Free Lunches - A Good Idea?

[youngmafbog]

No I am going to surprise some on here I am sure but I agree with free lunches for all kids. It removes the social stigma and ensures that children eat at least one nutritious meal a day. In addition I believe it instills an important social ability; to be able to eat correctly in a public environment.

However, the funding aspect is an issue. In my opinion this should have been funded by a cut in child benefit, after all its 5 meals less a week the parent needs to provide.

Of course we should go further, means testing child benefit for the well off and no child benefit for anyone not working, instead providing decent nutritious food parcels from ADS/Lidel or whoever could deliver them competitively

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/no-such-thing-as-a-free-school-lunch-government-reckless-in-failing-to-provide-adequate-school-funds-9677179.html

[Cloverjo]

I've been away for a couple of hours, so going back to Child Benefit, I stand corrected, Mamyalynne. The rules have changed for the better in this case, thankfully. Thanks for putting me straight on that.

[Retrochic]

Should we be looking at the fact all of North America and much of the world have no concept of a 'school lunch' as we know it? Parents and children function. WE (UK) have become an overpowering nanny state where parental responsibility has declined in favour of over-protective and interfering policies. IF the State takes over feeding school children how on Earth will their parents learn or even care about providing nutritious meals? Will it be a case of 'oh the kids had a meal at lunch -give em a bag of crisps for tea and we can get an extra bottle of cider with the money we're saving?

[mikey4444]

We used to have free school milk when I was a lad, but something happened to it and I've forgotten excatly what. I have been trying really hard to remember...It was on the tip of my tongue earlier but its gone again...perhaps someone can help me to remember.

In parts of Wales we have Breakfast Clubs, which have been a great success. My sister-in-law looks after the kids early in the morning at the school where she works in Carmarthen. Its had a marked improvement on the kids...they study better and are measurably better behaved. You could do the same in England if you all wanted to do...its just a matter of political will.

[Retrochic]

yes mikey -then the fag puffing cider swigging parents wouldn't even have to get out of bed in the morning to feed their offspring would they?

[Mamyalynne]

As i stated earlier, there are Breakfast Clubs - they are a great help to all parents especially those who may start their working day long before School opens.


Why is there a presumption by some that people on low incomes lie abed and smoke cigs rather than feed their children?

[mikey4444]

You do the parents of Carmarthenshire a great injustice Retrochic...what a horrible turn of phrase.

[Retrochic]

To be honest this stunt by the government is just that -i mean those parents on a 'low income' are already getting free school meals so why should the tax payer have to cough up so that Jeremy and Celia whose parents are making £80K a year can have a free meal -its ridiculous!

[Retrochic]

Mamyalynne -you have obviously never been anywhere near a council house estate. I was helping someone out a few years ago painting their home on one of these estates and we had kids as young as 4 or 5 wandering around at lunch time asking if we wanted any help. When I asked where their parents were they replied ' asleep'. When I asked what they were having for their dinner -it was Sunday- they replied 'we got a pasty from the shop missus'. Not all people on benefits are like this, I know someone who works damn hard and is on Working Tax Credit yet has less money than the woman next door who has 5 kids to five different men and doesn't work. Ridiculous thing is the woman working and on Tax credits is not eligible at the moment for free meals -this is the person who would be helped if all meals were free but why give kids from wealthy families free meals?

[New Judge]

Why give children from any families free school meals? Those not in work are provided with adequate funds to feed their children properly. Many do not do so not because of lack of funds but because of lack of nous. They have absolutely no idea how to care for children. Making provision for them only makes their lack of nous worse. If they are so inadequate as parents then the children should be taken into care.

"...we have Breakfast Clubs, which have been a great success."

Of course they will be a great success Mikey. Like the famed food banks, if someone provides free breakfast for children there is likely to be a good take up of the offer.

Schools are there to educate children (which many of the State funded establishments singularly fail to do with any degree of success).They are not there to feed children free of charge; they are not there to provide child minding facilities. They are places of education, that's all. You don't hear of fee-paying schools providing such free facilities. The very few that provide them make an appropriate charge.

[mikey4444]

"You don't hear of fee-paying schools providing such free facilities"

Never read such nonsense NJ ! I am only surprised that you didn't make your usual rant against immigrants in this debate...did you forget perhaps ?

[ummmm]

Breakfast clubs are not free. It's a service the school provides for a fee.

[New Judge]

How many fee-paying day schools do you know that provide breakfast clubs and free meals, then Mikey. I have not looked at them all but those I know about certainly do not do so.

[Mamyalynne]

Retrochic

//Mamyalynne -you have obviously never been anywhere near a council house estate.//

That's right - I live in a bubble , never struggled to put food on the table or shoes on my children's feet _ I was referring to the sweeping generalisations.


There are good honest parents and feckless ones too, we all know that.

[mikey4444]

NJ...could the reason that most, if not all "fee-paying schools" are stuffed full with kids from wealthy backgrounds ?

I agree with Mamy here.....to infer that all kids that go to schools that might benefit from free school meals and breakfast clubs have cider-swilling, fag-smoking wastrels for parents is frankly very insulting and unhelpful in a debate like this.

By the way, I have checked again with my sister-in-law as regards the funding of school lunches and breakfasts. Lunches are free to some parents, who qualify for certain Social Security payments, but the Breakfast Clubs is 100% free and is not means tested. I don't what happens in England but here in Wales this is funded by the Assembly Government. And I can confirm that, all in all, the Breakfast Club has been a unqualified success.

[New Judge]

Not all parents who pay for their children's education are wealthy, Mikey. Some of them are of modest means and make enormous sacrifices to ensure their children get as good an education as possible. However my reason for bringing fee paying schools into the debate was to highlight the difference between their ethos and that of State schools. State schools are increasingly becoming in loco parentis. They are taking on the feeding and watering of children and the looking after of them way beyond school hours. That is not what schools are for. Their function is to educate children.

I said nothing about State school pupils coming exclusively from homes where parents are cider-swilling, fag-smoking wastrels. That is no more the case than you suggesting that all fee-paying schools are stuffed with pupils whose parents are wealthy.

And I will say again, of course free breakfasts are a resounding success. So are food banks. So would be petrol station who give out free fuel should they be set up.