School dinner times

[Deleted User]

jon81uk said:

daveyjp said:

Nothing new in my world.

Over ten years ago my daughter's primary reduced lunch sitting from 25 minutes to 15 when numbers increased from 150 to 350, with no additional dining facility provided.  This 15 minutes was for 60+ pupils to line up, get food, sit down and tidy away, time to eat was about 5 minutes.

It was unacceptable, parents weren't happy and a written formal complaint was made to school and Governors.  Changes were made to get it back to nearer 25 minutes.

But that is slightly different as its to get the food. The OPs daughter has a packed lunch so we can assume they are getting around the 15 minutes of actual eating time.

 Not necessarily. 

Same in my sons school reduced lunch time. He is not allowed to open his lunch and start eating until all the table is back with their hot dinner. He sits waiting for 10 mins while they queue. 

jon81uk

_shel said:

jon81uk said:

daveyjp said:

Nothing new in my world.

Over ten years ago my daughter's primary reduced lunch sitting from 25 minutes to 15 when numbers increased from 150 to 350, with no additional dining facility provided.  This 15 minutes was for 60+ pupils to line up, get food, sit down and tidy away, time to eat was about 5 minutes.

It was unacceptable, parents weren't happy and a written formal complaint was made to school and Governors.  Changes were made to get it back to nearer 25 minutes.

But that is slightly different as its to get the food. The OPs daughter has a packed lunch so we can assume they are getting around the 15 minutes of actual eating time.

 Not necessarily. 

Same in my sons school reduced lunch time. He is not allowed to open his lunch and start eating until all the table is back with their hot dinner. He sits waiting for 10 mins while they queue. 

Thats a bit rubbish!

rollingmoon

LOL at some of these replies, seriously. The notion that 15 minutes is an adequate lunch break for anyone - child or otherwise -  is nonsensical. Pretty soon we will be asking kids to stuff their lunch into their mouths during lessons in preparation for a life of servitude in some call centre or other.

School lunchtime isn't just for eating food; it's for socialising too. It's for helping kids become the sort of adults that can talk to each other, make friends and resolve problems and, y'know, be part of an real, live actual community.

School isn't just about passing exams, and the sooner our useless government - and a few others besides, it appears - the better.

jon81uk

rollingmoon said:

LOL at some of these replies, seriously. The notion that 15 minutes is an adequate lunch break for anyone - child or otherwise -  is nonsensical. Pretty soon we will be asking kids to stuff their lunch into their mouths during lessons in preparation for a life of servitude in some call centre or other.

School lunchtime isn't just for eating food; it's for socialising too. It's for helping kids become the sort of adults that can talk to each other, make friends and resolve problems and, y'know, be part of an real, live actual community.

School isn't just about passing exams, and the sooner our useless government - and a few others besides, it appears - the better.

Without getting more information from the OP and the school it’s likely they are still getting to socialise. I would expect they have 15 minutes indoors to eat and then 30 minutes (or something) outdoors to play and socialise. 

ThumbRemote

jon81uk said:

daveyjp said:

Nothing new in my world.

Over ten years ago my daughter's primary reduced lunch sitting from 25 minutes to 15 when numbers increased from 150 to 350, with no additional dining facility provided.  This 15 minutes was for 60+ pupils to line up, get food, sit down and tidy away, time to eat was about 5 minutes.

It was unacceptable, parents weren't happy and a written formal complaint was made to school and Governors.  Changes were made to get it back to nearer 25 minutes.

But that is slightly different as its to get the food. The OPs daughter has a packed lunch so we can assume they are getting around the 15 minutes of actual eating time.

Where do you get that from? The OP didn't say this, and given that infant school pupils get a free school lunch, chances are they will be eating a school meal. 

IvanOpinion

rollingmoon said:

LOL at some of these replies, seriously. The notion that 15 minutes is an adequate lunch break for anyone - child or otherwise -  is nonsensical. Pretty soon we will be asking kids to stuff their lunch into their mouths during lessons in preparation for a life of servitude in some call centre or other.

School lunchtime isn't just for eating food; it's for socialising too. It's for helping kids become the sort of adults that can talk to each other, make friends and resolve problems and, y'know, be part of an real, live actual community.

School isn't just about passing exams, and the sooner our useless government - and a few others besides, it appears - the better.

Maybe to provide the correct social distancing or for some other reason the canteen only allows 25% occupancy, so they have to rotate the tables 4 times in an hour so that everyone can be served.  There are many reasons, during a global pandemic, and strict rules so that schools can be opened that may cause this.

GeordieGeorge

rollingmoon said:

LOL at some of these replies, seriously. The notion that 15 minutes is an adequate lunch break for anyone - child or otherwise -  is nonsensical. Pretty soon we will be asking kids to stuff their lunch into their mouths during lessons in preparation for a life of servitude in some call centre or other.

School lunchtime isn't just for eating food; it's for socialising too. It's for helping kids become the sort of adults that can talk to each other, make friends and resolve problems and, y'know, be part of an real, live actual community.

School isn't just about passing exams, and the sooner our useless government - and a few others besides, it appears - the better.

You’ve maybe not seen the news, but we’re in the middle of a global pandemic that has resulted in most people having to make massive changes to how they live and function.

If a school has had to react to this by squeezing lunch time down to a quarter of an hour then it’s a shame, but completely understandable.

jon81uk

ThumbRemote said:

jon81uk said:

daveyjp said:

Nothing new in my world.

Over ten years ago my daughter's primary reduced lunch sitting from 25 minutes to 15 when numbers increased from 150 to 350, with no additional dining facility provided.  This 15 minutes was for 60+ pupils to line up, get food, sit down and tidy away, time to eat was about 5 minutes.

It was unacceptable, parents weren't happy and a written formal complaint was made to school and Governors.  Changes were made to get it back to nearer 25 minutes.

But that is slightly different as its to get the food. The OPs daughter has a packed lunch so we can assume they are getting around the 15 minutes of actual eating time.

Where do you get that from? The OP didn't say this, and given that infant school pupils get a free school lunch, chances are they will be eating a school meal. 

Okay I may have mis-read but the OP states she is only eating a quarter of her lunch, therefore it sounded like the food is coming back home uneaten to give evidence of that.

missile

Talk to the child. "Eat up or go hungry"
I can remember. "Eat your greens or you get no pudding"

sweetgirl2015

Sorry she doesnt have packed lunch, its proper school dinners.
We dont know why shes a slow eater, I guess everyones different.
The problem is we tried to rush her once and she choked and scared the heck out of us, so I dont want to do that again.