Free school meals for all infant children

[Scarletbanner]

What do you think? I think it's a great idea.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24132416

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

It will benefit alot of kids. It will also make life difficult and miserable for alot of kids. Raise the FSM threshold and then those who it will benefit will be able to get it. And everyone else can feed their child how they want to within the stipulations given on school web sites

[insancerre]

When my dc had school dinners we always had another hot meal in the evening.
I have on occassion eaten 2 hot meals a day too, and I'm a size 10.
I think the doubters should have a look here
the link describes Maslow's Hierarchy of needs
children need to have their basic needs met before they can reach their full potential
breakfast clubs at school are not just there so that parents can goto work earlier
the idea behind them is to make sure that children have had something to eat and drink before they start their school day- maslow again
the idea of free school meals is not really about families or budgets, it's aimed at individual children and helping them reach their full potential by ensuring they all ahve their basic needs met

[TSSDNCOP]

Chus interesting point. In the case of the DC they eat everything at school maybe herd mentality, maybe because teachers eating too. No less fussy at home

[insancerre]

I'd love to know if there's any evidence from the trials as to whether fussy eaters become less fussy when presented with 'this or nothing'. That would be interesting to know.
don't know about the trials but in my experience of being a nursery teacher, yes children do become less fussy when presented with 'this or nothing'

[lljkk]

My other DC aren't fussy because as toddlers we didn't allow them to eat anything else (even into the next day, they had to finish food from the night before kind of thing before they could have anything else but water). So the older 3 eat almost anything veg and 2 of them always loved fruit, too.

The youngest I was kind to & didn't force the issue. Consider it an experiment. And he is very fussy. Never took to fruit. Happily picks out fruit for others to fight over eat.

So yeah, Eat This or Nothing works. And the alternative encourages huge fussiness. But I had to be quite harsh about it. Nothing to be proud of??

[perplexedpirate]

What's married tax allowance, Retropear?
I'm married and I don't get it.

[Hassled]

I agree that raising the FSM threshold for all families from the current £16,190 would have far more of a positive impact.

And I certainly don't think families like mine, for example (although I don't have children that age), who are relatively comfortable and who don't struggle to fund the cost of packed lunches, should be given this perk. We don't need it - focus instead on the families with older children who may earn slightly more than the £16K but who could really do with it.

[Bonsoir]

LaurieFairieCake - school meals aren't free in France. They are means tested, however, so there are often several possible price points for the same meal. Canteens are not large enough to feed all DC and DC with one SAHP are often required to go home for lunch.

[Meglet]

The DC's school kitchen is able to deal with allergies. They just need confirmation from the peadiatric allergy team so they can adjust their menu. Every term they send me a personalised menu for DS with substitutes for any food he is allergic to (he'll eat anything as long as he's not allergic to it). There is a little rogues gallery of photos in the serving hatch with names and details of allergies.

However I'm not sure how it would work for severe allergies.

[tethersend]

I just posted on the other thread-

The borough I live in (Tower hamlets) is trialling this for two years for reception and Y1 children only. I believe Southwark and Newham give free meals to all primary school pupils.

I'm very much in favour of this. And not just because DD is getting a free meal every day. I think schools should get enough funding to feed all of their children, regardless of income.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

So basically anyone who suspected an intolerance and was conducting trials under their own steam would still be screwed as there was no drs letter?

[misdee]

confirmation from paed allergy team? who are already overstretched and running 6-9months late with their appointments, to ask them to write another letter? or will the genral after appointment letter do? the one which we are still waiting for 4months after her appointment?

I will still rather pack dd4 own lunch everyday, then if I accidently almost kill her, at least then no one else is responsible for messing up.

[siblingrevelry]

I have 2 children in KS1, and saving that amount of money would make a massive difference to our struggling household.

However, school lunches (at our otherwise excellent school) are crap. I have the menu before me (which they send out periodically to tempt the packed lunch kids):

Example lunches are:

Spicy wedge bake with mince
Fish fingers & ketchup (worded as such so ketchup sounds like a veg accompaniment)
Beany tomato pasta bake
Sliced beef in gravy
Pizza (two days)

Every day there are 2 choices, plus 2 choices of pud (ice cream/muller yoghurt-the artificially sweetened kind-chocolate cracknell/cookie/chocolate whip etc)

Initially these may sound healthy enough, but they are all 'open a box/packet, full of salt & sugar processed' junk. Sliced beef in gravy comes to the school as exactly that. There is no smiling dinner lady sawing off slices from a lovely, freshly cooked beef joint. She's re-heating the stuff that was pre-sliced and covered in gloop 2 years ago in the factory.

