Free School meals - Wife has Child Tax Credits only but Husband gets Working Tax Crds

paddedjohn

*gem* wrote: »

Wow, I must be doing something wrong then at my kids school. I get HB, CTB, TC and free school meals but I can't get help with trips etc. I pay for them all in full. I'm not entitled to JSA because i'm in college but I still have to find the £50 to travel to school each week as I can't get travel help or I have to walk my children 3 miles each way and I have to pay for childcare each morning too. Not everybody claims everything they possibly can and i'd feel bad if I did because there's people out there who actually need the help more than what I feel I do.

I know children who have only ever been out of my town with their schools and the only hot meal they have is the one they get in school. If it's taken away, then these kids with nothing have even less!

Dont be silly, parents get enough to feed their kids on as it is. How much does a single parent get in child tax credits and child allowance?

missmucksmum

paddedjohn wrote: »

Dont be silly, parents get enough to feed their kids on as it is. How much does a single parent get in child tax credits and child allowance?

Its not just single parents that claim free school meals my children do too, I hope that you never find yourself in hard times like we have. We struggle with money but I budget quite well my children have never and will never go hungry. But even you are not blind to see how many children in this country are going to bed at night hungry, waking up hungry and going to school hungry. So no free school meals shouldnt be scrapped as its the children that would suffer not the benefit claiming parent.

zagfles

*gem* wrote: »

Wow, I must be doing something wrong then at my kids school. I get HB, CTB, TC and free school meals but I can't get help with trips etc. I pay for them all in full.

It varies from school to school - but our school always says trips are free to those getting FSM.

princessdon

missmucksmum wrote: »

Its not just single parents that claim free school meals my children do too, I hope that you never find yourself in hard times like we have. We struggle with money but I budget quite well my children have never and will never go hungry. But even you are not blind to see how many children in this country are going to bed at night hungry, waking up hungry and going to school hungry. So no free school meals shouldnt be scrapped as its the children that would suffer not the benefit claiming parent.

So you remove the value of FSM from their benefits.

The only reason children go hungry is bad parenting as you said it yourself, your children wouldn't go hungry.

Whislt parents who claim benefits use their money on none essentials like alcohol, cigarettes, holidays, games consoles, brand new latest phones, it will always leave less money for essentials.

Given how high benefits are to parents in the UK it comes down to budgeting, so remove it from their payments.

A couple on JSA would get £111 pw (or less age dependent). They'd have to pay all bills (other than rent and CT) from that, feed and clothe. A mother and child get a heck of a lot more, plus FSM etc.

benefitbaby

*gem* wrote: »

Wow, I must be doing something wrong then at my kids school. I get HB, CTB, TC and free school meals but I can't get help with trips etc. I pay for them all in full. !

Schools can only ask for a 'contribution' towards educational visits or materials, they cannot demand payment. However if the trip is for fun they they can demand.

FBaby

It makes me so cross that children of parents receiving ctc are going hungry. What is ctc (in addition to cb) but money to be sure that at least the children are well fed and clothed? What these children should potentially be missing out are material things, phones, consoles, trips abroad. The parents should be starving before their kids do.

It makes me angry that I find myself feeling little sympathy for these families because of the parents financially irresponsibility when really, what can be more sad nowadays than a child going hungry

SingleSue

zagfles wrote: »

It varies from school to school - but our school always says trips are free to those getting FSM.

It certainly does vary...I have to pay the same as everyone else for trips, uniform, Ipad insurance (yes, their new thing for this year, all 6th formers to have Ipads, everyone pays the same) etc.

Not that I am moaning though, I have always been very grateful for the assistance I receive via benefits and their health, wellbeing and education has and always will, come first.

snugglepet20

Free school meals are a good thing. Whilst your average good parent will always put their children first some parents should have been neutered at birth and it is not the childs fault if their parent is a waste of space and doesn't feed them.

clearingout

princessdon wrote: »

So you remove the value of FSM from their benefits.

The only reason children go hungry is bad parenting as you said it yourself, your children wouldn't go hungry.

Whislt parents who claim benefits use their money on none essentials like alcohol, cigarettes, holidays, games consoles, brand new latest phones, it will always leave less money for essentials.

Given how high benefits are to parents in the UK it comes down to budgeting, so remove it from their payments.

A couple on JSA would get £111 pw (or less age dependent). They'd have to pay all bills (other than rent and CT) from that, feed and clothe. A mother and child get a heck of a lot more, plus FSM etc.

you ignore the wide range of circumstances that people can arrive from when they find themselves 'on benefits'. Families with large outgoings struggling because of redundancy, ill health, marriage breakdown, disability. Certainly in my own situation when my ex husband left me, I struggled on for 18 months with my outgoings as they had been with his substantial wage and my part-time wage coming in whilst I managed on a combination of wages and ultimately, benefits. I did it whilst the divorce was finalised and I was able to 'move on'. I did what I could to pay debts, keep the mortgage going etc. whilst my ex walked away and made no contribution whatsoever. AT no time did my money go on alcohol or games consoles or cigarettes - it went on paying debts, mending holes in the roof and keeping said roof over our heads.

It may well be the case that in the eyes of the Law, I had more than enough money to feed and clothe my children but when you add in everything else I had to manage, even for what was a relatively short time frame, putting food on the table alongside everything else can be very difficult. Of course, I made feeding and clothing my children a priority, and I had family support behind me for dealing with the unexpected financially, but not everyone has those budgeting skills or the family support. All too often, people arrive at sites like this at the very bitter end rather than seeking support the moment things go wrong. Sometimes people feel dreadful shame and are fearful for their futures. Sometimes their mental health is seriously affected. Sometimes they are so busy trying to support a sick and dying loved one that everything else falls by the wayside.

What is clear to me is that every situation is different and sweeping statements which suggest 'everyone' has enough to manage and therefore should manage don't beging to cover the reality of everyday life for many of us.

princessdon

Unless you spent your benefits on booze, cigarettes, luxuries and didn't feed your children then it isn't aimed at you.

End of the day if they charged for school meals or forced a pack up schools and other support services would be more aware of additional problems at home.

At the moment you do get families who rely on FSM to give their child the only meal of the day. The other issues re parenting, budgeting, debts, social issues are not always known to authorities, so help can't be given. If perhaps a child was never sent with lunch money or pack up yet had an Iphone and spoke to the teacher about the latest game console they bought, more targetted work can be done.

I have suffered from every aspect you posted (bar separation) and managed to feed my children, people without dependant children have the same issues on less money.

You can not deny that money given to those with parents are higher than those without (who are also forced to manage). If those parents are letting their children go hungry, then this is for issues other than benefits because increasing the money would still not remove some of those issues.