To ask why do people not working claiming FSM get this for free?

[Sprinkledusting]

I’ve just discovered if you claim FSM and even if you’re not working, you can send your child to morning/after school club for free. And not just in our school either.
There are also sports clubs and holiday clubs during school holidays that state they are free for those who claim FSM. To claim free school meals your income has to be so low that you’re not working full time or not working at all, which of the people I know, most are not.
But those who are working have to pay for breakfast club/holiday clubs.

Can someone explain to me the logic behind this? As I simply don’t understand it.

Sounds like OP is struggling to feed her child. We can give her some sympathy.

I'm jealous that I don't get free childcare too, but I can't begrudge it from the fsm kids as it's more so that they get extra time with safe adults in a warm environment

You don't get housing help because you have a mortgage. If you'd prefer to rent and get some of your rent paid for go right ahead. But instead you have a stable mortgaged home that one day you will own outright.

Do you get UC childcare help? Those on low incomes on UC get up to 80% of childcare paid. But it does depend on individual circumstances eg single or partner, hours worked, household income etc.

If you think families of kids eligible for free school meals have nicer lives, more new toys, cushy set ups why don't you join them?! Give it a whirl. 🤷

I just cannot comprehend being jealous of this. These children are statistically the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. This help is for them, to try and improve their future outcomes.

You are more privileged than a child whose parents cannot afford to feed him. Your faux naivety on this subject is starting to wear thin.

You mean, like, segregate the poor children from the rest of the children?

I absolutely know what you are saying because I've been on both sides as a lone parent. It's a shock going to work and it's £50+ a month for school meals. I could only work by running a car, which in itself was a money pit. 70% of childcare was paid, but the 30% that wasn't hit hard.

Those on a low wage really do suffer. There are some UC top ups etc and you are always better off working - but only on paper. It's the cost to work that is the craw, knowing you're on a similar amount. Of course has multiple benefits but I can see where the low to middle earners are being completely squeezed.

For the record mine never got free school clubs and well my daughters school was so... So... Full of sahm with husband on a good wage they didn't have any before or after school clubs, they weren't needed.
Daughter would stay after school doing hockey, basketball etc but that all had to be paid for, and no reduced fees for external providers.

Anyway, my son is a father now (is quickly learning all this), daughter is sitting her GCSEs and I'm disabled whoop, so don't need to worry about any of that 🤣

For the record, they were both fed perfectly well. I don't think income is a barrier to providing healthy food.

Blimey rambling ranty....

If you’re on UC you get 85% of your childcare paid OP? I no there’s still 15% to cover and that’s hard, but it’s not quite ‘left to manage’. If you rented and didn’t have a mortgage you’d get rent paid towards too, you are lucky though and have a mortgage.

It’s because children who are living so far below the poverty line they’re on FSM are statistically more vulnerable and in need of every boost they can get. Schools claim pupil premium for each FSM child and any child who has ever been in local authority care. Maybe some of the PP is spent on the wraparound care including those meals.

I'm a single Mum on UC and Carers Allowance, I also get DLA for my DS. I had a mortgage so not entitled to Housing Benefit. I get by. My parents helped a lot. My DS gets FSM and not having to pay that extra bill helps a lot. We don't take advantage of holiday activities as my DS was never interested. There's also no offer of before/after school clubs. To outward appearances, my DS looks like the kid with the most, due to my parents input. Never judge a book by it's cover.

What would probably happen in reality is all the FSM children didn't attend, then the school would probably not have the funding to subsidise the clubs and they would need to close.

My DC school is only able to take the kids on school trips because of the funding the school receives for FSM kids.

This is what I was saying about all children benefiting from FSM funding to schools.

But yeh everyone on JSA drives a 24 plater BMW don't they.

🤣 eat your bread. No you can't play with the football because you are poor.

Go and mop the toilets boy!

You can't really be naive enough not to be able to imagine why these people need it. So stop the jealousy as it just sounds petty and small minded.

I missed the part where the OP owns their own home.

Have you looked at the cost? The HAF clubs are only for 4 hours so not a full holiday club day.

I think it's faux naivety too.

Ah good point, I forgot about Pupil Premium! Head at daughter's new school when she started after we were homeless said make sure the pupil premium gets switched over to us - we need it!

Having a mortgage doesn't mean you aren't poor. We earn less than £22k and get UC. We also own.

Looking it up 23.8% of children get fsm. 2m children
But you can only earn maybe 7.4k. Or 16.1k if on ctc

I dont understand how it is so high numbers of kids.

I dont know how much is paid for the fsm but if it were the £2.30 it would cost 897m per year

Ideally i would create a tax on a product men use that would pay bacl for the average of 2 kids school meals for 14years

Not necessarily true l am afraid.
Once they qualify, even if circumstances change, they still get fsm and some parents take advantage of that.

But as a pp said , l wouldn't be jealous.

@LilBus i worked in education specifically with this demographic and, as mentioned in my post, while it’s not all families at all who are dysfunctional, there is a correlation between fsm and families unable to provide a stable homelife. This isn’t necessarily due to bad parenting; poverty itself creates an unstable home and families are more likely to argue when financial pressures are intense etc. these families often have less support and cannot afford to pay for help.

This isn’t me being a mn snob, I’m speaking about some dc in society who are at risk of falling through the cracks and this policy aims to catch them. It doesn’t mean all dc in this group have the same struggles. I have huge empathy but you denying any issue isn’t helpful in providing help. The reality is that some of those dc will not see the same definition of love that others experience. There’s multifaceted reasons for that.

You already get help. There is always something to whinge about. I am jealous you get benefits.

Feeding kids...

Fucking hell, is this really what some people want to complain about?

Unemployed people with very little money that send their kids to school for breakfast...

What happened to the old saying,
"THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I"

@Toppppop maybe making it a legal requirement for the non resident parent to support their dc financially would fill some of the gaps (even if you’re self employed).

Except that in 20-odd years' time, you'll own whatever house you have traded up to over the period outright. They'll still be at the mercy of private landlords and if they still exist, social ones - who may have well fallen victim to the punching down by penalising people for attempting to climb out of poverty by ending tenancies if somebody dares to try and improve their circumstances.

It's more than the cost of the meal. Why do more people not know this? According to Gov.UK, each school in England is paid approx £1.5k pa in pupil premium for each child who receives FSM.