No free school meals during Feb half term

[noblegiraffe]

The new guidance on free school meals says that schools should not provide food or vouchers during Feb half term.

This won’t be needed as some general funding is going to LAs and they will be expected to provide food/support for the week schools are off.

This is bonkers, right? They’ve only just sorted it so that kids get more than a manky banana, cheese and dry bread for lunch and they’re going to switch to a different system for a week?

Does this government just really hate feeding hungry kids?

YANBU: sticking with one system for feeding disadvantaged kids would be best

YABU: it’ll be fine, no one will fall through the cracks and the transition will be seamless.

We have been told that we will get school vouchers in term time and LA vouchers in half term.

Fingers crossed it goes smoothly, ghost but I don’t understand why they’re adding in another layer of admin and potential for fuck-ups.

@noblegiraffe

Fingers crossed it goes smoothly, ghost but I don’t understand why they’re adding in another layer of admin and potential for fuck-ups.

I expect it saves school staff working in the holidays which is a good thing.

How would it save school staff working in the holidays?

Why should children be getting free meals in half term? They don’t when the schools are open do they?

Why should children be getting free meals in half term? They don’t when the schools are open do they?

I agree with this. Long stretches of home schooling, 6 week summer holidays, Christmas with all the additional expense, I understand. But parents really ought to be able to provide 5 extra lunches over the course of a solitary week for their DC, they really should.

I’m a bit confused as to why schools are expected now to provide free meals during school holidays? Can someone explain it to me? What’s the difference now?

In pre-covid times did people get vouchers during school holidays? I didn't know this.

Food banks usually pick up the slack in the holidays but I am surprised to see people against feeding hungry children on a parenting site.

In the Tory party, yes. But they are notoriously selfish and heartless.

Gosh, grabby.. I understand parents end up in predicaments sometimes but if you can afford to feed your child ever there is something seriously amiss.

Argh! Can = can’t

Many people lost jobs in 2020, myself included, and many have less income due to less hours or being on furlough.

That’s one difference.

@noblegiraffe

Food banks usually pick up the slack in the holidays but I am surprised to see people against feeding hungry children on a parenting site.

In the Tory party, yes. But they are notoriously selfish and heartless.

Did the labour government provide free meals for children during school holidays when they were in power? Not being goady, I genuinely don't know. I'm thinking particularly about the time of the recession in 2007 - 2009.

@Scaredykittycat

I’m a bit confused as to why schools are expected now to provide free meals during school holidays? Can someone explain it to me? What’s the difference now?

Some children normally in receipt of free school meals are not being fed properly during the holidays. In some cases, not being fed that meal at all.

This was the case before it was thrust into the public forum but it wasn't part of the discourse so those in charge didn't really need to care about it. Now they do.

I've worked in schools in highly deprived areas where, for some, the school lunch was the only meal they got that day. We'd have to provide some sort of breakfast and make sure they got larger portions at lunch because they just weren't eating at home. I think that unless you've been involved with families like that, you can't truly appreciate how bad it can be.

The difference now is that so many people have lost their income due to covid, and therefore had to claim benefits, that they have realised they aren't (in many many cases) enough to actually live on.
Prior to this pandemic people on benefits were seen as the "feckless poor," who are unemployed/low paid workers by choice opposed to those who are only jobless due to the pandemic.
Thats my experience anyway.

I don't think anyone thinks children should go hungry, of course not, but the primary responsibility to ensure children aren't going hungry is with the parents, not the state. The cost of 5 lunches over half term is minimal, especially compared to the admin needed to provide those. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect parents to provide lunch for their children for 5 says, no.

days

I don't think anyone thinks children should go hungry, of course not

You really should have stopped your post there.

It's difficult, many families who could really do with it right now are the ones whose income has been drastically effected due to work changes in covid, but may not have been claiming FSM.

I know in our school, a lot of those claiming FSm haven't had their income effected as they were on benefits which have stayed the same throughout.

So a lot of people will slip through the net, and a lot with unchanged circumstances won't.

I've worked in schools in highly deprived areas where, for some, the school lunch was the only meal they got that day.

My Mum teaches in a deprived area and this is the case there. The dinner staff know who the children most in need are and will give them larger portions and/or a second serving because they know it’s the only meal they will have. Some children live in chaotic homes where they have to try and find food for themselves and there may be little to nothing in. Very sad.

It’s only changed because Marcus Rashford pushed for it. It took a footballer to fight for children to actually be able to eat, in the 21st century Britain. Bonkers.

@Iamnotthe1 thank you.

Also, love your name. Assume it’s from SoCo?

I dont understand why anyone would expect free school meals out of term time. Out of covid times do schools keep running the kitchen to provide free school meals as standard?

If children aren't being fed at home then they absolutely need to be flagged to a different system, not just provided a school lunch 5 days a week.

A lot of activity has been going on for several years before the pandemic by way of holiday clubs/lunch clubs/food hampers in the holidays for vulnerable children. Most of those were face to face though, so now under the pandemic the vouchers and hampers will replace the face to face provision.

Undoubtably the current system provides more food/money for more families, than previous holiday schemes would have done. But there was some provision in place previously, which for the past 10months had not been delivered. The charity I worked for were set up ready for Easter/Summer holiday schemes last year and it was all pulled when it was obvious that they couldn't proceed.

@noblegiraffe

I don't think anyone thinks children should go hungry, of course not

You really should have stopped your post there.

I agree with everything they said. We can all agree that the children should the go hungry but we are also allowed to question why the parents suddenly don't have to be responsible anymore. And we don't have to be Tory to have questions ffs

Obvs I mean SHOULDNT go hungry