To think that free breakfast at school is a bad idea due to the quality?

[Mushypeass]

Firstly, I fully agree with the principle of free breakfast for all pupils. My reservation comes from the quality of food that is often served up in UK school canteens. Obviously a poor quality breakfast is better than no breakfast at all but AIBU that it could encourage children to eat even more UPFs? For example, children who have may had a relatively healthy breakfast at home may now opt eat UPFs at school with their pals instead.

Seocondly, why is the food so poor in so many schools? How can other countries manage to provide their youth with nutritious and healthy meals but we can’t?

if kids are going to school unfed, unclothed and dirty, why the hell are they still with their parents?

Because the outcome for those in the care of the state is worse,

How old are your kids?

If a free breakfast helps a child get through the day then that should come first

Where did I say they should be taken away first not getting whole meal bread?

I said if they are going to school under, unclothed and dirty.

9/11/15.

Absolutely. SS don’t come along and wave a magic wand, siblings are separated, the care system causes lasting trauma for many.
Id prefer those kids to get a piece of toast and a hot chocolate

So how do you tackle that ?

It can be easier said than done though, especially with other variables that don't always include poverty such as dietary needs, SEN etc.

Wholemeal bread would land my child in the hospital.

The breakfast club’s here tend to be operated in a classroom by a TA. They have a toaster in the corner, and some of them offer cereal. My mam is in charge of the one at the school where she works. She isn’t actually paid to start until 815, when the children arrive. She has neither the space/facilities or the time to make porridge.

Chicken wings for breakfast? Now I’m confused!

You are probably right, but isn’t this what we should be concentrating on, helping parents who have possibly been born in to the case system themselves and parents in general that need support?
breaking the cycle, not a sticking plaster which gets headlines and buys votes.

@feelingbleh i feel that’s the issue. It is on the parents and many can’t be arsed, have other priorities and that’s many of the well heeled families. I know a few kids in genuine dire need, but society says as long as they’re fed it doesn’t matter if it’s lacking nutrients & substance. It’s wrong. Same as the attitude to lunch, meals & school nutrition in the secondary schools, no salad bars here it’s UPF shite, leading to poor focus etc, longer term health issues, etc which is a government & societal problem.

Isn’t the point of OP’s post that why, as a society, do we think it’s acceptable that children from less privileged backgrounds are deemed ok to eat an unhealthy UPF laden breakfast? And should we not be aiming to give every child a nutritious, non crap breakfast? Or is it ok for poor kids to eat crap on the state?

This. It's better for a well nourished child to eat upf than for a neglected child to not eat anything

support for the parents, better support and pay fir foster parents, more social workers, more support for schools.
not shit breakfasts offered to a lot of people that don’t need it to get votes and headlines. It’s just more poor use of funds that could be better spent elsewhere.

@ThisDandyWriter the children are actually making it into school. Yes, possibly unfed, dirty clothes, not washed. It may well be older sibling getting the younger ones up and out the door. But they're pitching up at school so there is some functionality in the home, however minimal.
There are too many children in the care of local authorities for the number of foster carers that we have, so lowering the threshold of what is considered negligence would add to a long-standing problem. Simply put, where would these children go?

This.

You think that’s not already happening ?

It’s very easy to pontificate on mn ‘they should do xyz’, not so easy when it’s real life

Like in Continental Europe it would be best if they have on offer home made whole grain bread, cheeses, hard boiled eggs, jam, fruit and porridge. That is not that expensive.

Should the teachers fund this or should the school cut staff to fund it?

There are strict guidelines about what can be served in school.

Governors bear responsibility to ensure all meals are healthy.

All our schools provide good healthy food and the cost is never covered by the income.

we are not providing breakfast at some schools because it takes us further into a deficit budget.

if you think your child is being served rubbish you need to challenge the school.

Absolutely agree with you. Healthy choices when young correlates with healthy living later in life.
There is far too much UPF in the British diet

Sure Start was supposed to try to break the cycle of dysfunctional families and generations repeating the same poor choices. Austerity impacted it severely.
Some schools have community rooms with washer and dryer so parents can wash clothes at school. They use PEF monies or pupil premium if it's still called that down south.
Bluntly, we have a very broken society and austerity measures took away proper intervention which actually did some good, and all that's left is a series of sticking plasters. They hold something together for a while but it doesn't solve the underlying societal problems.

There’s money to give breakfasts to kids that don’t need it though?
money for the speaker to go on jaunts wherever
money for mp expenses fir dinners and drinks out etc.

there’s s lot of money, it’s just not being well spent, or being spent on votes and headlines.