Child Benefit and School Meals

[flashy]

and another thing, is this 'scheme' going to GUARANTEE each child a school meal?
i think not, its just another farce as far as i'm concerned

[Neil]

Originally Posted by katex

Is their still an extra benefit for 'free' school dinners if particularly feeling the hardship ? Should be brought back, and none of that bull about children feeling demeanoured by this .. can be done tactfully.

I think all kids should get free school meals.

[emamum]

Different schools have different school meals... depends if they have healthy school status.. These ones are checked by the the authorities to keep the status....

[jackyalex]

Originally Posted by katex

Well, said it before and say it again.. it should be mandatory for all school children to stay for school dinners. That way, a more extensive menu will be offered and hopefully, more customers, will eventually reduce the cost.

Packed lunches or going to the chippie at lunch can cost just as much as £ 1.75 and not particularly nutritional, unless the parent is vigilent about it, but how many are ?

Is their still an extra benefit for 'free' school dinners if particularly feeling the hardship ? Should be brought back, and none of that bull about children feeling demeanoured by this .. can be done tactfully.

Just trying to encourage parents to go along with this would not work, would still be the ones that (like Lancsdave) would prefer to handle their Child Benefit in the way they seem fit .. and quite rightly so.

you can only get free school meals if you are in reciept of income support or jobseekers, and getting child tax credits but not working tax credits. school dinner when i worked in the kitchen there was a huge choice and the menu has to change every 2 months, schools also offer packed lunches instead of hot meals, we are lucky where we live we dont have any take aways not even where the high school is.
I think school dinners should be free for all, im sure they used to be, but if you prefer to have packed lunches then thats fine too, i dont like the idea of kids going to the chippy for their dinner maybe thats why schools banned pupils from leaving school at lunchtime i dont know

[katex]

Originally Posted by flashytart

excuse me, Reece takes a variety of meals to school with him, sometimes he takes soup, salad or a sandwhich, he takes a yogurt, cherry tomato's for a snack an orange or banana a drink and sometimes a packet of crisps

now i'm sorry Kate but i'd rather him have that than have nothing to eat at all...school dinners arent what they used to be when i was little, they are CRAP

Yes, they are crap at the moment Flashy, because we all pander to them by letting them take packed lunches, therefore reducing the opportunity for schools for the expenditure of the decent catering. You are not in the category as the point put forward .. nutritional, yes, but Hedman was talking about a substantial hot meal at least once a day. You probably cook him a lovely meal in the evening, but some parents don't.

I used to have to pack up a lunch for my grandaughter (against my wishes) .. was difficult trying to find interesting sandwiches everyday, and a pain in the butt. She more or less, brought half of it back with her.

Again, probably getting boring with this point, but at the school my son went to (and still does) .. they have no choice but to stay for school meals and the menu was absolutely brilliant with loads of choices of starters, main courses and suites. The cost of this meant it over-rode the cost of a heavy meal in the evening .. and saved me lots of hassle too ...

[cashman]

the main point for me is for every chav parent,there is a good parent, if this will make hard-up good people worse off- its a NO-NO. simple as.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by flashytart

excuse me, Reece takes a variety of meals to school with him, sometimes he takes soup, salad or a sandwhich, he takes a yogurt, cherry tomato's for a snack an orange or banana a drink and sometimes a packet of crisps

now i'm sorry Kate but i'd rather him have that than have nothing to eat at all...school dinners arent what they used to be when i was little, they are CRAP

Its funny that he's allowed to take soup, I once tried to take things that are eaten hot for my dinners at primary school and wasn't allowed, and free school meals are aimed at ages 4-16, so you have to consider these things.

I think providing a free school meal to all children is a very good idea, and whilst I have always had free school meals myself, I know people from big families who fail to get the benefits due to parental income, yet struggle much more than I ever have, and benefits in some cases should be assessed in a broader criteria, particularly with children who have many siblings and a relatively small parental income, as they don't often consider how many children the income has to be spread between.

