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.

@dropthedeadhorse, this captures my point to some extent. I don't necessarily expect more food; cheese and crackers, beans on toast etc all sit far more comfortably with me. However, cereal and jam on toast are nutritionally void, and far less substantial than what was previously offered. As another PP mentioned, it's helpful for the offering not to change without notification so I can plan what food needs to be provided once the children get home.

Again, as to the PP, I didn't say they should have stew, I said they did have stew.

The after school club has it's own property with a fully functioning kitchen so there's no reason they cannot function as they did previously.

Cereal and toast was the only thing on offer, not a choice my children made.

Presumably there is not going to be time for staff to be out cooking baked potatoes when they’re also trying to run an after school club?

This wouldn’t bother me at all, but tbh since my children are thin as rakes and have no problems with their teeth, that might be why.

@dotdashdashdash

I think £15 for one child is extortionate to be honest (I thought £12 that one primary school near us was charging was bad) but the content of the "light tea" seems on par with the other wrap around care I know of. I can't say I think it's healthy, nutritious or even adequate, but it is definitely normal for the setting. We are given an alternative of proving a packed tea if we wish, but it doesn't reduce the cost, and kids can eat their own tea along with the snack provided, not instead of.

How can you possibly label it extortionate when you don’t even know how long the kids are there for?

I wouldn’t say weetabix and milk is nutritionally void.
I wouldn’t say jam on toast is void of nutrition either - nutrition includes the need for calories and carbs.

@Maggiesfarm

You're not going to have stew for tea anyway. Lunch time maybe, or at home in the evening for dinner.

I think £15 is a lot of money for a bit of toast with jam and cereal at tea time. The profit margin is far too high.

I just looked at a tea shop menu and you can get a 'cream tea': 2 scones with jam and a pot of tea, for £4.95.

But does the tea shop throw in a couple of hours of childcare? I think that is what the OP is paying for primarily, the toast is a stop gap to prevent the kids from chewing the legs off the tables.

It’s hard if the after school has limited preparation facilities, they are also having to deal with potential allergies so no peanut butter, cheese or eggs for some I think toast and jam covers all bases, I expect they let them have more than one slice.

How can you possibly label it extortionate when you don’t even know how long the kids are there for?

Because it is considerably more expensive than the most expensive option where we are, so unless they are there until 8pm (which is very unlikely), the hourly rate - assuming a 3pm finish, is extortionate.

I get it, vques. The £15 isn't just for the toast, it is for the couple of hours child care. I imagined it was for the food only. £15 for two hours care including a snack seems OK to me.

@dotdashdashdash

How can you possibly label it extortionate when you don’t even know how long the kids are there for?

Because it is considerably more expensive than the most expensive option where we are, so unless they are there until 8pm (which is very unlikely), the hourly rate - assuming a 3pm finish, is extortionate.

Where in earth do you live that less than £15 is expensive. Its approximately £5 quid an hour per child based on being open until 6. I couldn't get someone to look after my cat for an hour for a fiver.

We also pay £15 per child for 3pm-6pm, and the food is generally toast or a bagel with a choice of spread. Water, milk or squash to drink. I wouldn't want them to have anything more substantial as they wouldn't eat their dinner. That's how it has always been though, and their literature doesn't suggest otherwise.

So I think YABU for thinking this is inappropriate, but I suppose YANBU if it has been sold by the school as something more than it is.

The same thing has happened at my sons school, I think the pandemic has given providers a good excuse to just push out crap. He used to get a plate of fish and chips with peas and or baked beans, not exactly amazing nutritionally but now he gets a pot with fish fingers and chips in and no option of any sort of vegetable, plus the pot is just binned so awful environmentally too. Why can't they just wear gloves to handle the plates? Why can't they make any vegetables any more?

If they're giving your child white toast with marg and jam then they might as well just give them a bar of chocolate for the same sugar content and nutritional value. I'd be disappointed at how it had gone downhill but I bet they blame covid if you mention it.

