FAO Debbie (or anyone really) re school meals

[JoM]

LOL Frank! And at Don too

Yep Kaz, we had to sign a permission slip for their thumbprints to be scanned and stored I suppose it's the only secure way really, they don't want kids having money on the premises, simply giving their names is open to abuse as they could say anyone's name and get money taken off someone else's account and a swipe card could easily be lost or stolen.

Tom had dinners at infant school, they were really lovely as the rebel headteacher didn't follow the county's menus but when it amalgamated with the junior school and moved onto their site the dinners weren't very appetising so since then they've both taken a packed lunch. I'd prefer that now that they're at high school too as the breaktime snacks available are things like pizza slices or hotdogs and although they have a salad bar available at lunchtime, the main choices are all very fast food based.

[debih]

It's shocking how much they cost and S says they aren't very nice.

Secondary school meals are £2.50 for two courses with water but then they also offer milkshakes, slushes, cookies etc for more so it can soon bump up the cost. Then at morning break they can buy bacon cobs, pizzas, etc.

Our school deal with cash but the other local secondary school does the finger print thing. When my friends son started she put £40 on his account - he spent the whole lot in a week!!!

I know people say you couldn't get a two course meal anywhere else for £2.50 but that's not the point.

Primary schools round here are £1.95 - but at least you know it's a set price.

I'd like mine to have meals at school but I can't afford £25 a week.

I've just been to the bank to get £50 worth of change - that'll do me for 6 school days, taking into account dinners, bus fare, lockers and pocket money. L will walk to school each day - roughly 2 miles each way - but it's too far for S now she's at a different site- as we know that's 2.97 miles each way, deemed close enough to walk as it doesn't quite reach the 3 mile point. Both of them have our steep hill to walk up and down as well as another steep hill to get to their respective schools. L's walk (as S's has been for the past 2 years) is on a public footpath through fields - the shortest route!!!!!

[saundra]

now that is alot of cash for a week and all that walking and in the winter
dont they inspect packed lunches for crisps and stuff
only good thing is dinner money cant be lost or stolen

[JoM]

Blimey Debbie! See, that's what I'd be worried about because I know that Joe would easily and quickly wipe out any money I put onto the account, knowing him he'd be buying for friends too

Saundra, mine have never had lunch boxes inspected at junior school but then I've always kept them filled with reasonably healthy foods anyway so it never worried me.

[Kaz]

The dinners at H's school are very good - but then with it being a special school they don't have the same volume of children to cater for.........

Debih in your shoes I would do packed lunches too

[JoM]

I think it was because of numbers that they were so good at the infant school too, it was only a small school and the head always refused to play by the LEA rules when it came to menus (well, with pretty much anything really) so there was one set meal/pudding everyday rather than various choices.

[Kaz]

A lot of the children at H's school wouldn't be capable of making their own choices sensibly, so I think the menu is more limited but more nutritious because of that, if you get me - rather more like our dinners were when we were at school

[JoM]

It's got to be an easier way of doing things hasn't it? My Mom was a dinner lady at an infant school and she said it was a total nightmare because the children couldn't choose for themselves, or would be too shy to ask for something so it would have to be coaxed out of them, and all of the time the queue would be growing longer.

[Workingman]

We had choices at school: take it or leave it.

If it was meat pie day it was meat pie. There were usually boiled or mashed spuds, cauli, carrots, peas and cabbage, and gravy: always gravy. Pudding was custard and xxx, that was when it wasn't semolina or rice. Fish on Friday, as we were Catholics, but that meant finney haddock in milk with bread, or cauli cheese, we never got battered fish or chips as we would be getting those for tea at home.

It was dull food, but for the price it filled us up.

[Weka]

School dinners are unheard of here like you have them. Our primary school we will go to does sushi orders on a Friday and the other days a roll like you would buy from subway. I imagine though the majority of kids though would have a packed lunch, but I'll find that out next year.

The Kindy encourages packaging-less lunchboxes. So a handful of raisins rather than a small packet of raisins. Yoghurt in a container rather than from a pottle (as its then more likely to have come from a larger 1kg container which coincediently has less sugar than the yoghurts packaged for kids. Drink bottles are to only have water in them.