Turned away from breakfast club! AIBU

[Mumsgotaheadache01]

So every 2 weeks I book and pay for blocks of breakfast club for my child. She goes every morning as I work. I turned up as usual at 7.50 this morning and popped her into her school reception and checked her in. Only to be told that she wasn't booked in on the list this morning. I questioned it and the receptionist said that it had been cancelled by payer. I then checked on my parentpay app and it said that my payments were cancelled! So that's obviously why it had removed my child from her bookings. I had certainly not cancelled her chilcare. I have over £50 loaded onto parentpay. So have absolutely no idea why this has happened. I was told that my little one could not come into breakfast club. So I had to sit in the car with a grumpy cold child who had had no breakfast, be late for work and wait for normal school drop off time. Am I being unreasonable to be upset by this . And wonder why parentpay would just cancel my booking like that. And to be really worried and anxious that this might happen again for no reason.

Exactly! I'll make sure to keep some bits Inc fruit shoots and a box of nutrigain in the boot .

So I had to sit in the car with a grumpy cold child who had had no breakfast, be late for work and wait for normal school drop off time. - literally all that was said on the matter of how they were / how they felt in the entire paragraph of the OP.

that in no way sounds like what you just described. I think you riled yourself up there unnecessarily

Yep yep. We always have box of cereal bars or some other shelf stable snacks in the glove box in case we're caught short for any reason.

It's a hang back from when DD was smaller and was hungry RIGHT NOW, so we always had spares in bags and car LOL

Just being a bit humorous.

SIMS has been dreadful since Capita sold it (because it was already ancient) in 2020 I retired in 2017, so I didn’t know SIMS had changed hands, but it was dreadful when Capita ran it - I’m surprised it could get worse!

My kids never had breakfadt or lunch at school but my brothers kids did have a hot lunch at school. He would forget to pay and the dc still were given lunch.

The op still implies they were cold and hungry in the car for the duration of the waiting

Every primary school around me starts at 8.50. Secondary schools start earlier.

Yes that is ridiculous - I know my DC’s would take them in in that instance if they had space and I know we would at my school too.

I live up north and most schools start at 8.45 or 8.50.

It sounds really annoying if they had space for an extra child, they could see you had credit on parentpay to pay for breakfast club, and they still wouldn’t take her.
I can’t see the schools logic there. It’d be different if the breakfast club was full.

We had a glitch with Parentpay last year where £50 went missing from our account for DC3. He was on the free infant dinners, so the money shouldn’t have gone anywhere. The secretaries at the school managed to get it sorted out quite quickly, but they said it had been a problem with Parentpay and that we weren’t the only family affected 🙄

It's hardly unbelievable is it. My daughter's class goes in at 8.50.

A banana is a healthier breakfast than UP cereal. I often take a banana with me if I'm in a rush to get somewhere. It's better than nothing.

Most schools start at that time. The PP is the odd one out!

Story seems to have changed as it went along.
Surprisingly mean reaction from the Breakfast Club, especially if it was cold and snowing - maybe there's a background to this.
I've never known a school not to have somewhere within reach where you could get something to eat, especially when you have a car. Seems this could have been better dealt with.

OP have you checked your bank account to make sure there was enough in it to cover the payment? I couldn't understand why my online Tesco delivery had been cancelled. My card had been blocked so had to pay cash. Then had a missed call off my bank for suspected fraud. It was just because I had been paying a lot out over Christmas and I hadn't realised I didn't have in my current account to cover my shopping. I had to transfer money from savings account to current account so I didn't go overdrawn. But If you've got DD due to come out as well that could also stop payments coming out.

Allllll the posters here berating the OP, and barely any pointing out the blindingly obvious actual problem here, namely that the school turned the child away. Actual madness, and quite concerning that people are blaming the mom here.

Breakfast club were a bit harsh not taking her based on our school. And I got a call at 3.30 earlier this week because I didn’t pick my child up but I thought I’d booked them into club. there was a booking issue but school made it work and found a space without a fuss and will accept delayed payment.

I think it's really poor of the school, if they had space. They could still have taken the child and then just charged for it in the usual way. It's a world away from any experience I can imagine at ds3's school.

On one occasion a couple of years ago I forgot to send ds3 with a packed lunch on a day they had a school trip 🤦🏻‍♀️. I got a phone call at 9.10am to say they'd just realised, the bus was leaving in 20 minutes and would I be able to take him one in...by that time I was 25 minutes away at work, I felt so awful but there was nothing I could do. I think the teacher heard the panic in my voice and said don't worry, we'll sort him out here, honestly it will be fine. The teacher walked 4 year old ds to the coop nearby and let him choose his own meal deal (and I paid her back, it felt very strange handing the teacher a five pound note the next day 😂).

I think it's quite harsh/mean-spirited of the school to not let your child in if we're really talking one missed payment. They could have said they'd take her, and needed payment by noon to give you a minute to sort it out.

Also, what do people think is actually served at breakfast club if they are aghast at a banana and granola bar!? Bananas are wonderfully healthy and so handy!

A truly compassionate teacher.

I guess it's not the schools fault though. You should take it up with the parent pay firm/app?
And couldn't you have made it a bit fun and got her a bacon roll or other favoured 'treat' type breakfast as a one off from a cafe?

Well, maybe the school are always having to chase breakfast club payment for non paying parents? They might be chasing £800 or more....

So they went zero tolerance, no payment, no attendance, no exceptions.

Two birds in one stone. Defrosting your car whilst feeding your kid. We should all do that in winter 😂

Same, my local one opens gates at 8:50 and closes at 9:10