“As a child I needed free school meals, as mayor, I provide them. And this policy works – here’s the proof”
Sadiq Khan👏
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/20/children-free-school-meals-mayor-families
Sadiq Khan👏
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/20/children-free-school-meals-mayor-families
Comments
If they are in school, feed them.
The same parents claiming child poverty; smoke, vape, drink alcohol, take drugs, drive cars, have the best of clothes and phones, go on holidays and go to the pub every weekend.
But there is "child poverty"...🥱
Or, are you just suggesting we take kids of 'bad parents' into care, or maybe introduce parenting qualifications?!?
Personally, I would love to see some form of qualification to have children, but little things like destroying personal freedoms and basic biology, just get in the way!
I was a rocket scientist & having kids was harder!!
Please don't quote the corupt and hugely unpopular sadiq Khan.... or the xtreme left wing propaganda socialist rag the guardian....
Who pays for this.... ultra processed foods , inconsistent delivery and eligibility issues is the reality
The main beneficiaries of universal FSM are middle & high earners
Some stuff that went on around stigmatising FSM pupils was appalling & unforgivable
I hope you can take solace in the fact that nowadays most schools use cashless systems like cards, wristbands or biometrics that ensure no one knows who pays & who doesn't
But as you will know, schools can tweak their systems to ensure children don't miss out on lunches
When I was a Gov we went to pay-in-advance
But we also spent PP on helping those in need & asked staff to look out for children going hungry
We somehow have enough funding to place cashless card systems, wristband readers and facial recognition technology in every school, to save the children’s blushes…but draw the line at actual childhood nutrition?
Cards & biometrics tend to be part of caterers wider stock & business management systems
They’re not desperately expensive & are often supplied by the caterer
It’s like arguing against swiping credit cards🙄
The costs just aren’t comparable
There are so many ways that low income families miss out compared to middle & high earners
We need to do more, to spend more helping those families in poverty
In the last week we've had reports calling for increased Pupil Premium, increased School Meal spending
I'm not convinced spending vast sums on feeding the children of middle & high earners is a priority
We literally have schools collapsing & children developing rickets
What are the measurable outcomes we should look for?
Is the aim just making some middle & high earning families feel better off because they receive effectively a £450 council tax rebate?
Or should we be looking for something more tangible?
It's not evidence of actual benefit
It's not evidence that we're improving attainment or reducing obesity rates
This is why this country is in such a mess! People just want things to get worse! Who cares if a rich kids gets a free meal, their parents pay more tax!
The young people are our future! Unless you don’t care about the country's future?
I want to see safe school buildings, an end to the high needs chaos, teacher recruitment & retention sorted
I want more spent on SEND, on CAMHS & on children's services
I want to sp more on those families in poverty, helping those on low incomes
Making sure all children have a meal once a day is amazing!
What does it hurt if some rich kid gets a free meal? Most likely they will have a packed lunch anyway!
Once you've sorted out all that list, then I'll start thinking about spending huge sums on feeding the children of middle & high earners
Until then, that demographic are not my priority
30% of students get FSM already, do we really want to give FSM to the others but not fund other priorities in schools?
We have our own currency, we sell our gov debt in our own currency.
Spending more money on education is the best long term investment we can make.
Yet we do not do it. WHY?
There are so many other priorities within schools
Kids shouldn't be stigmatised just because their parents earn 80k. Kids are kids. Just let them have the same as everyone else. A decent lunch and a good education.
Let's stop this nonsense about stigma
Nowadays almost every school uses cashless systems like cards, wristbands or biometrics that don't identify who pays & who doesn't
Schools tend to go to great lengths to ensure the days of stigmatising children for receiving FSM are long gone
How many times does this sign need to be tapped
I’ve regularly written about & campaigned to actually feed more children who need it
But the reality is, not everyone needs free food
It should be a policy that free meals are available to all kids. Cost shouldn’t come into it, it’s simple human concern for children
I know it’s an alien concept, to some, but that there is thing we call “investment”
You ensure you have healthy well nourished children, not only you give them better chance of academic career, and thus earn more (state wins) you also ….
Pretending there are unlimited resources might help you justify spending billions on wealthier families, but it’s not the reality
I’m not going to continue this conversation
As for countries with 100% take up, we are talking uk, specifically England where FSM take up is circa 70%
As for the benefits, the evidence of benefit is generally v poor
No one objects to FSM for low income families
I v much think we need to expand eligibility to help more struggling families
But this is the state taking over paying to feed the children of middle & high income families
That's not a demographic I'm too bothered about
Take up rates nationally for FSM are around 70% meaning another 30% won’t benefit
And around 35%~37% previously had parents pay for meals & presumably won’t get any additional benefit, as it’s the same meal
Nationally FSM take up is around the 70% mark
Meaning around 30% of pupils don’t eat the meals
I’m not sure how we can think those 30% will benefit if they’re not actually eating
FYI Camden councils current take up is 63%
We need to expand FSM eligibility to capture and prioritise support on those in greatest need
Nowadays most schools use cashless systems that don’t identify who pays & who doesn’t
Starvation right here in America was officially denied back then too.
Show me first off evidence that school meals are nutritious & healthy
That's the starting point & premise that underscores everything else
They tell me the take up rates (a clue ~70%) & the % on means tested FSM (25%)
Everyone seems to think they're getting worse as funding stays static & costs rise
Not sure you get the UK system & who controls school meal procurement TBH
The greater sadness is the deeper social issues that lead to people who can’t feed their own children
This was a tiny sample of self selecting parents asked leading questions by groups who support the mayors policy
Consider the 84% response alongside the fact 25% of Children get means tested FSM, meaning only 75% can benefit in any meaningful way
That £100m spend doesn’t benefit those families struggling in poverty one bit
& it’s been a huge financial burden on both schools & London councils
Spending on teaching, the NHS, roads, Army, fire service and police are about providing services to everyone not just the poor. Why do you apply a different criteria to decide if spending is justified when it comes to school lunches?
We have schools literally collapsing
High needs funding is in chaos
Teacher retention is in crisis
Feeding kids of middle & high earners isn't a priority
Universal FSM is unquestionably the most regressive policy ever
The poorest families already get means tested FSM
Their tax will go on feeding the children of middle & high earners
Why prioritise FSM for all KS2 ahead of cash first solutions that target low income families?
Giving free food to the children of middle & high earners doesn’t help those in poverty
A fair question. I support universal FSM for the same reason I support universal free education and health, because I believe that a societal solidarity ("all in it together") is more important than fickle charity.
FSM is a passported benefit with no separate means testing & there are no significant savings to be made in admin