To ask if free school meals should be abolished?

[SphJC]

As above^

I have my own opinion on this but keen to hear others before I share my own.

@Kendodd

Why vegetarian? Because I think we should all eat more vegetables. Children who see their friends eat vegetables are more likely to eat them themselves. Vegetarian would cover halal children or other cultural needs. Less meat is better for the planet. Probably cheaper. I'm not vegetarian myself btw.

You don’t have to eat vegetarian to get the benefits of vegetables. You just need good quality, balanced meals.

What a good idea

zig4zag you are really not living in this world are you?

Everything you have put forward here suggests you have no heart, no empathy and no idea what it might be like to live in 21st Century Britain for most people. Perhaps not the ones you know, but for the rest of us, we are a couple of paypackets away from having nothing. But we manage to bring up great children who contribute to life, society and ideas.

What are suggesting is bordering on obscene. Why should anyone have their rights to have a family depend on their having 2 incomes etc. You are advocating means testing the right to have children, that is sick.

It's absolutely shocking that my first post was deleted which was a direct answer to the question the OP asked and probably a view shared by a majority of the population..It seems like this site is becoming a far left echo chamber.

@Zig4zag

What a good idea

And how do you suggest we impose this idea? After you tell nearly 10% of the working population (probably more after Covid) that they can't have children, who next? People who earn a lot but also work long hours? They may be able to financially support children, but can they meet their children's needs in every other way? Shall we start having a points system of how you can afford children vs how you can fully provide for them - financially, emotionally, pragmatically? Do you get docked points if you choose to formula feed over breastfeeding? Pampers over cloth nappies? Can only send your child to a Ofsted Good school over the local Prep? Do you have to have a university degree before being allowed children? What's the minimum household income we should be looking at?

Come on, @Zig4zag, give us the definitive list of what qualifies one to be a parent.

@Mxflamingnoravera

zig4zag you are really not living in this world are you?

Everything you have put forward here suggests you have no heart, no empathy and no idea what it might be like to live in 21st Century Britain for most people. Perhaps not the ones you know, but for the rest of us, we are a couple of paypackets away from having nothing. But we manage to bring up great children who contribute to life, society and ideas.

What are suggesting is bordering on obscene. Why should anyone have their rights to have a family depend on their having 2 incomes etc. You are advocating means testing the right to have children, that is sick.

I think this is an interesting point though. What does "right to a family" really mean?

Children are not a necessity and no one needs to have children. I live in the real world and understand life is hard and not fair.

@bp300

It's absolutely shocking that my first post was deleted which was a direct answer to the question the OP asked and probably a view shared by a majority of the population..It seems like this site is becoming a far left echo chamber.

Yes, it's such a far left view to not want children to go hungry.

@bp300

It's absolutely shocking that my first post was deleted which was a direct answer to the question the OP asked and probably a view shared by a majority of the population..It seems like this site is becoming a far left echo chamber.

Yep. You need to agree with the MN massive or you'll be blocked

Children are not a necessity and no one needs to have children. I live in the real world and understand life is hard and not fair.

Not to an individual. They are to a functioning society, especially with a huge ageing population. Many people will be looking for care from the young on min wage, the same young they'll be telling that they shouldn't have their own kids to carry on a society because they're too poor....

Nodody on this thread suggested children go hungry. If I had said anything like then I would no objection to my post being deleted.

@bp300

Nodody on this thread suggested children go hungry. If I had said anything like then I would no objection to my post being deleted.

If you are against free school meals then you support children going hungry. That's all there is to it really.

@bp300

It's absolutely shocking that my first post was deleted which was a direct answer to the question the OP asked and probably a view shared by a majority of the population..It seems like this site is becoming a far left echo chamber.

Majority of the population?

Cracking ego you’ve got there.

I think free school meals should be available to all children (primary and secondary) regardless of income.

