Are “home lunches” still a thing at your children’s school?

[Gladla]

When my DDs (now late 20s/early 30s) were in primary school they used to have 3 options for lunch, school lunch, packed lunch and home lunch. For home lunch the parent would collect them at the start of lunch take them home, feed them and bring them back at the end of lunch. By the time they were primary 6/7 lots of the kids would use the home lunch option to go to the cafe in the village on Fridays.
We didn’t use them often but my parents would take my girls for a home lunch about once a week. They were also a very popular option on the day of the Christmas party where lots of the kids would go home to get changed or in primary 5 when they went swimming most of the girls would go home at lunch to dry their hair.
I was chatting to my DD today who has a 5 year old and I asked if her school had home lunches as I thought it would be nice for me to take my DGD out. She said nope that’s not an option!
I was a little shocked. I understand that there are significantly less parents who are around in the middle of the day and safeguarding has gone up, but it seems fairly innocent if someone if collecting the child from and returning them to the office.

AIBU to be sad this option doesn’t seem to exist?
Did anyone else’s schools have home lunches or still have them?

Aww I forgot this was even a thing! Education is a treadmill and once you're on it you can't get off, so I doubt this exists anywhere any more 😢

It would be very difficult to get this sorted with how stringent handovers have to be and for a school to dedicate staff to handing children over and accepting them back to school for the sake of 30-45 minutes.

It’s disappointing perhaps but understandable now that schools are much more conscientious around safeguarding that it doesn’t happen

We didn’t have this when I was in school in the 80’s or my son in the 2000’s. I think my parents had it in the 50’s though.

That’s lovely. It wasn’t an option with mine. I don’t think I’d ever have managed to get my ds back to school after lunch though.

I do recall my mum telling me she had issues getting them off the trampoline and back to school! I used to have to check with the lollipop man at the end of the day that they had actually made it back before the end of lunch!

It was such a soft little pause in the day. When my youngest was in primary 5 doing her swimming lessons a few of the parents used to rotate taking them home to dry their hair and give them a nice warm bowl of homemade soup.
All 3 of my girls are quite nostalgic when it comes to their home lunches.

I doubt that would be possible at most schools - every child has to be signed in/out by the office, it would take forever. And they need to be back at a certain time for registration in the afternoon, or you'd get an unauthorised absence. It would be hugely disruptive too, I imagine many children would be upset at having to go back in.

The world has changed, OP.

Back in the 80's we had part of our school field that bordered a road next to our local estate. Technically that bit of the field was out of bounds, but the home lunch kids would climb over the fence as it was quicker to get home and back into school than going all the way around to the gate at the front. A teacher would come and help lift the little ones over the fence to their brothers and sisters.

Definitely not allowed now!!

Still an option in France! My SIL does it often for her kids.
I suspect the school doesn’t want to do it for attendance if the children then stay home. Or because if not enough pupils eat the school dinners then it would bring the cost up.

We had this in primary though I never went home then in secondary we would all go to my friends house for lunch and to watch neighbours!

we had this in the 80’s when I was at school,we could also leave school an go for lunch in high school,not any more,they keep them caged in.

No wasn't a thing when I was at primary school in 90s/00s and not an option for my DD. Never really heard of it to be honest. Sounds lovely though!

I used to walk myself home for lunch from primary school in the 1980s as my mum was at home with a younger sibling. Proper cooked lunch. Going home wasn't an option for my DC at primary but they liked the school lunches there and wanted to play with friends so not a problem.

With so many parents working and lots living at distance from extended families I expect it's just not feasible for most nowadays.

Nothing our schools do put the best interest of the children at heart. All about ticking boxes to make the Head look good.

it's still an option in my daughters school.

She had a serious accident and had to be on home dinners for 5 months as a result (she wasn't allowed on the playground because of the risk of falling and injurying herself). So every day, I had to go to the office and sign her out and then in again - they were fine with it. During the time, quite a few other parents would do the same just bringing their kids home and returning them again (i suspect a few of her friends started doing it because she got to go home and watch telly for a bit!).

I think its not publicised because its a pain in the butt, but when only a few kids do it now and then, I think the school were happy with it.

The modern lunch break is too short at DD’s school to do home lunch.

I do remember fondly being allowed to leave campus and eat at nearby cafes and fast food places in the later years of secondary school.

It’s still an option here- in Ne Scotland.

We weren't even collected, we made our own way. I remember watching The Sullivans at home then having to run all the way back to school to make it in time.

Definitely was an option in 70’s and early 80’s as my mum sometimes let me have home lunch but we weren’t allowed packed lunch then. Never even asked for my own dc as I had work which 90% of the parents had

Don’t remember it being a thing when I was at primary in the 80’s

When I was at secondary in the 90s y10 upwards were allowed to go out into town at lunch break but DS goes to my old secondary and only 6th formers are allowed to do this now.

Ah we are in south west Scotland, I’m envious that you still have them!

We did this in the 1970s ... I remember a girl called Sarah used to regularly fall asleep at home and not come back 😄

I’ve known a child do it fairly recently - I can’t remember the details but some time after 2011 as that’s when my eldest started school!

I’m in west Scotland and it’s an option here

Ah this has brought back memories. Schooled throughout the 80s and always home lunched. Both primary and secondary were in the same town to me, primary was 2 min walk (no road to cross either!) and secondary a short bus ride with a free pass. I loved it, mum worked part time a couple of evenings so was always at home at dinnertime and it was mostly home cooked light meal, soup or cold meat, potato and veg or salad. There was a few of us that walked together, back and forward, they were good times.