Free School Breakfast

[Espresso25]

I’m irrationally irritated at the comments on social media about the free school breakfast that are being rolled out.

Comments like “we didn’t get that help in my day” FO Barbara it’s a bit of cornflakes and toast.

I just can’t understand the outrage, anybody who begrudges kids breakfast is just awful IMO.

FWIW it’s not reached my kids school so I don’t benefit, we don’t get child benefit in our household - we’re doing ok. But I’m quite happy for my taxes to feed other kids of all the waste of public money I just can’t get upset about this. Think you must have to be inherently selfish to.

But it helps a lot of parents (let’s be realistic, mothers) who are on minimum wage and don’t think it’s financially viable to spend money on breakfast club in order to work extra hours. Just look at the threads on here where women are working over minimum wage, but think going to work is pointless as they’re ’working for free’ (obviously this isn’t true as childcare should be a joint cost, but it’s the perception).

My experience is secondary schools but the ones I worked in offered it.
It helped get them in on time, got them socialising before lessons, lots of students could eat at home, but won’t, so encourages them to eat.
Our school started at 8.20am going straight into lessons and some students had to travel to get there. My own school in the 80s started at 8.50 and we didn’t have the first lesson until 9.20am and there were loads of school buses to get there. It’s much more full on.

@Totot i agree that’s a positive.

Isn't the funding something ridiculous like 60p per head, to cover all costs?

I would never ever resent a child who needed it benefiting from this scheme, but it doesn't need to be universal. I would much rather my child wasn't eligible and someone who really needed it could have a sensible level of funding.

YANBU

Subsidized daycare should be FREE, for all kids. That'll even things out a bit.

And yes, food should be free in school too

Good lord - the hand-wringing about 'bland' food when kids in poverty are arriving at school hungry! No sorry, kid, I don't think toast and cereal are good for you, so have nothing instead, while I feed my middle class dc on more nutritious food!

I dontcwant my children being fed beige rubbish at school. The fees wraparound aspect of it is helpful for working families but it didn't need the food.

Why would you interpret things like this? No one has said children should go without.

I would rather pay for my child or send them with a packed breakfast, so the school can use the funding for the children who needs it and everyone can have a good breakfast.

Who do you think should subsidise it? The taxpayer?

What are people feeding their children that’s not cereal, toast or fruit? That’s all my kids have

My sons school charges 50p a day for breakfast club. 8 till 8:30.
previously it was a cooked breakfast but since January it has just been cereal, toast and fruit. This is due to budget cuts. I wonder if the funding will be enough for schools to sustain.
places are limited so I worry that with the funding coming in that parents who use the breakfast club to get to work on time will be able to get there or will schools increase the number of spaces available.

You do realise that subsidising childcare and making it more accessible is actually economically productive because women who would otherwise not be working and losing their standing in their carers can continue to earn AND have better earning over their lifetime?

That’s cheap! Mine is £6.25 per child so it’s £12.50 for them both.

Where did you read that?

@Espresso25 it is very cheap but only around 30 children attend regularly in a school of 500.
I wouldn’t be able to get to work on time without it so it’s a necessity for our family from a childcare perspective. My son has breakfast at home if he wants it but it takes a lot if encouraging for him to eat so breakfast at school is a backup if he hasn’t eaten at home.

My issue with it is that it's funded as if there isn't staffing required, so it's not economically viable. At the same time, schools are being told to magically find the money for the teacher pay increase that the government also hasn't bothered to fully fund. Teachers are to blame if we strike though, because it's clearly us who are fucking up education...

All these ideas are great, but nothing actually works if you don't properly fund it. Instead it destroys what already exists. We've seen it with nurseries already.

@Everydayimhuffling i appreciate that and totally see that POV. I suppose my comments were more of an observation at the principle.

This is what happens in my DD's primary school. An outside provider runs the breakfast club from 07:30 till 08:45, and after school club from 15:30 till 18:00 in the school hall. They also operate a holiday club out of there too. Spaces are limited though due to the size of the room and the staff to children ratio so if they were to run the free scheme alongside it I really don't know how it would work as there is no room for any extra children to attend.

Personally I don't agree with the offer, however I also do not have children in state education.

My issue is breakfast is the least nutritional meal of the day, cereal is cheap and lacks any benefit other than reducing hunger. I would prefer the money for that to be spent on healthy snacks during the day, fruit and milk or something similar.

Schools are suffering financially and the Government has given away one of the key areas schools can earn some additional income. So not only is the 60p per student for breakfast not covering costs but cross subsiding is also removed.

You make some very good points, but I'm not sure about your concern over whether the scheme will reach those who need it. There were unofficial schemes like this running when I was a child, and they were very successful...but my experience wasn't in the UK, so perhaps there is a cultural difference here that may make children reluctant to use the scheme.

There are some children who frequently arrive late to school having not eaten breakfast. Clearly, the scheme would benefit them. But usually there are various issues going on which make them late. If they can’t get to school in time for 9am for whatever reason, they may be even less likely to get there for 8am.

I use my son’s schools breakfast and after school club. They get fruit milk, cereal and toast And yoghurts. I pay for it (£37 a week). He won’t eat breakfast here and he loves it. They do reading and crafts in the mornings if it’s crap weather. If it’s good weather they go into the junior playground and he loves the fact he gets to use it!! After school they get leftovers from lunch (it’s an independent school not council run). I do work but from 11 so don’t actually need it… but hand in heart the reason I he goes isn’t because of all this. It’s due to the massive task going upto the place at school hours is!!! You can’t park anywhere near, people are arguing about spaces and I can’t stand “school mum” politics. I’ve done school runs for the last 21 years and honestly… I don’t want to be part of any clique or mums group etc…..we also don’t have class WhatsApp bollocks either.. it’s bliss at 7:45 dropping him off… so quiet. I don’t think this free club thing is happening at his school and I’ve no idea how it would affect other parents if it is implemented there. But I’d be happy to pay a little more for his place if it meant some child who isn’t as fortunate as mine got fed and had the fun my son does there. By the grace of god go I and all that.

...cereal is cheap and lacks any benefit other than reducing hunger.

Nonsense. Cereals provide fibre, carbs and most are fortified with vitamins and calcium. What cereal do you feed your DC?

Cereal is usually served with milk as well and all the benefits that has.

Cereal remains the only thing I can stomach in the morning, I can’t even eat toast. The idea of porridge or eggs is horrific.

I never get why the school had enough room to sort lunch time for all the children enrolled, but then not enough for breakfast. I am not entirely sure the ratio of children per adult should be six (I think, it was on my days, not sure if that still applies for children over 7. At the end of the day, it is not so in school time. But unfortunatelly, there are restrictions and it cannot be done in all schools.
But I will always be thankful for that time we had it.