Free School Meals form with Infant School paperwork. I thought they have packed lunches??

[waitingfornaru]

Amongst all the bumph of paperwork for my daughter who starts school in a week or so (don't even know the actual date yet!) there is something for

Free School Meals

I thought children take in packed lunches at infant school? Am I wrong, or is this form for Junior School?

Our school has meals for infants and juniors.

The majority of schools offer school lunches which are paid for weekly, termly or monthly.

For children who are entitled to free school meals they have to be provided whether it be a hot meal or a packed lunch type meal..

Only way is for me to phone the Infant School when term starts I think.

I can't imagine 200 odd infants having to troop over to the Junior School and sit with the older Junior children in the dining hall (if Junior School even has a dining hall). I really should have gone to that parents induction evening

my dd2 will have free school meals and she is 4.. starts reception on monday. and yes the infants will go first at the dinner queue

At dd's school they are brought over in those heated trolley thingies to nursery and infants.

I don;t know any local schools that don;t offer school meals though I'm sure they are a few. Even those without onsite kitchen facilities use outside companies to bring them in.

When my DDs were at primary school there were no cooked meals. The children took a packed lunch each day and those entitled to free meals had a packed lunch provided by an outside catering firm.

I'd imagine the Infant School has a school hall, where the Infants eat their lunch, whether that is packed lunches or hot dinners.

Are you on benefits or get wtc? If not you don't need to worry, if so fill in the form as the school must be providing some meal for children that are entitled to it.

My ds3 5.2 has had a school lunch every day since he started nursery 2 years ago. He loves them.

If a child is entitled to FSM and the school doesn't provide a hot meal, then the school will usually provide a packed lunch for them.

That said, it isn't that unusual for children to have to walk across to another site for lunch. I'd be more miffed at having to provide a lunch for one child but not the other (if I had a junior and an infant at the same school).

olibeansmummy - You aren't even entitled to free school meals on WTC if your family's joint income is over £16,000 pa before tax. Usually Free School Meals are for children whose parents are on Income Support or JSA, although I do know that a few areas in the country do free school meals for all pupils.

When I was little, the FSM was a packed lunch. Our school didn't have hot meal provision. And even in secondary school, there was a FSM choice of either packed lunch or a voucher for the canteen.

If the infants school is cold meals only then it may be that those on FSM get a free 'packed lunc'h - so the sandwiches, fruit and drinks would be brought across to the infants from the juniors at whatever time, rather than taking all the children over.

Children who are entitled to FSM will have to be provided with a meal one way or another, but if you're not entitled then bin the form and don't think any more about it :)

Where I work, Reception finish before or start after lunch during their first week, the second week it's morning + lunch or lunch + afternoon, week 3 full time school!! We do two sittings infants first 1/2 hour then juniors 2nd. Reception are normally escorted to the dining hall very early in the first couple of weeks they do lunch and all sit together. Then they are either escorted by their LSA or a dinner lady from each class - this goes for the whole of the infants and they can sit anywhere they want, packed lunches and school meals all jumbled up together.

If you register now for Free School Meals, your school will receive more money ? the Pupil Premium - from Government funds. Schools can spend this on things like breakfast or after school clubs, tuition in English and Maths or learning assistants to provide extra support. Some schools and Local Authorities will also offer you further benefits if you are registered for Free School Meals, such as help with the cost of school trips. It is up to you whether you want your child to eat the free meal, although this is recommended and can save you about £350 per year. Registering for Free School Meals is confidential, and your children's classmates (and other parents) won't know they are registered. Find out more here www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_200057