I don't agree with the entire child benefit being scrapped for the sake of free meals though, as many people depend on this AND free school meals, for purposes such as clothing and sending their child to school, and I'm sure many probably may even put some away every week or whatever to contribute towards future educational expenses such as trips or even university and such.

I know people who blatantly had no lunch at school, though mainly high school, and whether it was because they just didnt get money off their parents or whether they spent it themselves on other things they felt they needed, it's atrocious that some people just starve during the day like that. Thankfully I've never had to face that problem.

[Yolanda25]

Originally Posted by onlyme

Child benefit, just under £70 every 4 weeks for a single child

well i get paid £72 a month for my child, how come u get under 70

[flashy]

Originally Posted by blazey

Its funny that he's allowed to take soup, I once tried to take things that are eaten hot for my dinners at primary school and wasn't allowed

several kids at that school take soup, i know when i was at St Nicholas primary school we where allowed to take 'hot soup'

[onlyme]

Well said Blazey!

UK is just becoming a nanny state, makes you wonder how far exactly will the Government go to ensure we eat and drink what they want us to, at our own expense.

If they were offer free school meals, WITHOUT touching any money received by the parent/parents, then that would probably do a lot better. Those families on low incomes would actively encourage their children to have them (why spend precious spare money on packed lunches when they could save some money with a school dinner), but still have that regular income of Child benefit which is much needed.

We are paying for a huge amount of management within local and national government that could be done without. Get rid of them, and the kids could have steak and caviar every day till theyre 16!

[onlyme]

Originally Posted by Yolanda25

well i get paid £72 a month for my child, how come u get under 70

I think it depends on the age of the child, but might just be cos I havent looked at mine for a bit!

[onlyme]

Originally Posted by flashytart

several kids at that school take soup, i know when i was at St Nicholas primary school we where allowed to take 'hot soup'

Think it depends on the school. I know the one my little one goes to even asks for weekly contributions for paper and crafts etc. Never did that in my day lol

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by blazey

benefits in some cases should be assessed in a broader criteria, particularly with children who have many siblings and a relatively small parental income, as they don't often consider how many children the income has to be spread between.

I totally agree with you. Expenditure should be taken into account as well as income when it comes to deciding if children qualify for certain benefits.

Originally Posted by blazey

I don't agree with the entire child benefit being scrapped for the sake of free meals though, as many people depend on this AND free school meals,

Precisely! And to scrap child benefit but provide free school meals for all would then defeat the object because the poorer kids would still end up being poorer.

and as others have already said, the cost of providing the school meals would be a lot less than the savings made by not paying child benefit so the whole idea is a complete and utter CON.

[panther]

Originally Posted by flashytart

excuse me, Reece takes a variety of meals to school with him, sometimes he takes soup, salad or a sandwhich, he takes a yogurt, cherry tomato's for a snack an orange or banana a drink and sometimes a packet of crisps

now i'm sorry Kate but i'd rather him have that than have nothing to eat at all...school dinners arent what they used to be when i was little, they are CRAP

Have to agree, my kids take sandwiches, because ....1..They are CHEAPER and 2....my son wont eat the meals, he's tried em but he leaves em and goes hungry, and my daughter isnt prepared to wait in a queue for half an hour and end up with scraps when she finally does get her food, because she says its all gone by the time its their turn

At least i know what my kids have eaten.
as for reducing/scrapping child benefit, I think its absolute b*****ks!, if anything they should be putting it up!!.......its a joke the amount that child benefit is!!

[AccyMad]

It makes you wonder who these people are who think this would be such a good idea - probably have no kids themselves or have such highly paid jobs that they don't need their child benefit money.
My youngest is still at secondary school and takes a packed lunch for a few reasons, one of the main ones being that he is allergic to dairy products & I can make sure he only eats what he should. Could the school canteen guarantee that - I doubt it because it is surprising what is in some foods, even the same thing, for example tinned spaghetti can vary from brand to brand.
Also, if they're going to replace child benefit with free meals, what about also providing free uniforms which almost every school including primary now have and which can cost an absolute fortune.