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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

How much lunch money do you give dc?

28 replies

Contessa101 · 19/12/2010 11:02

I was just wondering how much lunch money I will need to give dc when at Secondary school next year. I know planning ahead a little, but I just have no idea of what is a reasonable amount.
Just wanted to know how much other children receive and if packed lunches are common?

OP posts:
LadyGlencoraPalliser · 19/12/2010 11:31

DD1 has a school lunch a couple of times a week, packed lunches the other days. I normally give her £2.50, although £2 would probably be adequate.

seeker · 19/12/2010 11:32

I give my dd 10 pounds at the beginning of the week. Sometimes it lasts, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on what she has, and whether she remembers to grab an apple or something for break before she leaves in the morning, and whether she has a packed lunch any day because of lunchtime clubs.

Greenshadow · 19/12/2010 11:47

Similar to LGP - we give the 2 DSs £2.50 a couple of days a week and packed lunches on other days. Well actually we give them £5 for the 2 days, then they can learn to budget and possibly spend more one day, then find they don't have so much on day 2.
With that though they can only buy a main course and cheap dessert/snack. Money doesn't go far on school lunched these days.

roisin · 19/12/2010 13:19

We give them £10 per week at the start of the week and it's up to them to manage it. (They never have packed lunches.)

Generally they can get a fairly decent main meal for £1.60 at our place. The extras which eat up the money are drinks and desserts.

They've learned that to drink water (cos it's free) and they generally save up their extras to buy doughnuts or pasties at Greggs on the way home!

zandy · 19/12/2010 13:46

Ours have a fingerprint payment system, so you top up an account, and they pay by fingerprint recognition at the till. The till is limited to a maximum spend of (approx.) £4 per day per pupil, this covers lunch and snacktimes.
Works very well, and they will let the child have one meal 'on tick' if their money runs out, but they have to top up the next day.

bruffin · 19/12/2010 15:04

We have a card system which I think works out at £2 a day. Parents can give their dcs either free choice (they can spend it all on chips if they want) or meal of the day which is basically a hot meal and desert.

magentadreamer · 19/12/2010 15:25

My DD gets £2.50 a day, which covers everything she needs in school and a couple of trips a week to the Bakery next door to school as well!

deaddei · 19/12/2010 16:49

We have a fingerprint system but mine take packed lunches they make themselve(deep joy)
I stick a tenner a term on the system for hot chocolates or snacks.

cat64 · 19/12/2010 18:05

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roisin · 19/12/2010 19:24

I think one of the good things is giving them the chance to learn to budget. We give the boys their money at the start of the week and then it's up to them how they use it.

Quite often they will choose to be quite frugal and then have a bit of spare cash at the end of the week to spend on other things.

HecTheHallsWithBoughsOfHolly · 19/12/2010 19:27

I load £100 onto his cashless system (thumbprint). Maximum he can use is £3 a day. I keep tabs on it by getting printouts every so often of what he's had and what his balance is and load on another £100 when it gets to about £20

Original poster
Contessa101 · 20/12/2010 13:36

Thanks for all your replies, its been helpful

I like the idea of the finger print and card system, although not all our selected schools have these systems in place. I would like to keep an eye on what dc is eating, a packed lunch seems a good idea; the long queues of school children outside fried chicken and chips shops after school is a concern of mine.

OP posts:
GetOrfMoiLand · 20/12/2010 13:41

I give DD £20 a week in her account, that is £2.50 lunch and £1.50 bus money every day.

It's up to her to keep tabs on it, if she spends it all on a CD and eats an apple at lunch every day for a week, that's up to her.

sleighBELLasringing · 20/12/2010 14:05

£2 per day for DS1 for his canteen.

At the school where I work they use the thumb print system, limit is £4 per day.

allluckedout · 20/12/2010 14:08

ds1's school has the debit card system, so i put £20 on a week but there are no limits set and hes usually run out of money before friday.
I wish they wouldn;t have break time tuck shops as what is the point of the school signing up to the healthy eating campaign and then selling hot dogs and sausage rolls at break time?

GetOrfMoiLand · 20/12/2010 14:27

If dd runs out of money, it's tough, she will get no more from me.

Frankly though I am not too bothered if she eats sausage and chips for lunch, we eat pretty healthily at home anyway.

I think it is a bit pointless to try and police what teenagers eat. At least they are not buying fags with the money.

Maisiethemorningsidecat · 20/12/2010 14:35

Packed lunches most of the week, and £3 once a week for a takeaway lunch (usually Boots or M&S) from the shops. If he did decide to have chips on that day I wouldn't be too fussed as it's only once a week - but he hasn't yet

sleighBELLasringing · 20/12/2010 14:36

We too always eat healthy at home. However at DS1's school they only have chips about once every 6 weeks anyway. If there is curry and rice on or meatballs/spaghetti he will go for that otherwise he has a sandwich.

I had a mum ring the secondary school where I work and said that the teachers needed to sit down with her Yr9 child to make sure she didn't just eat brownies/traybakes at lunchtime (the twin to this girl had told mum what she had been eating). I told her not to be so ridiculous and in secondary schools they have to make their own informed choices.

cat64 · 20/12/2010 17:38

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mummytime · 20/12/2010 18:02

The cashless system certainly teachers my kids to budget, you can set an upper limit, but they also have to keep track of how much is left and ask me to top it up.

GrimmaTheNome · 20/12/2010 18:09

My DDs school has a cashless system. I think they aren't allowed to spend more than £3. The 'meal deals' are I think £2.10.

DD has packed lunches on any days when she has a club because the queues can be too long, and on Friday when there's too much fish on the menu Grin

Send them with fruit from home anyway.

roisin · 20/12/2010 19:44

Oh another top tip. My boys both have £5 and 2x 20p in a sealed envelope in a secret pocket in their bags. Then if they do happen to lose their wallet they don't starve and can still get home on the bus without having to go begging to the school office.

ds1 has never needed his (in 2.5 yrs). ds2 used his the other week (first term) ... Hmm

This time he got it gratis, next time it comes out of pocket money.

GrimmaTheNome · 20/12/2010 20:20

My DD has an emergency tenner (for transport if there was a problem with the bus) - doesn't work for lunch though, the cashless system is literally cashless, its card or nowt she reckons.

She's had a couple of lunches consisting of her fruit and a bag of crisps donated by a friend. She survived! Grin

GetOrfMoiLand · 20/12/2010 22:45

I wonder how much these completely unnecessary cashless systems cost schools.

I know when I worked for a large company it cost £££ to install one. I imagine it must cost schools quite a bit.

Same as lousy and incredibly overpriced registration software.

Companies see schools and think £££.

Maisiethemorningsidecat · 21/12/2010 10:53

I like the cashless systems - no chance of money getting lost or stolen. Obviously the schools think they are worth the expense, whatever that may be. Probably more effective than staff spending time sorting out problems with cash.