Active discussions

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

School Dinners or Packed Lunch?

57 replies

Pavlov · 10/05/2010 10:52

What is the norm for reception school children, when they first start?

DD really wants a lunch box to take with her!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
herbgarden · 10/05/2010 21:27

This has been on my mind too - glad I'm not the only one !...

A lady at pre-school who has older dc's at the school said her dc was the only one on hot lunches. DS would never want to go into the school canteen if all his little friends were having packed lunches...I might do a survey of who is doing what before we start. DS has been used to nursery food and the thought of having to cook tea after school is not great coupled with packing up lunch every day...but want him to do what he wants. He loves sandwiches so I think I know what he'll want to do !

RollaCoasta · 10/05/2010 21:28

Nice to have the choice.

SE13Mummy · 10/05/2010 21:31

A lot varies from school to school so when you go to your next session I'd make sure you ask the following:

  • how many children in Reception have school dinner?
  • how much is school dinner? (We pay £1.40 in SE London)
  • what are the arrangements for seating i.e. do packed lunches & school dinners sit together (they often do from Y1+ but as Reception are usually first into dinner the staff may fill a block with sandwich eaters and another with school dinner eaters)
  • how much flexibility is there i.e. can children have a mixture of PL and SD within a week or do you have to commit to a whole week at a time?
  • which company provides the catering and how often are menus sent home?
  • when will you and DD be able to come and try out a meal together?
  • do the mealtime supervisors give out 'my plate is clean/I've tried a new food' stickers to school dinner eaters (cue lots of disgruntled 4 year olds with packed lunch and no sticker IME).

I'd avoid taking the opinions of other parents too seriously re: the taste of the school dinner unless they have actually eaten one recently - at my school they are tasty (I teach there and often have a school meal, mine costs more than £1.40). Try to ensure that the answers you get are specific to Reception; it doesn't matter if 50% of KS2 children have school dinner as your DD won't be in KS2 for some time!

My DD wanted a packed lunch box when she started Reception last year; we got her one for taking on school trips but she has school dinners the rest of the time.

zapostrophe · 10/05/2010 21:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

weathershore · 10/05/2010 22:48

Well one of my charges has a school meal and loves them. However his younger sister has a pac lunch as she has severe food allergies and its just worth the risk. I make the lunches as varied as possible she does get a a couple of crisps in a small pot once a week but thats it when it comes to the unhealthy stuff. I am lucky in that she will eat anything.
In my last job the school introduced school meals while charge was in year 4 now he had a dairy allergy and it was done in such a way that you could mix and match the days you wanted a school meal. However he would come home moaning that the food was bland . Was cooked in the midlands chilled brought down to a core school rehated delieverd and sat waiting for the children for over an hour. So mum brought a posh flask and i would cook something before school such as a curry roast pasta and he could still have a hot lunch,

Original poster
Pavlov · 11/05/2010 07:16

se13mummy oh i like that list thank you! hullababy i like the sound of all of those!

herbgarden i cook food in the evening anyway. DS is not at nursery yet (being weaned) and I would want them both to eat their tea together. DH had said we could not cook her a hot meal, but i like cooking her hot food, and we often eat together in the evenings. That will change when I am at work again, sometimes we will eat together, sometimes not, so sarnies for tea are ok then, but mostly, we will eat hot meals I think.

I had a hot meal at school and a hot meal when I got home, and DD has that now even though she has a hot meal at lunch time at pre-school. is that not normal?

OP posts:
hackneyLass · 11/05/2010 15:51

My son goes to school in Hackney which is often derided. But his lunch menu today was:

  • Chicken and chervil casserole with boiled new potatoes and seasonal vegetables
  • Cheese and chive pastries with boiled new potatoes and seasonal vegetables
  • Cous cous and vegetable tagine with seasonal vegetables
  • Fresh bread & salad
  • Farmhouse fruit cake, fresh fruit, organic fruit yoghurt

Better than what I had for my lunch today. Fresh bread every day - can you believe it! And for £8 a week!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page