Although I have never received any sort of benefits and am unlikely to do so in future (professional job, married, mortgage free), I think there can be a lot of reasons why parents can’t or don’t feed their children properly every day and I hate to think of any child having to go without. I think all children should have compulsory life classes too, not just briefly but throughout their time at school (to cover learning to cook a number of healthy dishes, with schools providing the ingredients, and managing finances without getting into debt etc).

@bp300

Nodody on this thread suggested children go hungry. If I had said anything like then I would no objection to my post being deleted.

No, just suggesting children should face serious trauma of being removed from their parents because they're entitled to FSM. That's definitely a nicer mentality than 'let the kids of stupid parents without an Oxbridge degree/career starve'.

I may not get the reasoning behind it so please tell me that I'm wrong but I don't understand why, in England, lunches for KS1 are all free. Surely it would be better to means test this and then raise the level that children can qualify for FSM in other key stages? I worry that there are families just missing out on fsm and struggling

Dreadful idea! Anyone agreeing with this should hang their heads in shame; it is not a case of being left-wing or right-wing it is about being caring and showing some humanity.

It is shocking that in 2021 we have children who are reliant upon school lunch as their main meal.

My post which got deleted didn't say any of the things I'm being accused of.

No, they should be expanded to all school children. School dinners are healthy and well balanced, many children eat things at school that they would never eat at home. It should be seen as part of their education, learning to eat a healthy diet, enjoy a wide range of food and enjoy mealtimes with their friends. With the best will in the world, a packed lunch is not going to provide the variety or the fruit/veg that a hot lunch can.

You wouldn't have children if you were on minimum wage or a zero hour contract though. Would you? Seriously. Who would have a child without 2 medium incomes and a good amount of savings. Because you know what? You don't know what's round the corner (As people keep reminding each other)

And so we're back to only the wealthy & entitled should be allowed to have children. What colour is the sky on your planet? It's obviously low in oxygen.

@Zig4zag

And yes I did finish school and i am intelligent enough to not have children without a financially solid back up plan.

But @Zig4zag how would you enforce this? Even people on NMW are naturally fertile and will have children unless you compulsorily sterilise them.

The 2 child cap means that prospective parents who are on benefits and don’t work will suffer the same consequences as those in work if they continue to have children after that point (i.e. their income will need to stretch further rather than their effectively being paid to have more babies). If they have no benefits at all, some will have children anyway and end up on the streets and there may not be enough foster carers to take on all of these kids!

I think all school meals should be free for all students at every stage of our non-private schools.

My family didn’t qualify for free school meals for most of my childhood because dad’s income was £100/year more than the limit, and he couldn’t always afford to pay or let us take a packed lunch. So on those days I was sent home for lunch but I wouldn’t go because mum was abusive. Most of the time I would just walk around for 45 mins before coming back to school. There must still be kids like that.

@Gilead What are you talking about?

@Bipitybopityboop

All KS1 children in Greater Manchester receive free school meals regardless of income.

And no, they should not be abolished.
This is coming from someone who grew up extremely comfortable. For a long time I had no idea about how some people had to live due to their circumstances.
The lack of basic needs being met is heartbreaking.

We should all be grateful for what we have and we should strive to help others to the best of our ability.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have enough to eat or even a warm place to sleep.

As KS1 children everywhere in England get free school meals don’t they?

@Zig4zag

I am suggesting that kids get taken put of poverty. It is more than just meals. Their quality of life is poor in everything else also.

You are disgusting. I am looking at my much loved DD who had to be on FSM for a period when her Dad died. She was cared for, fed and loved and I find your post offensive. Words fail me. I thought that I had seen it all when it comes to benefit bashing but you take it to a new level.

You wouldn't have children if you were on minimum wage or a zero hour contract though.

On a thread the other day it was said that some jobs are wanting more from employees for less year on year which is reflected in job adverts.

Should a full time minimum wage employee not have children? What income should a household be on before they start a family?