The scheme is expected to save parents like myself £400 a year per child.
Now in theory this sounds great but I'm not convinced.
Here are just three reasons that have me questioning the scheme and its intentions.
The Cost
Well we are told it is free but lets be honest, nothing where the government is concerned is really free. I mean we'll be paying for this through our taxes.
And in that case I'd like to know why school meals can't be free across the board.
At the moment I have three children at school, one in reception, one in year 2 and one in year 4. Meaning that two of my children get free meals whilst the other I'd have to pay for.
This something I can't afford, now for some it might not seem a lot of money to pay out but to me it is, I just can't budget in another bill. This means that my eldest has to have a packed lunch, luckily she is an easy going child and doesn't mind.
However I'm sure there are children out there who wouldn't be so happy if put in the same situation.
It was general secretary Christine Bower that said, "children do not stop being hungry at seven years of age".
The Choice
I have always bought my children up to be independent and I think it is great that they have a bit of choice when it comes to the dinner menu but I worry that they either won't eat enough, will eat too much or just pick the wrong thing entirely.
Take for instance my 6 year old.
On the dinner menu the other day was sausage roll. So what did she have with her sausage roll? Potatoes, beans, cucumber and pasta. Pasta?? Pasta wasn't even on the menu that day so I don't know where she found it.
But my point, where was someone monitoring what the kids were picking making sure they have a good balance of things on their plate?
The Food
Schools are legally required to provide meals that comply with the government's 'School Food Standards'. These are apparently put in place to ensure each child gets the nutrition that their body needs throughout the school day.
I have to chuckle at this.
We as parents get moaned at for what we put in our child's pack lunch. Heaven forbid we provide them with a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar.
Yet if you have school dinners you get the choice of things like pizza, burger, chips as well as having the option of eating a pudding every day.
Since when is dessert nutritionally balanced??
My children certainly don't get pudding every day of the week, I see it as a treat.
Like I said at the beginning of my rant, in theory the concept sounds good but like many things in life, it has its flaws.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that over the coming months as the programme comes into full swing that measures will be taken to improve the scheme and make it truly beneficial for everyone.
xxxx
I think it very much depends on the school. My boys school has meals cooked on site, and whilst they definitely aren't perfect (and yes, pasta seems to be available with every meal - I am guessing to quieten the 'but my child only eats pasta' brigade'), they have to choose 1 of the vegetables (but can have more) and they always have fresh fruit/yogurt option for pudding. Though they also get more typical school puddings too - ie, jammy rice krispy cake. My only concern is the portion size. At our school not so much of an issue as it's a small school and the dinner lady knows all the children and serves accordingly, but in a big school, I suspect there are alot of hungry children after lunch as the portions, to me, seem tiny.
ReplyDeletethere is the option of fruit but lets be honest most kids will gravitate towards the sweet pudding. I'm not against those types of dessert I just think they should be limited x
DeleteSorry to hear your experience hasn't been great! I work in a school and their school meals are fantastic - very healthy and tasty. The lunchtime supervisors should also be checking that the children make good choices and that they eat what is on their plate, might be worth a check with the school? #pocolo
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, they seem to supervise the younger lot and expect the older kids to make the right choice by themselves. xx
DeleteDoes the cost saving of not making packed lunches for the youngest two not mean you can reallocate that money for the eldest to have dinners some days?
ReplyDeleteno because I'm still having to buy lunch bits for myself, my hubby and my youngest as well as tea time bits for the two having dinners at school so there is no money saved x
DeleteOh no :/
ReplyDeleteAlthough Emmy has only been to school 1 day she loved having dinners abd the menu looks pretty good at ours
the menu itself isn't the worst and the girls enjoy the dinners, I just think it still gravitates back to "classic" dishes rather than healthier options, when this is something the government are continually talking about.
DeleteI worry about children with allergies. With Zach's dairy allergy I would be so worried about him choosing something he is not allowed when he gets to full time school so I think I would rather send him in with a packed lunch so I can monitor his food anyway but can see him being jealous of his big sister who would be able to eat school meals
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard isn't it. As parents it is a struggle to know what to do for the best sometimes x
DeleteI also have children in reception, year 2 and year 4...I pay for my 8 year old to have school dinners as he was really upset at the thought of his brother and sister having them without him. Our school meals are really good though, with three hot choices, three sandwich bag options and lots of veg plus a salad bar and fruit and yoghurt on offer every day. We have to pick the lunch the younger two want each morning and have the menus in advance so do get some control over what they eat.
ReplyDeletesounds a lot more organised. and I love that there is a salad bar. seems like some schools just aren't as well equipped as others xx
DeleteI agree with you, my daughter seems to have pasta with most meals, her menu is not great there are two decent meals a week eg roast or pie and veg and three lots of what I call rubbish, hot dog, pizza, ham wheels etc, I don't feed my children rubbish like that at home very often and am not happy with the menu. they have a meat or veggie hot choice and a packed lunch option which she has on the rubbish food days (we have to order it in 3 week blocks ahead) but that is just a sandwich, fruit, orange juice and a yoghurt tube, she says she is still hungry those days so now that she is going full time from next week I will be sending in a lunch box several days a week I think, depending on what she wants. They really need to up their game. #pocolo
ReplyDeleteI think this will always be a hard one to get right - especially when different schools have different caterers. Thankfully the caterers have just changed at Grace's school and I was far happier than what they had on offer before so, despite the fact that I now have to pay for her(!) I decided to run with it. It is so much harder when you have more than one. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo :) x
ReplyDeleteThe pudding thing drives me bonkers, mainly because now I feel I cannot have pudding at all at home, otherwise my son will have eaten stodgy chocolate cakey custardy something twice in one day, which I don't get any. Since he has only just decided he likes stodgy cakey custardy something, this is double annoying.
ReplyDeletePlus! Our school used to have excellent (if pricy) meals bought in from some kind of catering company, but they have taken advantage of the government grants to fix up a kitchen. 1) it's not ready yet and 2) I don't think when it is that such a small school will be able to provide the range and quality of what they had before.
And there will *still* be puddings. Gah. To be honest, I;d rather the money were spent on more subsidised class trips, or lessons other than reading/ writing.
#PoCoLo
We're not in this position yet but I see where you're coming from, I've seen many other people with the same opinion as you #pocolo
ReplyDeleteThey do sound better than the school dinners that ruined my relationship with food forever! I hope that your worries will be resolved x
ReplyDelete