Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I've recently been on a course with colleagues who work for the school meals service who came up with an interesting suggestion regarding scrapping or reducing child benefit but providing all school age pupils with a "free" school dinner.

The argument was that it would ensure all children received at least one hot nutritional meal per day as many of the kids did not have breakfast and sometimes their tea was very limited in terms of nutritional value.

It would also provide employment opportuniities for parents working in the school kitchens and increasing the working population

It would increase the social skills of pupils sitting down with their peers and using a knife and fork which they dont do at home

It would ensure that the child benefit was used positively and for the benefit of the child

It seemed a really good idea to me and I couldn't immediatly think of any major negatives

any thoughts?

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

ermm yes. I think I am responsible enough to decide how best to spend any money I receive on my child myself, not be dictated to because a few people spend child benefit on whatever vice they spend it on.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

not really aware now how much child benefit is,nor how much school dinners cost, would be interested to compare em, just to see that its not an underhand way of screwing people.:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I can see the benefits, but agree that as parents, if we are responsible enough to raise a child, we should be responsible enough to spend child benefit correctly.

My child cr*pped his way through the childbenefit with nappies, and to be honest, any parent that has had to watch the pennies, would be able to make more than an average of the 20 nutritional dinners you are talking about, and actually feed the child for the full month on that, when the child is of school age

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

CB is £18.80 a week for eldest child. School dinners in the region of £1.75 a day nowadays.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

i rest my case then,its what i suspected of these sh1ts, a BIG CON.:(

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

those who have free school meals now would have even less at home, why take money away from people who already get free school meals? i can only pay for my kids to have a school dinner on a friday because i cant afford nearly £30 pw for school diners, so i would be at a loss too with my child benefit being taken off me, but needless to say my kids have more than enough good food to eat whenever they want it because i was that child who only had one meal a day unless my friends parents fed me, i have also worked in the school kitchens and i have to say 43pence is what they have to spend on each childs meal

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I think the people that come up with these 'solutions' have never had to live to a tight budget and make money stretch to provide a good nutricious meal.

They should actually listen to those mums, and who knows, they may be able to save money themselves.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Actually, thinking about it, people like my nanna, who managed to raise 8 children on her own with none of them suffering, should be placed in charge of providing school meals etc. Theyd spend half as much, and it would be good proper food! lol

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

well said onlyme, perhaps hedman would care to comment on wether or not he thinks there is still no negatives? shucks he's gone.lol

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

can i just say that school dinners are CRAP, Reece is entitled to free school dinners but i refuse to let him have them...he was coming home from school saying that he'd only had a cake or a yogurt because there was no food left, i went mad at the head, she just shrugged her shoulders and said 'well if you dont like it then change schools' i immediately put Reece onto sandwiches...at least i know what he's eating and that he is actually eating SOMETHING for his lunch

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

my child benefit days are long gone, but they were very useful for shoes n clothes n the like,when times were hard, n i will defend the right of em till i croak.;)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I think all kids should get free school meals.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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....

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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 ... :D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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!

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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.

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.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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:rolleyes:

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!!:mad:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

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.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

so if they replace child benefit with free school meals, what on earth is my son supposed to eat?...he hates school dinners but loves my sarnies!!
so not only will i have no child benefit, but my son has to go hungry too.....:mad:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

what about the families that already get free school dinners? would they get to keep their child benefit?

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

if the arguement is based on getting kids to eat nutritional food,then for me its totally the "Wrong" way to go about it. the only way is to educate people not to blackmail/force people, or tell em what to do. all that tactic ever did for me was cause resistance.:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I think that child benefit is a good thing but have always been of the oppinion that it should be more for the very needy and less for the better off. Take a couple who have income of say £70,000 per year(and there are quite a few in this dy and age) I have to ask do they really need child benefit, whilst people with only £20,000(and there are plenty of these) coming in probably need that bit more, I can remember some years ago some one I knew was going on holiday and went to PO to cash 8 weeks CB just for spending money, which highlights what I am saying

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I have always thought this way Jaysay, however, think the cost of means testing everyone would possibly overcome just paying it out to all parents ?
People also fall on bad times too so again the cost of putting in an application for Child Benefit could be horrendous .. and then you would have to have some sort of 'secret' checking by the Authorities like they do with other benefits.

There are lots of cases too where the main earner leaves their spouses with the children, neglecting to pay anything towards their upkeep, but at least the deserted spouse will have some immediate income. I have been in this position myself.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

is child benefit still taking out of your income support/ child tax credits as 'income'?

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Child Benefit does not count as income for Tax Credit purposes. I don't know about Income Support but I would think it's the same.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I know they used to... you'd get your award letter and it would say how much you were entitled to and then deduct your child benefit out of the total as income....

