School Breakfast/After School Clubs cut?

[Hammy02]

On the news this morning it was mooted that breakfast/after school clubs are to be cut. I didn't think they were funded by the schools themselves anyway so WTF? As the news was live, I was amazed to see kids there at 7:30am. Is this normal? I must be out of touch.

I think ours starts that early. But since they offer them crap for breakfast my children will never attend. So I don't really care of they close them.

However, I agree about funding. Didn't know the school/LEA was funding it. Maybe they fund it for people on benefits, just as they do the (crap) lunches?

We've just had a letter home saying that govt subsidy (not clear whether LEA or central govt) for our extended schools provision will be cut and that the fees will more than double from January, ie. after-school club will go up from £3 a day to £7.50.

Fair enough on one level, and £7.50 for 2.5 hours childcare is still very reasonable in the great scheme of things, but it's a MASSIVE increase (school is in a very deprived area). There's a throwaway line in the letter about supporting families on low incomes to access the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit, but it will be a massive blow to lots of families.

Thank God and about time.

How any non working parent ever had the gall to send their child to a free breakfast club instead of feeding them themselves always annoyed me immensely.

Of course, this doesn't include people who had to use them once in a while for appointments etc etc.

I wonder what will happen to the one here. Is on the same premises as the school but separately run. Currently charges about £3.50 for breakfast club and £7 for after school club until 6pm. Also has holiday care for about £17 a day.

This area isn't deprived at all and probably people could afford more. But like most things, once you've got used to a certain thing, it is hard when it changes.

I don't think they are free in most places. I have only used them occasionally as a mostly non working parent when I have been working and have always paid.

Sorry, I was of course referring to the free ones, which I am sure will be one of the first cuts to be made.

I've not come across free ones either, I think Bubble's post is a bit harsh.

Most of them are trying to strike a balance between offering (paid for) childcare to enable people to get to work at a time compatible with most jobs but also offering an opportunity for a decent breakfast at a low cost to kids whose families for whatever reason would otherwise not provide one for them.

The latter are the ones who will miss out the most.

"but also offering an opportunity for a decent breakfast at a low cost "

Oh surely you jest.

I'm not sure I agree that subsidizing these things so already disadvantaged children can be pumped full of cheap sugar, refined carbs, and saturated fats before a day of a school is actually doing them an favours.

Where is Jamie when you need him?

It may seem unbelievable to you, but I can assure you that there are children in the UK today who go to school hungry and don't get fed when they come home. Or who have to scavenge whatever food they can find in the kitchen, which may not be much if the adults have been on a bender. Some of the more enterprising ones may nick it fromthe shops. Seriously, my dc's old primary school had a gardening project which included training a blackberry bush up one of the fences. Certain kids used to fight each other for them, once they were vaguely ripe.

A bowl full of cereal and milk, however non-organic and non-wholemeal, and a few pieces of toast is absolutely doing these kids a favour, however much of a cats' bum mouth middle-class mums might like to pull about it. For some kids it's not wholesome food vs junk food, it's food vs no food.

Get some perspective.

Good post AgonyBeetle

Absolutely right AgonyBeetle.

TBH if if the price of after school clubs trebled they'd still be a lot cheaper than childcare so I think the Government is justified in doing this.

Iagree with Agonybeetle regarding breakfast clubs I think its really important that children and adults are well fed if they are going to work well during the day.

If you want to argue that any food is better than no food, that's one thing.

But phrases like "decent breakfast" and "well fed" do no apply to our breakfast club and I'm inclined to doubt that they apply elsewhere.

And, furthermore, I'm not sure I agree with the argument that any food is better than no food. There are a lot of studies that indicate what you eat as a child has a significant impact on your health in later life -- including but not limited to diabetes.

For example:
www.ucalgary.ca/news/january2009/Reimer-diet
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20640941
www.diseaseproof.com/archives/asthma-childhood-diet-linked-to-asthma-prevalence-adult-diet-linked-to-asthma-severity.html

Feeding crap to already disadvantaged children is a bad thing. Feed them well, and I take your point. But, I have yet to run across a state run breakfast club who gives a toss about nutrition.

ours has a breakfast club but they don't serve breakfast

I did ask why it was called the breakfast club then and they said because it covered 'breakfast time'

Strix, genuinely interested, what is your idea of a good breakfast? What would you like to see them serve?

Ours is only one day a week so seems not much use for working parents, but what I have noticed is a few of the Dads who would normally leave the house too early do take their chance at bringing the DCs in on a Friday. Other parents find that if one morning they can be super-early for work, they gain back some goodwill for the inevitable time off with children.
Ours is an affluent(ish) area, but they claim we are only charged for the food. since when did 2 bowls of cocopops cost £3.50??

What do they serve at breakfast club Strix? Ours has fruit, yoghurt, cereals (not Coco Pops but "basic" varieties) crumpets/toast/raisin toast, some days they make pancakes. I am pretty happy with the variety.

After school club on the other hand serve a snack. Yesterdays snack was oven chips. Not sure about that tbh!

So what happened to all this "wrap around care" to help parents get back into work with an affordabale childcare solution?

As for "good" breafast, yes a lot of them are probably not great but I doubt it would be any worse than what a lot of children were getting at home. I am sure some of you can get very judgy about it but that doesn't actually achieve anything does it?

As for whoever is wittering on about sugar in early life, you were addressing someone who said that some kids do not get fed before or after school, I am sure that that would lead to a pretty decent case of malnutrition in itself and have serious long term effects too. In a case like that then something is most definitly better than nothing .

Honestly it is fools like you lot on this thread who sit in judgement over normal ordinary people sniffing and pulling cats bums faces that cause more problems for parents and children in terms of social divide than anything else. We are almost all doing our best and behaving like you are on this thread is, frankly, disgusting we are talking about schools, we are not in a school yard.

sadly I presume it is just one more cut that has to be made, and although a good idea, tbh I would rather this was cut than actual education.

enough of this 'cuts that have to be made'. A trillion to the bankers - did that gift have to be made. The government have won the argument if you think cuts are inevitable. That means you won't fight back. That would be extremely foolish.

well cuts do have to be made, but no one wants to be affected.

you old tory 2 shoes who would have guessed.

yet another service aimed at vulnerable children slashed. they really should be ashamaed of themselves, especially after announcing billions to go into extra help for more 'gifted' children.