free school meals

DX2

michellen34 wrote: »

I'm confused, i have recently started working, 16 hours per week with CTC and WTC 3 children, minimum wage, am i entitled to free school meals? my youngest is 4 he has school meals, but my older 2 are at high school 11 and 14 and they have 2 school meals a week and 3 packed lunches, £1.10 just for a bottle of water is ridiculous plus whatever they want for lunch, around 3 pounds per day plus, each, would be a massive help

How much do you earn including wtc?

From my understanding if you get ctc and your income exceeds £16,040 you will not get free school meals
However in Scotland if you get ctc and wtc under £6,420 you will get free school meals.

Kimberley

I don't get free school meals for my kids and i'm on WTC and CTC. To be honest I think we get plenty enough free money as it is. My kids are on packed lunches and don't have a choice.

wendyloub

I was told that if I worked over 16 hours per week and became entitled to wtc then I wouldn't be able to claim school meals. If I was on benefits or working less than 16 hours I would be able to claim, as long as my income was under a certain amount.

Kimberley

wendyloub wrote: »

I was told that if I worked over 16 hours per week and became entitled to wtc then I wouldn't be able to claim school meals. If I was on benefits or working less than 16 hours I would be able to claim, as long as my income was under a certain amount.

Thats right yes. You have to be on IS to claim free school meals not WTC. On the free school meal application form it will tell you what benefits you need to be on to qualify.

LizzieS_2

michellen34 wrote: »

I'm confused, i have recently started working, 16 hours per week with CTC and WTC 3 children, minimum wage, am i entitled to free school meals? my youngest is 4 he has school meals, but my older 2 are at high school 11 and 14 and they have 2 school meals a week and 3 packed lunches, £1.10 just for a bottle of water is ridiculous plus whatever they want for lunch, around 3 pounds per day plus, each, would be a massive help

Schools do several variations of foods that total the daily allowance under free school meals of around £1.80. Paying £4.10 is far too much.

How do the school serve meals (high school)? Some schools use electronic systems whereby you can ask them to set a maximum daily spend for your child - they will also tell you the price of items on the menu. £1.10 for water - are they really buying that from school or just telling you that? Most schools offer free fresh tap water as it is a Government incentive to get more children drinking water in schools (some ask for you to provide a plastic bottle to put it in).

bestpud

LizzieS wrote: »

Schools do several variations of foods that total the daily allowance under free school meals of around £1.80. Paying £4.10 is far too much.

How do the school serve meals (high school)? Some schools use electronic systems whereby you can ask them to set a maximum daily spend for your child - they will also tell you the price of items on the menu. £1.10 for water - are they really buying that from school or just telling you that? Most schools offer free fresh tap water as it is a Government incentive to get more children drinking water in schools (some ask for you to provide a plastic bottle to put it in).

I wondered that. Have you checked the price with the school, michellen34?

I'd say that is more the price for a bottle of fizzy pop!

But that aside, why can't they take a bottle of water to school? Or, if they are desperate for fizzy pop, why not refill a small bottle from a bigger bottle at home and let them take that with them?

Water is obviously better, but if they are going to drink it anyway...

lucie1973

i work in a secondary school kitchen in london and our bottles of water are 50p, we have a set meal of the day which is £1.45 but the children are allowed to buy what they like using a card system. i checked the form and i cannot claim free school meals as i am on wtc.

notlongnow_2

Im on a fairly low income and claim CTC and WTC and with the amount I receive from WTC then I wouldnt expect to claim free school meals. Surely the benefits have got to stop somewhere. As a parent I chose to have my children and to supply what they need. I claim CTC/WTC because it does make life easier but I wouldnt push for anything else and would still provide for them without it. My children take a packed lunch (costs about £5 a week at the most for both)and have a hot meal in the evening. Its not like they are not eating at lunchtime so a free hot meal is not a neccessity.

In my opinion free school meals should be for the children who are unlikely to get fed at all and parents who dont provide for them. I think it should be at the schools discretion. Either that or make them cheaper for everyone. Not having a go at anyone....purely my own opinion.

My school doesnt allows food flasks with soup/bolognese/stew etc due to health and safety so Id check with your school if you want to do this.

mandragora_2

There may be some-one at the school who might be able to help, as it's in school's interest to get families onto FSM if they're entitled to it - it's an indicator which is taken into account by Ofsted, and gives them credit when your child does well in school. By the same token, it also means that your children's progress is of special interest to them (as I'm sure it is anyway); the FSM cohort of children is one that can be monitored closely by teachers to see if extra intervention, resources or mentoring can be targeted to individuals in that group in order to improve their chances of doing well.

The local authority should have staff who can guide and advise you with filling in the forms, probably over the phone.


I don't agree with the notion of 'not claiming' because 'we get enough free money as it is' - this is a really important benefit, which is not taken up and kids miss out far too often. I pay my taxes every month, and don't like the thought of kids not getting a decent mid-day meal that those taxes have paid for, just because people haven't claimed for one reason or another. More than that, though, it will, as I've said above, also add other potential benefits to your children as they go through school.

Penny-Pincher!!

We are in London and a bottle of water is £1.20....stupid! DD takes a water bottle filled from home, then fills through the day as she drinks loads. DD can get a baked spud with filling for £1.50 or pasta for £2...the prices are expensive for what they get. She does love the roasts on a Thursday though and sometimes the fish and chips on a Friday but only occasionally.

Just a thought but a hot nutritous (sp) meal after school doesnt have to be meat, spuds and veg. 1-2 nights a week we have a FREE meal so to speak as we already have the food in of either a big baked spud (including crispy skin) with either cheese/beans, tuna, HM curry from the freezer etc on it or have Egg, chips (oven for us) and beans/slice of bread and butter. Even beans or scrambled egg on toast would be a sufficient meal.

Sometimes we have cheese & potatoe pie (mash with cheese and onion) with either peas or beans....up to you, but my point being it doesnt have to be expensive or difficult to do IYSWIM.

HTH

PP
xx