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Original poster

School dinners - tiny portion sizes

207 replies

QueenStarlight · 01/10/2015 17:42

Can anyone advise what to do? My son and daughter attend different primary schools. Both say that they are hungry at dinner time after their dinners and that they only get a toddler size portion.

They have good breakfasts. A huge bowl of porridge or Weetabix (4 biscuits each) followed by yoghurt with lots of nuts and then a piece of fruit. Dinner is fairly late-ish but they get a snack when they get in from school.

Both are of athletic build.

I have never asked if they have enough, they both independently moan about it. I have spoken to the office of my daughter's school who have confirmed she finishes everything on her plate. I know my ds does as he always has.

I could send them in with an additional packed lunch but that kids of defeats the objective of school dinners (1 I pay for, 1 I don't).

Both offices have said there is bread, but this appears to be rationed also according to my children (as other kids who get it then don't eat their dinner).

I have no idea what to do next.

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shebird · 03/10/2015 12:54

I would love to know the nutritional content on the actual 'lunch' element of a school dinner. Not the chefy looking stuff in the glossy promo material but an actual meal that has been cooked off site blast chilled, stored and reheated at school.

HeisInfuriating · 03/10/2015 13:12

I had a row with our caterers supplying the borough.

DD is milk intolerant. Can't have the pudding or the custard (daily it's every bloody day)

My row went something like this

What alternative pudding will you provide?
Fruit.
But that's free to all children regardless of allergy.
Fruit.
So how will you give DD the appropriate nutrition that is available to all children?
Fruit
Why do you provide a pudding?
All our food is carefully planned with a nutritionist.
So how will you replace the nutrition my DD is missing out on by not being able to eat the pudding?
Fruit.

Confused It's all bullshit. It isn't monitored, it isn't properly assessed. They cannot properly deal with allergies. They don't care.

DS has school meals because they are free KS1.

DD usually takes a jacket spud in a hot flask which is all they ever bloody gave her on school dinners for her milk allergy. Saves me £2 a day for the same food.

Gileswithachainsaw · 03/10/2015 13:53

I would love to know the nutritional content on the actual 'lunch' element of a school dinner. Not the chefy looking stuff in the glossy promo material but an actual meal that has been cooked off site blast chilled, stored and reheated at school

me too. Dds school have the food brought in from an.outside company. she used to report teh veg as being soggy and swimming water.

can't be much left in them less when they don't eat them as being soggy and mushy

shebird · 03/10/2015 16:25

Thank you Mrz

I understand that the food is subject to strict regulations in terms of what they can serve. What I would like to know more about is the actual quality of the food and nutritional value of the food once it has been cooked offsite,stored and reheated as it is at our school . I have seen the school dinners at my DCs school and other than the weekly roasts, I think the quality of some dishes is questionable. I would be more than happy to forgo the pudding in favour of a better quality main meal.

Gileswithachainsaw · 03/10/2015 16:29

Yes I was about to say that nine if that explains how much is lost through keeping it warm or iver cooking as a result of being kept warm. or the make up of the weird combos left to the last sittings. how rice jacket potato and sweetcorn for instance follows the criteria

mrz · 03/10/2015 17:16

School food is also subject to strict guidance for nutritional content so if you don't think what your child receives matches those expectations you are free to question it.

Gileswithachainsaw · 03/10/2015 17:26

But with regards to external suppliers you can question all you want. if there is no cooking equipment in a school then having it pre cooked and kept warm for however long between its arrival and it being served and kept hot there is no other way to do it. you could have the finest organic veg known to man its still going to be nutrition less mush by lunch time.

mrz · 03/10/2015 17:59

Regardless of the supplier they are expected to meet the same standards. They cant simply say it's good enough

coolaschmoola · 04/10/2015 01:04

I can't be the only person amazed that anyone survived the 80's without starving to death...

Three meals a day and that was it. A few sweets at the weekend, the odd treat every now and then, but essentially three squares done.

Breakfast was a bowl of cereal (two weetabix max) or Ready Brek in the winter. School dinners were a protein, a carb, two veg, a pudding. Tea was usually a sandwich, piece of fruit and a yoghurt, soup and bread, or beans on toast. Glass of milk before bed, job done.

The only place we had 'snack' was at nursery school where we had a piece of rusk, a slice of apple and some milk - milk provided by parents thanks to the milk snatcher.

Our house wasn't unusual in this. If we asked for good we were told to wait until the next meal. No one starved.

We were very active too. Training four days a week for trampolining, swimming lessons, horse riding, ice skating.... We did a physical activity every day of the week. The rest of the time we were out playing on bikes, roller skates etc.

I just don't understand how children now need so much more food twice as often. Why do they now seem to need breakfast, snack, two course lunch, after school snack, dinner, supper?