@Maggiesfarm

You're not going to have stew for tea anyway. Lunch time maybe, or at home in the evening for dinner.

I think £15 is a lot of money for a bit of toast with jam and cereal at tea time. The profit margin is far too high.

I just looked at a tea shop menu and you can get a 'cream tea': 2 scones with jam and a pot of tea, for £4.95.

Who are we to decide whether their profit. margin is too high? That's bloody ridiculous It's not a tea room so you can't compare it to that, the tea room may make their biggest profit on the other food they serve , the onus is on the child care. They charge what they charge. Its food to stop them feeling hungry before they go home YABU

Ours did fruit or similar at 4.00 and most brought a packed tea with them which was eaten at 5.00 if they were still there. ASC til 6.00 cost 12.00 in 1999 and 14.00 in 2017 when I last used one. I literally do not know how they do it for the money, although mine were on schools where there was no charge for premises tbf.

@dotdashdashdash

How can you possibly label it extortionate when you don’t even know how long the kids are there for?

Because it is considerably more expensive than the most expensive option where we are, so unless they are there until 8pm (which is very unlikely), the hourly rate - assuming a 3pm finish, is extortionate.

If it’s open 3pm-6pm then £15 is £5 an hour. That’s not remotely extortionate for childcare.

And I've never known one run that makes any more than breaking even.

@Tal45

The same thing has happened at my sons school, I think the pandemic has given providers a good excuse to just push out crap. He used to get a plate of fish and chips with peas and or baked beans, not exactly amazing nutritionally but now he gets a pot with fish fingers and chips in and no option of any sort of vegetable, plus the pot is just binned so awful environmentally too. Why can't they just wear gloves to handle the plates? Why can't they make any vegetables any more?

If they're giving your child white toast with marg and jam then they might as well just give them a bar of chocolate for the same sugar content and nutritional value. I'd be disappointed at how it had gone downhill but I bet they blame covid if you mention it.

It’s far more likely that their costs have just increased considerably so the wastage of peas/beans/veg combined with the extra hassles of preparing and serving food atm means they’ve cut their offering down.

How old are the children?

DS1 gets offered fruit at his. If they stay past 5pm you are meant to send in a "packed tea" - I usually just do a packet of crisps and a piece of fruit because he has dinner at home. I didn't realise afterschool clubs ever did such substantial food as has been mentioned.

Surely,the £15 covers picking them up from school and childminding them? The food is an after school snack,like they get if they were coming home straight from school. It's not meant to be their proper evening food!

Our after school club is £10 until 6pm. Pretty sure my kids were given sandwiches (turkey / cheese) plus fruit and a drink (milk/squash) for that amount. In fact, my eldest usually got to eat so many sandwiches she didn't want dinner.

If they only stay until 4:30pm it's £5 and I'm pretty sure they only get a piece of fruit to eat.

For £15 I would expect a decent easy tea, so they only needed something small once they got home (especially if you are picking them up at 6pm).

Oh, I love jam on toast, reminds we of cold winter afternoons as a child, sat in front of the fire with my Granny

Is it £15 for the food on top of childcare?

We pay £14.50 for roughly 3 hours and the children get a 'snack'. I haven't checked the snack content since they went back after lockdown 2 but I am pretty sure one option is usually a bakery item (crumpet or bagel or whatever) with spread. So basically just carbs, but I'm ok with that as they have a proper lunch and proper dinner so it is just to get them through the 3pm energy dip and quickly out into the field to play.

The ASC I worked at offered instant noodles! Never a fresh piece of fruit or veg until OFSTED appeared. We were rated outstanding.

I'd say that;s a perfectly appropriate "light tea" after school. It's not intended to replace the balanced meal parents will surely be providing later at home.

The 15 quid payment also covers the costs of premises, staff, entertainment materials and insurance.

Ours used to offer something like bean/spaghetti on toast. I was happy with that.