Free school meals - what's happening at your school?

[KatieMumsnet]

Hi there

The BBC is reporting the challenges many schools are facing in the run up to introducing free school meals for infants (in England).

Nearly three thousand schools will have to improve their kitchens, while 1,700 schools currently have no kitchens at all.

We at MNHQ were just wondering what is happening at your kids' school? Is anything changing in the run up to free school meals being introduced in September? Are new buildings having to be added or changes made to where the school meals come from? Will the time your children have lunch or what they eat change? Is the school worried about the change or is it something being positively welcomed? Are you looking forward to the change?

Any thoughts - do let us know.

Thanks

KatieMumsnet

When ds was at infant school the majority of children had school meals. The admin staff were always moaning that they had to chase parents for money before the introduction of electronic payments. I would have thought that the introduction of free meals will make it easier for most schools as they won't have to chase payments .

Yes ours have just gone up too- funny that.

Much as they do now I would imagine and parents will still have the choice of sending packed lunches

Will the meals be compulsory does anyone know?

we were asked if we would want our child to have them and some other questions for the school to try and get an idea of just how many may be suddenly having hot dinners (for eg some parents may want to pay for their KS2 child to have a hot dinner if the KS1 child is getting one automatically so it wouldn't just be the KS1 children increasing in numbers). Our school would need an extension and kitchen I think if it is compulsory they are hot dinners rather than cold dinners that could be eaten in classrooms like lunches currently are.

ours are currently cooked off site, delivered and heated up I think. hall is very small so already more than 1 sitting just for the hot meals (packed lunches eaten in classrooms or outside) so they are going to have to serve food for HOURS to get so many through the hall and consequently impacting on PE time.

Do I want my kids to have them? not entirely sure. part of me thinks yes good idea, part of me thinks actually no I don't want to because they are no doubt going to be given such a small budget for them the good quality meals currently at our school won't be possible and I actually LIKE having all of us eat together in the evening as a family. If the kids eat hot lunch at school then hubby will no doubt buy a hot meal at work and therefore evening meals will become me having dinner and them all having toast or something. Just doesn't work for us but I don't want my children being the only ones sat somewhere else having their lunch.

Not much will change at ds's school - 65% get free school meals already, and most of Reception have been trying the food this year anyway. It's a 60 to 90 intake and a decent caterer. All the parents I know either have their kids on school meals already or will in September.

Our school sent out a questionnaire before break up requesting info from parents regarding uptake from September.

Our school currently do a choice of menu, cooked on site, but will sadly be going down to one menu only from September. Fortunately the meals are pretty good so my two have always had them, as others have said the only difference is I won't be paying now.

Not very much change really - there'll be the same number of bums on seats per sitting, just more of them queuing for hot food so they're getting a second 'serving station'. I think a couple of small rooms are being given over to the kitchen for storage too. School seem to be onto it quite well, so there should be little perceptable change for the children.

I haven't heard anything from my school but just from my own reading I don't think the current cost is relevant. I understand that schools will be paid a set rate for the meals so changing prices now isn't related to what happens in September although obviously older children will have to pay more but doesn't that happen at the start of the new financial year anyway when schools set their budgets?

It is causing us a lot of grief at the moment - and it hasn't even started yet!

We don't have the dining space, nor the kitchen space. We currently have our hot meals prepared by the junior school next door - however their kitchn is not big enough the the extra demands if all children take up the free meals. And we have to be prepared incase they do. At the moment all hot meals sit in the dining room (our main and only hall, also used for PE, assembly, etc) and the packed lunches eat in a classroom, or outside if warm enough. This is not possible for hot meals.

So we have to find the room for a kitchen and extra dining space. But we are a Victorian school, which is already packed in with two classrooms in outdoor "pods."

At the moment we are looking at having to build a roof over the smallish quad to make some dining room and then we will lose either the ICT suite or the library, or chances are both for the extra dining space needed and a kitchen space. Or we have a though of some form of outdoor pod for eating/small kitchen. Or the juniors may have a way of increasing their kitchen capacity - but we will still need extra dining space. There is no real money for this either - so something will have to lose out next year for the funding no doubt.

So, for us at the moment it is not good - and we still have no solution. All those put forward have such big consequences and cons -but we have to do something....

I don't know what, if anything, my school is doing.
But we already have lots of children receiving fsm and the meals are cooked fresh on site.

We have no kitchen and a large intake each year. The HT has written to the DofE, local MP, County Hall, parents etc explaining his objections to the proposal and stating his reluctance to get them introduced.

I don't know what DS's school is doing, they haven't mentioned it.

I do hope they won't make it compulsory because then I'll have to argue with them over allowing DS a packed lunch otherwise he won't eat all day.

I don't know how our school will manage..At the moment there is a waiting list for hot dinners..

Our area did free school meals for all children until a couple of years ago and it was stopped so it won't really be a huge deal for their kitchens. I can't complain, dd will be in year 1 so a few pennies saved for me.

our school has no kitchen but is supplied by an excellent outside provider, everything is locally sourced and home made. However school is very large, 400ish pupils, approx 180are KS1. Reception currently eat in classroom because hall is not large enough. Our only concern is children having time to sit and eat lunch when currently they are only allowed 15mins in and out.

We buy our dinners in from a neighbouring school so not much change there. One thing that has been raised at governors meetings though is the impact on the pupil premium. How will they identify those eligible if all infants are getting free school meals? As I understand it parents voluntarily apply for FSM and this triggers the pupil premium payment.

My kids' school doesn't have a kitchen but currently has food delivered from another kitchen which says it will cope with increased demands at both schools.
All the appropriate families have been contacted.
Dietary restrictions are catered for very well and that will continue.
The school is making great efforts to ensure that all of those who qualify for FSM are registered. And those who will be in reception next year.
It will not be compulsory.

We're a large infant school. We were asked at parents evening if we would take up the school dinners if offered.
I'm not sure how they are going to manage if all children want hot dinners at the moment hot dinners use the (small) hall and packed lunches eat in their classes. When we have a whole school Christmas meal they do it in shifts starting at 11am and finishes at 2pm. If they had to do that everyday I don't know when they would schedule PE for everyone plus assemblies...

No mention of this from dd2's school yet.

I don't think we'll be taking them up on it unless they raise their game from current provision; my older two are both vegetarian & ended up with cheesything + chipsbutnotcalledchips + cakeythingwithcustard Every. Single. Day. until dh & I wised up to this & started making them packed lunches.

OTOH, if they do somehow start making fabulous lunches, we'll want to sign the two in Juniors up for them as well - & given that there's nowhere to put the kitchen even to cater for the Infants, & not enough dining space for even the Infants to all queue for then eat a tray of food, I just can't see the system coping.

I'd like to be proven wrong, though. I've had 3 years of making pack ups & it'd be lovely not to have to bother!

Ours too - are you in Co Durham mrz?

Some of our parents when told the price would increase from £1.80 to £1.95 after Easter said 'Oh that'll be to cover the cost of the little ones getting them free in September'.

I explained that no, that wasn't the case. They've been discounted since the pilot ended - started at £1.50 then increased to £1.80 now going up to £1.95. There will be a few dropping back to packed lunch after Easter I expect.

Sorry - that was a reply to mrz comment from the previous page.

not heard a thing at all. the ht is leaving though so there have been other priorities on the governors minds' recently.