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

You can check whether you are getting all your entitlement here-
entitledto
it covers ALL benefits and Housing benefits too

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I'm a single working mum, and dont receive any benefits apart from Child benefit as I earn 'too much'. However, once taking into account childminders, house payments, gas, electric, council tax, food (and not a lot of that), my outgoings come to almost £1600 per month. I would financially be better off not working. The system is drastically wrong!

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

thats nowt new onlyme, it was wrong when mine were kids, so the whingers can't blame labour for this.:rolleyes: NO party has had the WILL to correct this Blatant Anomoly.:(

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I'd love to see your award notices, Em. :confused:

I was working on Tax Credits (on the Intelligence side) from when it started and Child Benefit, which is not a taxable benefit, only comes into the equation in that you can't claim CTC for a child you're not getting Child Benefit for.

What income counts
The income that counts is your taxable benefits, gross earnings from employment, taxable profits from self-employment, pension income, savings income and other taxable income. Income from savings or pensions (and a few other sources) only counts if it is over £300 a year in total; the first £300 is ignored.
Both your incomes count if you are claiming jointly as a couple. Rules on what counts as income can be complex, so check the notes that go with your tax credit form and seek advice if you are unsure.
There is no limit on the savings or capital you can have, and no reduction to your award, except that interest and other income earned from the capital is taken into account.
Your income figure needs to be for the whole tax year (6 April in one calendar year to 5 April in the next). If you are an employee, you should receive a year-end statement of income from your employer (form P60). The figure to use for tax credits is your gross income before tax and National Insurance. If you get benefits, the DWP should give you a statement of taxable benefits at the end of the tax year. Not all benefits are taxable so not all benefits count as income for tax credits. If you are self-employed, you normally use the figure from your self-assessment tax return.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

It's one of the problems of income based assessments. They assume everybody has the same expenditure to enable them to work.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

it was before they seperated it and you got income support for yourself and children....

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Judging by your outgoings, I'm assuming you probably live in a reasonably warm house in a decent area, and if you didn't work you'd be much less likely to have that luxury regardless of being better off financially. You're child or children would probably also have a high chance of also having a similar attitude and no parent wants their children to end up like that, though of course not all do end up with that kind of attitude.

As far as I am aware, the scheme doesn't take into account your living costs as generally you'd have to pay for those kind of things regardless of having children. They only take into account the cost of feeding and clothing a child as far as I've always been aware, which to be fair is no where near met with the amount of child benefits you are awarded, but I think it's a fair scheme, there just isn't enough money to hand out, mainly because there are a lot of people claiming benefits that they shouln't be.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

[quote=blazey;538038]. You're child or children would probably also have a high chance of also having a similar attitude and no parent wants their children to end up like that, though of course not all do end up with that kind of attitude.

Ehhhh ???:confused:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

:oya try ya best blazey dont ya?.....:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

As my young nephew says..."confused .com!":rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

NO they dont!

i mean whats ....
£18.10 a week for the eldest child
£12.10 a week for each additional child ....to someone on £70.000 a year??:confused:....****** all

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I don't agree with this.

next week, I am having to put my kids back on packed lunches. The eldest is ok, he will eat them ( but then again....he will eat a scabby donkey ) BUT youngest refusesa to eat the school meals :(

In winter, I always try to talk them into having school dinners because I like to think they are having something nice and warm for dinner ( and yes...they ALWAYS have breakfast, and are not allowed out of my house until they have done ) But a nice warm dinner, I think, is a must in winter, the only problem is youngest will not eat it, would rather go hungry, and I can't stand the thought of that either. So I want him back on packed lunches next week.

Yes I understand that packed lunches CAN be limiting..... BUT better something in his tummy than NOTHING. He has a good breakfast before school and a good tea when he gets in, not all parents are total Numpties, therefor I suggest people butt out and let us parents get on with raising our children.

It makes me laugh when people go on and on about " oh but it can't be healthy giving them a cold dinner " :mad: Back in the days when people were on rations, do you think they got 4 square meals a day?? all healthy?? all warm?? NO, and Elderly people are living to 100 years old, more and more............. didn't kill them did it??

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Attachment 10950agree with ya thereAttachment 10951

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

thanks for all your feedback. the intention would not be to make anybody worse off but simply that an element of the child benefit say £8.75 (the weekly cost of a school meal) would be deducted from child benefit for parents who have to pay. Parents in receipt of free school meals would have no reduction in their child benefit. All school age pupils would have a nutritious meal at lunchtime.

Several respondents are seeing the bigger picture regarding creation of part time jobs for parents, greater income would create better menus and varieity.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

BUT WHY?? If you are working, you have to pay for the meals anyway RIGHT?? so whats the difference it being taken out of CHB or paying every friday like we do now?? It's swings and round abouts. Whats the point??

