Free school lunches for infants - what do you think?

[KateSMumsnet]

Starting this month, in accordance with plans announced last year, all pupils in English primary schools up to the end of Year 2 will be eligible to receive free school meals.

How do you feel about the changes? Is it money well-spent, or could the funds be put to better, more targeted use? Has your school had to make any changes such as building new rooms or using classrooms? Are you glad to have lunches taken care of, or would you prefer to make your child's lunch? Have you seen the new menus, and are you happy with them? Will any of you be opting out?

We'd love to hear what you think - do let us know below. And keep your eyes peeled for a guest post on the nutritional value of school meals, coming later this week.

p.s For those of you still making a pack-up every morning, try out this recipe for the perfect lunch box bars (you can still make them even if your DC are at Uni, we won't tell)

I'd rather have my child benefit back. I am expecting that my milk, egg and nut allergic child will probably be given far too many carbs as a means of feeding him. That said I'm planning to let him try them for a while and see what they come up with.

And yy to free travel to school for 16-18 (and obv more for special schools, SN). We are lucky in London that buses are free for DC up to 18 if still in education.
When the CB was removed seemed to me to be a wasted oppo to provide free school breakfasts as a quidproquo, as a teacher I had seen so many DC arriving for school with no breakfast. However, free lunches for all, pointless.

Actually, the problem I have with school lunches is that they are offering a yoghurt as a healthy option. Have you looked for a yoghurt that doesn't contain sugar?

I mean, we all know that a pudding with custard has sugar in it and can avoid it. But a yoghurt is supposed to be a 'healthy' option.

Ditto Waxy and as Catherine said what 5 year old when faced with a bowl of bullet pears and dried out satsumas are going to opt for one when a pudding is on offer?Particularly if it is sold as "healthy". Said kids are going to think all brownies,cakes and cookies are healthy if the word homemade is in front.School said so so it must be true.

Honestly the Condems have about knowledge re kids as they do living in the real world.Zilch.

I think it's a good initiative.
My DC have always had school dinners for a variety of reasons, mainly that I feel it's better for them (more veg, and possibly hot), is also more convenient (for me in mornings), and is good value for money. Free is even better of course!
I've also worked in schools as a teacher and TA, and agree with Nick Clegg on Radio 4 this morning that it will add to a sense of community and inclusiveness amongst the children, rather than what can easily happen where different social groups are doing different things.

Ours have Muller Lite filled with sweeteners.

1. I don't want my kid eating sweeteners
2. I like them to have full fat 3)they never choose them if pudding us on offer

Last time one of mine had one it was past it's sell by date.They've been a bit reticent since.Still was one step up from the stale cheese and crackers he had that they had to give out when they ran out of the pudding option due to all of ks1 eating it.Really hope older kids on fsm don't end up losing out due to the increase in ks1 uptake.

Oh and our packed lunch kids gave always eaten with the school dinners,not hard.Plenty of social cohesion.

Seagulls it's not flowery language, my DDs school has an award winning cook, some do take pride in their team and work, the fish isn't deep fried it's baked (not frozen but hand crumbed like I would at home), the chips are baked wedges and the tomato ketchup is as I said homemade - it's entirely possible to do, yes most will use flowery language but not all

My friend's DC is wheat and dairy intolerant but lunchtime staff sometimes forget to put food aside for them - so one day had a baked potato only - there wasn't even any fruit left as it had all been given to the earlier sitting. I'd've gone mad.

If our lunches were likely to be like that iam, I wouldn't have a problem with it. However, I know they won't be.

That's a problem though isn't it, it doesn't cost anymore to have the proper set up, it just takes a good management team at the school, one that cares what the kids have for lunch... I'm saying this seriously as I cook/bake every day, hardly ever use convenience, but I would be happy to eat what my dd has at school, the menu is varied, always transparent for parents to see and make cultural suggestions, and is fully inclusive of allergies etc, maybe we did strike lucky but it shouldn't be the case - the argument is whether all children should receive it, and I say yes because by excluding those wealthier children you are creating a divide that is visible even at such a young age, and one that is stigmatising for kids

I think it's a terrible idea, for the reasons many have already stated. Terrible waste of money (would far rather have kept our CB), no trust in quality of school dinners, and mainly because it will be absolute chaos for our tiny school kitchen and hall which also has to provide meals for a nearby school which has no kitchen.

