To expect my children not to be given cereal and jam on toast for tea at (£15) after school club?

[Mallowmarshmallow]

My children have come home this week saying the above was all that was on offer at the after school club they attend.

AIBU for suggesting to them that this is not an appropriate tea for children. 'A light tea' is apparently offered during the session.

Does anyone know of any government guidance for healthy eating in childcare settings? I can only find early years guidance in my searches.

For full information, the after school club is local to, but not run by, the school the children attend. It is the only local option available which works with their school.

OP- What part of the country are you in? I ask because my child was in an after-school club that charged £15 a session. He was also bring fed meals I felt had nutritional value!
When we went to view they had crudités, fruit. Shepherds pie loaded with veg. The weekly menu was nutritious.
In reality when he joined we got jam on toast or hot dogs for tea! Had I known I would never have put him in!
We took him out after Xmas

Our school isn’t using cutlery yet (due to Covid) - could that be an issue?

My children are offered: soup, beans on toast, jacket potatoes, sandwich. All are apparently quite small portions

Take in a large jar of Marmite (or similar) and very politely ask if it would be ok if your dc had that instead of jam.

Sure as heck, many other dc will ask for 'marmite' on their toast too, and before you know it, 'marmite' will be part of the 'light tea' without any more effort from you.

Ours get a "hot lunch": stew, lasagna, curry etc for a similar price. Privately run (for profit). Small portions but then it's "lunch", they still eat a dinner at home. It is cooked offsite and delivered to the school.

@RachelsHoliday21

Ours get a "hot lunch": stew, lasagna, curry etc for a similar price. Privately run (for profit). Small portions but then it's "lunch", they still eat a dinner at home. It is cooked offsite and delivered to the school.

How is it "lunch"? Don't they also get a lunch at midday?

They bring a packed lunch so sandwiches at around 12.30pm. They are usually hungry again at 3pm, or mine are anyway!

Mine too, but I wouldn't give them a bloody curry!

I would much rather they get a curry than jam on toast

Nobody needs 4 meals a day.

When ds went to after school club they got toast & things like jam, honey, chocolate spread, marmite, peanut butter & juice to drink in summer & either juice or hot chocolate in winter. Once a week they did soup in winter as well.

Having run a preschool in the past which offered an after school club. A phone call or email to the Manager I think would be a good ideas as to me it sounds like standards are slipping. They are obligated to provide a healthy snack & jam on toast is not exactly a healthy snack........ or a light tea for that matter.

Have you tried getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier each morning, cutting them some sandwiches and saving 15 quid?

With childhood obesity a big , it does feel quite unhealthy 😟

@Superchav

Have you tried getting out of bed 10 minutes earlier each morning, cutting them some sandwiches and saving 15 quid?

The 15 is for attending an after school club for several hours and having the food provided. The childcare still needs to be paid for

My childminder gives mine a cracker and piece of fruit. It’s only supposed to be a snack. Don’t you give your children a proper dinner when they get home?
I would be annoyed if my childminder gave them more as they would not eat their dinner.
Kids don’t need 4 meals.

I pay 6 pound a day for after school session. They get offered crumpets beans on toast pizza hot dogs wraps sandwiches etc. My daughter never wants to eat when she comes home. If she does she asks for fruit. So she eats enough to fill her up. They also get a small pudding. Cake fruit yoghurt.

Maybe they run out of smoked salmon and Coq Au Vin 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Countrygirl2021

They shouldn't be giving sugary rubbish like jam. I worry more though about kids having food after school then a dinner when they get home. Surely veg sticks, hummus and rice cakes or some fruit would do to bridge the gap until they are picked up.

Stop being such a bloody snob

Jacket potato isn’t a snack it’s a full meal. Why would children need four meals a day?

I can’t believe some posters here are complaining about the expense of ASC - even the £15 the OP pays is a good deal for three hours of childcare plus food. My son is in Reception so I am comparing it to the £100 per day private nursery he has just left and my other kids attend and the £10 a session we pay for ASC (which includes a “light tea” of something like beans on toast) is an absolute bargain to me!

I accept that for that price he won’t be getting home-made soup full of veg and bread baked by the on-site chef like at the nursery. If parents want that, they need to pay more money for an after school nanny or pick up their kids themselves. My son is only at ASC two days per week so I can feed him all the healthy food I want on the other days.

The OP’s problem seems to be that the ASC has changed its offering without informing parents, which I agree is not great. OP needs to be able to plan what to feed her children on ASC days and it’s unhelpful if they are suddenly coming home hungrier than usual because they are only getting toast instead of a proper meal. OP would be perfectly within her rights to ask about the reasons for the change and whether it is permanent or a temporary COVID-related issue. If she’s not happy she can then consider alternatives (sending children with their own food/ pulling them out of ASC and e.g. using a childminder).

@Dragonsmother

OP- What part of the country are you in? I ask because my child was in an after-school club that charged £15 a session. He was also bring fed meals I felt had nutritional value! When we went to view they had crudités, fruit. Shepherds pie loaded with veg. The weekly menu was nutritious. In reality when he joined we got jam on toast or hot dogs for tea! Had I known I would never have put him in! We took him out after Xmas

🙄

It’s just a snack, isn’t it, until you give your children dinner? Cereal/toast aren’t so awful in an otherwise well balanced diet.

@DenisetheMenace

It’s just a snack, isn’t it, until you give your children dinner? Cereal/toast aren’t so awful in an otherwise well balanced diet.

I agree. A bit of jam on toast is hardly a sugar overload and many children like it. It's no different to me having marmalade on toast for breakfast sometimes. It's tasty, it fills a gap but I don't live on it, I eat proper meals otherwise.

The child will be having dinner at home, a snack mid/late afternoon is fine. It just fills a gap.

I understand people's concerns about childhood obesity, not having too much in the way of sweet things and sweets, but they can surely have them sometimes in small quantities. Mine always did, as did I, along with decent meals, and we aren't fat. My parents did too.

The anti-sweet obsession seems to have gone too far.

“Light tea” is not a meal, it’s a cup of tea and toast, maybe a scone or a bagel.

“beans on toast, soups, jacket potatoes, stews etc” are meals.

I would not expect a meal at an after school club.
Tea and toast is standard surely.