The point is.....yet another thing we would be MADE TO DO! instead of having a choice. I mean come on, in this country we don't have many choices we can make for ourselves.

If I choose to put my children on Packed lunches, then as a mother, that is MY choice. And no-one would badger me into doing otherwise.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Thats me stitched up again. I may as well just change my name to 'Shafted'.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

sorry hedman2003 its you thats not seeing the big picture n probably have no wish to, most folk who have responded disagree.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Exactly what I was saying panther, but some one on low income could do with that little bit extra

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

But you get child benefit from when the child is born does that mean you would lose out until the child was at school?!

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

knowing this government..... what do you think :rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

No, you take the baby in to school and the dinner ladies will breast feed them for you :D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

ROFLMAO ..... come on, don't be giving more tin pot ideas.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Actually I've just checked up on .gov.uk With the governements new directive that all babies have to be a standard weight, the ones over 8lb are classed as obese and will not qualify for school dinners :D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

MY GOD...... zack was 8lb 8oz when he was born!! fat sh!t :D should have took him to weigh watchers rather than baby clinic.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

My daughter was 8lb 13oz but that wouldn't have mattered cos she takes packed lunches anyway :)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Well exactly........ PACKED LUNCHES :eek: You bad parent.... ( slinky grabs the phone and rings social services right away )

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I think they should bring back the uniform grant. You used to get vouchers that you could only use in certain shops to buy the uniforms. You got it at the start of every new school year. Now you only get it when your child starts secondary school.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

beat ya both!!

my son was 9lb 11oz:eek:,....LOL.....cheeky buggers, what would he have been classed at?....LMFAO

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Was this you then?:D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

[quote=Nell;538780]I think they should bring back the uniform grant [quote]


we still get them in Blackburn, they arent for buying the whole uniform, the are only to be put TOWARDS buying a new uniform

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

LOL......yeh that looks familiarAttachment 10968

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

The uniform grant is still going isnt it?, i thought ya get one when ya kid starts high school ....but i may be wrong:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

oops i was wrong.....:hidewall:.....
Lancashire County Council had withdrawn the School Clothing Grant from April 2006.

:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

If he was born today, that poor child would have been classed as Morbidly Obese :D:D:D At one time, they would have said " oh that baby is a healthy weight " not any more lol, can't get anything right us parents any more :rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

In the mid 60s you had to visit the clinic every week to have your baby weighed.
The mothers with plump babies who gained most, looked with pity on those who had 'slim' babies.

Times and standards change = the experts are forever moving the goalposts

Trust to your maternal instincts - you instinctively know what is right for your baby

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

lol, bloody stupid isnt it, what they gonna say next?....its our fault they are big!!.......how do you make yourself have a slim baby?, which i have had also.....my first child was only 2lb 13oz, so what happened there:rolleyes:...lol

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Well in that case, your a bad mother cos your baby is under weight, see ya should have eaten more McDonalds in this case :D:D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Well my son should have been on diet milk when he came into the world..........A healthy 10ld 2oz :)
He is now 3 and tall and slim.And hes eaten three meals a day since he was 2mths old:eek: lock me up quick for being a bad mum and not following the rules :)
xx

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

as you aint responded since the 28th feb, that says to me in yer last paragraph- you are right n everyone else can get knotted.:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Cashman

Didn't realise there was a deadline to respond and if you read the original post I didn't say it was my idea but that there seemed some merit in the suggestion, it was posted to prompt some discussion. Many of the responses were about caring parents who give their children all the love and attention they possibly can even if they are on a limited income and I fully understand the arguments that people have put forward.

The point that was being made is there are pupils in many if not all schools who because of ineffective parenting do not get a hot meal each day.

If I saw a homeless person in the street I would prefer to give them a hot drink than money at least on that basis the money is not going on drink or drugs and for me the idea of a mandatory meal would ensure that child benefit was being spent on the neglected child and not frittered away by parents

I do not think I was right and everybody else was wrong but asked for peoples opinions after all its called free speech so thanks to everybody for their contributions

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

maybe he has just realised that, it's not all cut and dry and isn't really the top notch idea.

like I said, my children are my children.......I will decide what is best for them, and to a point, they can decide what they like to eat and what they don't like to eat..... I'm not having any government telling me my kids ARE having a school dinner, I would bring them home for dinner rather than do that.


By the way, something else I was meaning to ask. When I started infant school, cos my birthday is in July, i was the youngest in the class ( only just gone 4) and I HAD to go home for dinner, something about Insurance or something I think my mum said. Did anyone else have to do this??

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

So why punish the majority of good parents to help the bad? Why are we rewarding people for their bad behaviour and choices, at the cost of good parents?

Theres plenty of other ways to achieve what you are trying to do. Did ration books not do this to some extent?