What has changed? Apart from the massive rise in childhood obesity and increased sedentary lifestyles....

nooka · 04/10/2015 02:35

I went to school in the 70s/80s and remember infant and junior school dinners being absolutely horrible, supervised by bullying dinner ladies and frankly just a nasty experience. Secondary school dinners were mostly chips!

shebird · 04/10/2015 12:10

I agree coolaschmoola
We also managed to do all of this without any guidance or interference from the state or media. How did we manage Grin

mrz · 04/10/2015 14:18

My 80s experience very different 2 sometimes 3 cooked meals a day (same for most families) full fat milk and cereal before bed.

Artandco · 04/10/2015 14:27

My mother and grandmother said growing up they had loads of meals. Just weren't called snacks. Breakfast (porridge,eggs), elevenses ( tea and biscuits), lunch ( cooked meal), afternoon tea ( sandwich, cake and tea at 4pm), dinner ( lighter Cooked meal), supper (glass milk and small honey sandwich)

Washediris · 04/10/2015 14:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

derxa · 04/10/2015 19:11

This has reminded me of a breakfast my mother made to make sure we had eggs. She whipped up raw eggs and sugar then poured lemonade into it. I always got up late and didn't have time to eat the farmhouse breakfast of porridge and eggs and bacon. I had massive school dinners then when we got home my brother and I would have a giant sandwich then dinner.
We were very active people though.

Autumnsky · 05/10/2015 14:36

I didn't read all the post, but I think school dinner usually is enough till Y5&6. DS1 felt school dinner was not eough in Y5&6, sometimes he came out of school very hungry. But we will have afternoon snack once we were back at house, so it didn't matter so much. There was one occasion, he came out and immediate asked if I had got something he can eat, as he only had 1 piece of very thin ham and a few patatoes and he was starving. I was so glad that he started to have proper portion lunch in secondary school.

For morning, I would suggest OP to cook egg in the morning as well. As it is quite simple to cook , just a few minutes to do it, but it last longer than Weetbix. DS2(7Y old) only have a piece of toast, an egg, half banana and a cup of milk for breakfast. These seems fine for him.

Stompylongnose · 05/10/2015 18:03

OP I have a 9 year old son who is capable of making his own packed lunch for at least a couple of years. If you lack time in the morning/previous evening have your kids do it.
My son is y5 and finds the portions small (he has allergies so no dessert for him) but wants to go out to play so I suspect he wolfs down his food as fast as possible which probably contributes to him not feeling full.

chompybot · 07/10/2015 10:10

OP, to reassure you, my children would be able to eat 4 weetabix.
They usually have two bowls of cereal in the morning, maybe a couple of weetabix or some shreddies and then another bowl. (But they wouldn't have anything else as well as that). At the weekend if I make waffles DD will eat 3 of them with fruit on top - even I can't manage that....
My kids are normal size they are not really skinny but not overweight. People tell me DD is skinny but I think she is just fine (she has to have the extra slim fit jeans, as regular kids jeans are too baggy round the waist and bum - does that count as normal in MN terms?...)

I give them a piece of fruit to have mid-morning if they are hungry.

They also complain about the portion sizes of the school dinners, particularly my 9 year old. They are ravenous when they come out of school. For example, DD will get given half a small jacket potato. Even my 3 year old could eat a whole one! I spoke to the school and they said they are allowed to get extra bread or salad if they are still hungry. But sometimes even if the school agree one thing you find the dinner staff say a different thing to the children...

On the puddings, yes they do get puddings at school but I tried some (when volunteering at school) and it was really not that sweet so I think they have rules how much sugar they can put in.

I think children do burn up a lot of energy at playtimes, when I occasionally walk past the playground I see DS running round like a mad thing or on the climbing frame, and the girls are often playing skipping games, they also have a dancing corner.

On the other hand, I am aware that this year how many children in DD's class are getting overweight - maybe its to do with their age, more sedentary lifestyle, more junk food. Quite a few have big tummies etc, I think its a shame.

But its obvious this is not the issue with the OPs kids, they sound like they have a good healthy diet and are active.

LittleMissGreen · 07/10/2015 11:03

Do you think that older children should pay more than reception pupils shebird?
They do at our school - foundation phase is cheaper than KS2. (We are in Wales so don't have free school meals)

shebird · 07/10/2015 11:14

I would rather they dropped the daily pudding in favour of a better quality main meal with a slightly larger portion for older DCs if they want it. What's healthy about filling up on bread and pudding?

dietcokeisgreat · 07/10/2015 13:13

I do sympathise with you op. What is right for most isn't necessary for all. I think the key here is whether your kids are healthy. Are they overweight? Do other people in e family have big appetites. It sounds like you try really hard to give healthy options and they are active kids.

My ds is 4, consistently between 2nd-9th centile. He eats massively more than most of his friends. He will much up two weetabix with raisins, fromage frais and some fruit for brekkie regularly. Always has snacks mid morning and afternoon. School reports usually eats all his lunch and he is a monster for always choosing the crumble/cake/ice cream/ similar option rather than fruit ! Eats dinner with us well too.

I would just check they are healthy weights for height/ age, explain that is how much lunch you get and provide more at other times.