches then i will be really annoyed as I’m not paying £2.40 for a sandwich and piece of fruit.

DD1 however, where since opening the school has been compulsory School meals has been told that years 9-11 will probably be packed lunches. Again, I am not paying for a school packed lunch. The kids hate them. I would rather make them pasta/rice and put it in a flask.

My DS school is doing similar to some on here with school-provided or home-provided packed lunches. My DD school is taking each year group in the dinner hall for a very short one-choice hot lunch. They will allow packed lunch in the classroom but they are hoping most will take the hot lunch to avoid spreading the supervision team too thin.

I had free school meals at grammar school. I doubt there were many of us; all the people I knew paid in cash. We had a yellow piece of card that started at the value of £1.50 per day, and every time we bought something (which could be hot or cold food), the dinner lady would cross off the previous value and write the new one on.

So it was a pretty obvious process compared to cashless (or even cash). But I never felt stigmatised by it, and none of the other students ever said anything to me about it.

I think it's reasonable that children receiving FSM should still be able to have a hot meal (if they want it, though packed lunch should also be an option). And some schools won't be able to avoid refusing other students hot meals in practical terms, depending on the number of students and the size of the canteen etc.

So if that's what they need to do (without spending half the school day staggering lunch), I can't see an reasonable alternative. You can't have people traipsing through the corridors to other locations with hot food, spilling it on the way, and it arriving lukewarm. Unless you start putting microwaves in classrooms or something, and there would be plenty of issues with that too.

YABU. Only on Mumsnet could people complain about children being fed for free. Honestly; I really do despair sometimes. Not a single one of these children in KS2 will give a shiny shit if their mate gets school dinner or not. Unless of course their parents are on this thread, because it's the attitude of the parents that gives the problem.

They could perhaps continue with the vouchers or provide food parcels to the families. Possibly increasing it a bit to cover the cost of electricity or gas.

My sons school is still doing hot lunches stages across the lunch hour, but now changed the toilets to Unisex instead?

The problem is if they provide packed lunches then some kids might never get a hot meal. I think making sure the kids get hot meals is the priority here.

@caringcarer

The problem is if they provide packed lunches then some kids might never get a hot meal. I think making sure the kids get hot meals is the priority here.

Why is the temperature of the food of such importance?

We got the same notification, and the dinner menu will be greatly reduced too. I'm afraid it will mean that I will just send dd with a packed lunch; less than 3% of her school are FSM so she will stick out like a sore thumb and rather go without.

That isn’t the best set up.

Ours are having the same dinner menu choice for all with all children eating in the classrooms. Those that want to bring a packed lunch can do so. We clean the tables before they eat.

Those of you saying the rest of the class wont care, I take it you've never been bullied for being different? In my case, different spelling lists because my spelling was crap. It was awful, constant sniping and digs at me,my spelling, my accademic ability. I absolutly object to separating out kids for some reason or other. It needs to be available to all (or none, and in this case, that isnt appropriate either unless they stick with the vouchers). Please dont underestimate the horribleness of some children.