I was brought up on school dinners of rice pudding with jam, chocholate pudding with pink custard (if you could get that recipe for the pink custard, would be great btw, its just not normal custard with pink colouring despite what ppl say) and basically a load of stodge- absolutely ideal for a child who eats that, then goes raging round the playground, playing tig, or british bulldogs etc.

Its stupid to generalise families, especially to the extent that you're talking about. If you are suggesting that this idea has been put forward to help 'neglected' children, is that not what social services is there for?

And to be honest, if you class a child as neglected because of what goes into their stomach, then my son, a picky eater at the best of times, should obviously just pack his bags and wait for the knock at the front door.

And on a slightly political note, I would love to know the true cost of the meeting you attended, ie how many hours it lasted, times the hourly wage of the attendees. You would have probably fed a small to medium primary school just off that. And it makes you wonder, when the atrocities of Jersey are so highly in the media, why are people more concerned about the weight of children, rather than their physical and emotional well being

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

That's because with your ravenous appetite they were worried you might eat the other kids :rolleyes::D


Both my boys have August burpdays and nothing was ever said about it. Kiddies in nurseries are fed so I can't see it being a problem now.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

the "You" i refered too,was meant as the collective body of your meeting/seminar,not you in particular, i also notice you highlighted that bit, n never mentioned, my point about most "respondents" not agreeing.:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Because that the way politicians and all government bodies work.

Its kind of the equivalent to put your hands over your ears and singing 'la la la I cant hear you' at the top of your lungs.

Hence Iraq, Afghanistan, referendums etc etc etc

If you pass the houses of commons during prime ministers question time, you cant hear the faint hum of the above ;)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

i know,just letting Hedman know i do.;)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Prime Ministers Question Time!!!!!!!!!!!!Your better off watching the muppet show, have you ever heard a question or reply that wasn't stag managed, I wouldn't mind that much, but none of them make good comedians:rolleyes:

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

ewwww no, most of em were scabby :D:D:D

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

My birthday is in july as well slinks but i ended up with school dinners. Mum didnt want me coming home in the day - might have had something to do with bro's first day at school (he is older than me) he came home at dinner time and wouldnt go back - thought he'd finished for the day!!! But when i was at primary school near enough everyone stayed for school dinners, a selected few went home for dinner - i think there was 1 in my class for definate who went home for dinner and a few who brought butties in but most had school dinners. Now a few year ago i was a volunteer at the school i went to and one of the welfare assistants had an operation and had time off work so i filled in for her. Out of a school of 130 kids do you know how many had school dinners? It was 23. The rest had sandwiches brought from home. No one went home for dinner.

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

Did the doctor say "Congratulations you have a lovely baby baby baby baby baby baby baby boy boy boy boy boy boy boy "?

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

School dinners were introduced in 1906 by Margaret McMillan.. the whole idea of them was to feed the poorer children that may not be getting decent food at home. they were designed to be filling and stodgy so that they would last the children all day.....because hungry children cannot learn.....




There you go, but of pointless information for you.... enjoy!!:tongueout

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I would ask exactly how nutritious school dinners actually are, I pay for my son to have school dinners and often he comes home stating he has had a sandwich or a piece of pizza and dessert the other week was HALF an Icelands double licker ice lolly (99p for 10), is that really a substantial meal or value for money, whats wrong with good old potato pie and sponge pudding and custard, good heart meals that fill them up and cost next to nothing to make.

As for using child benefit money to provide these meals, what happens during the school holidays?

I think these 'do-godders' need to get a life and stop trying to dictact what we spend our money on. If they really want to do something, have a proper look at what children are really being fed in schools and not what we are lead to believe they are receiving !!

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I have to say that I don't know much about school dinners, When I went to school I never once had a school meal in all the eleven years I was there, the only thing I can say is that they never smelled that good as I remember:)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

I agree with this Joanne. I would actually challenge any school to give my boys the amount of calcium I do in their packed lunches!!

I have just prepare their boxes.....they have..

1x sandwich Youngest likes ham, eldest likes Cheese.
1x squeeze yogurt ( can't be doing with sticky spoons ) :o
1 x cheese string
1 x tub of Fruit chunks in syrup
A fruit drink for youngest and a Milk shake for eldest.
1x tub of Jaffa cakes. ( usually come home in box )

Eldest has a very high calcium dinner .... and I'm almost sure the school couldn't match it.

And at least I can monitor what they are eating, cos I know what comes home in the box ;)

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

School dinners are good for the little ones as they hould have their big meal at lunch time to give them energy for the rest of the day.....

Re: Child Benefit and School Meals
 

And you would call school dinners BIG?? My lads are starving by the time they get home after a school dinner. I remember they were not much bigger when I was on them, many moons ago.