DS2 is eligible but I am keeping him on packed lunches for at least the first half term, as I fully expect it to be a complete shambles.

I can't see why it should cost anymore to cook like that either. It doesn't cost a lot to cook healthy food. Even for a lot of people.

It's the same in hospitals. My Mum was there recently (gallbladder problem). They brought in airplane style croissants for breakfast. Full of butter. For people who need not to be eating fatty foods. Patients and children should be getting the best food possible as far as I'm concerned.

Ours is award winning.

How is crumbed fish,wedges,coookie(or other white carb dessert) and milkshake a healthy meal?

I don't care if said crumbs are made from wheat the chef has hand milled it is still a carb heavy meal without enough fruit and veg in.

If said meal was fish(and plenty of it), wedges,3 or 4 portions of veg(the kids actually ate and didn't tip in the bin at tax payers expense) followed by say a high fruit pudding with limited carb,limited sugar and some dairy then they can say it is healthy.Perhaps it is,ours certainly isn't even though it is made by some award winning catering company.Do we'd actually know who hands out these awards?

Oh and I fail to see how this extortionate measure is going to cut obesity.Another load of cobblers sold to us.Kids will carry on thinking high carbs,limited protein,low fruit /veg and stodgy puddings are fine.They'll run out starving and those already at risk of obesity will simply load up at the sweetshop en route home to chicken nuggets having chucked their single spoonful of chewy sweetcorn and 3 pineapple cubes in the bin.

The only way I see it tackling obesity so where the parents just do a sandwich or soup for tea as they don't subscribe to two hot meals a day.

DS was not keen on dinners and we did a mix of those and packed lunches. Pudding some days was jelly or half an apple/orange (not allowed whole ones). He ate more on packed lunches as no strange combinations and more choice.

I am a TA and my concern is that is only up to the year of Year Two. I see hungry kids scoffing down the free fruit at break in Key Stage One because they have not had breakfast then I see them coming in after the summer holidays looking for it but it has gone to be replaced by a rather pricey Tuck shop that not many of them can afford.
I know it can't be perfect for everyone but I do worry about the kids that have got used to a decent free lunch that suddenly are not allowed it once they return from the summer holidays at the grand old age of 7ish.
My child is veggie and the veggie food I have seen I have not been impressed with- Cheese Wheels?

I agree, it's a complete waste of money, I would much prefer a means tested CB or FSM.

Luckily my kids are not affected as they are in KS2. They have school dinner once a week so I can have a lazy morning and a much more nutritious packed lunch the rest of the week.

High school is where they have free reign, three years in early primary will make no difference at all. Wonder how long it will be before it's scrapped or schools budgets are reduced as it's not longer affordable.

I would rather the money went to move the threshold for FSM and the PP, for all pupils, not just infants.

I also agree that it's very strange that infant school children suddenly need free hot dinners, fruit at break and milk (in reception), but suddenly at juniors their parent magically get the money/time/inclination to provide wonderful nutritional food.

It costs a lot to provide healthy food if you have to build a school kitchen.

We have an obesity problem in this country yes, but it's not caused by the one meal they have five days a week term time

It's caused by the parents

Yes mrs I wondered that too. All thats happened is that the parents have had three years of not having to permanently budget for meals for their children and would possibly struggle even more than before when it's suddenly taken away. That kid could end up in a worse situation than they started in. It would be much better if those who need it could have it all through school.

Excellent idea.

Just back from my first day back at job #1 in an infant school. Airline trays and plastic cutlery have been replaced with plates, bowls and metal cutlery (funded by PTA) 102 out of 120 children had a school dinner today and there were lots of happy faces. Our LA provides meals that meet all OFSTED criteria and the cook said that wastage was considerably less than last year, percentagewise.

I think packed lunches should be banned for all those who don't have a restrictive medical condition - chocolate spread sandwich, milkshake, kit-kat and bag of crisps, anyone? All left sitting on a trolley for 4 hours with no icepack in the lunch box. Parents who say ' s/he wouldn't eat that' drive me nuts - if you don't give them the chance, how will they ever?

Exactly barbarasmum

Oh he won't /doesn't eat those

Drives me nuts

Could you list the Ofsted criteria?