The obesity crisis won't be helped by feeding our kids more processed foods. This is why America has such a weight issue (check out most American recipes for home cooked food and they involve adding jars or packets of sauces etc). We need to stop thinking that when it comes to kids all fat and all carbs are good.

Unfortunately, school meals are too reliant on shipped in, pre-packaged food, so we'll have to be the minority and risk the wrath of my kids being singled out as the only packed lunch kids (they nag to go on hot dinners and it's no wonder-their mates eat smiley faces/waffles and wedges every day for lunch. Gets round the 'chips only once a week' ruling!)

We need to stop thinking of it as healthy just because it's hot.

[wheredidiputit]

Are they going to fund putting kitchens back into school which they removed when they did away with school meals in the 80/90's. As the only way to get better quality healthier food in for it to be prepared on site and fresh everyday. Not ready made meals.

[Perihelion]

The last time I heard about the idea for free school meals for all was in 2002, when the Bill put forward by Tommy Sherridan's Scottish Socialist Worker Party, to the Scottish Parliment was rejected by Labour, Tories and Lib Dems.
If the food was any good I'd be all for it, for all school children. The shite served at DD's school when the parents were invited to try the dinners, made me give her packed lunches.
I'm totally cynical, but I think this is a sop to the "squeezed middle", but actually an incentive/bonus to the catering companies. As well as not thought through....so free school meals for infants, in primary schools already bursting at the seams and due to get even more cramped in the next few years...quality catering or even more shipped in shite?

[exoticfruits]

Although I think it a great idea, I think it is badly thought out. The food has to be good, it needs to be cooked on the premises - a lot will fail on both counts. Many simply haven't got room to all sit down.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

And what about those who have a kid in reception and a kid in year three? Ones going to get a hot meal the other either has to pay for it (to ensure they both get one) or piss about later with two different meals. My dds wouldn't eat two hot or two heavy main meals so I'd have to do a cold tea for one and a main meal for one and a snack tea for the other which would be a bloody PITA.

[hamptonedge]

It must depend on the area you live in, here in the South meals are cooked from scratch daily, 2 x roasts a week, pizza, fish on Fridays with potato wedges, no chips and no fryers in the kitchens. Homemade cake or biscuits for dessert. Salad and fresh bread always available as extras. Does mean that some children overload on carbs on pizza day as they choose bread as well but all in all balanced meals for £2 per day. No, I am not a school cook!

[misdee]

www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/p/pcm.pdf

this is the menu on offer to a lot of schools in herts.

[siblingrevelry]

Misdee this proves my point. All processed, re-formed meat of some kind, or else stodgy food which has been mass produced and contains too much salt/sugar/preservatives.

And pudding every day? Whoever decided this was healthy for children is crazy. It's not good to associate a meal as finished once you've had something sweet.

[misdee]

not great is it? as I said, dd4 (reception) has a packed lunch and will continue to do so. she has multiple allergies.

dd2 has school dinners from that menu just because I hate actually making packed lunches.

dd1 has school lunch at secondary school. its costs more, I have no idea what is being served, and just hope she makes a good choice. she often opts for meal of the day option as opposed to the fast food option, so hopefully its ok.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

I saw that menu before. The mum was surprised and annoyed the kid chose the cold food.

It's an awful menu. If that was rolled out for free to everyone I'd still say no thanks

[misdee]

yes, that was my sister a child in dd4 class choose the cold option today when her mum was there and her mum said no, have the hot food. i almost asked her if she was a mumsnetter and had read the cold food thread

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

:o

My dd hated the vegetables. At home she eats load of them but can't stand mushy veg.

She likes actual food :o

[ipadquietly]

Marvellous idea. Especially as our FSM are sandwich lunches that the school has to source.

Just the ticket when vital CPD about the new curriculum is costing the school £90 for a 3 hour morning session. Perhaps the £600K money could have been better spent on government funded training for all the curriculum changes for primary and secondary teachers?

Words fail me.