Lib Dems do lunch

Nick Clegg wants to provide free school meals for all
Image curtsoy of Gov.co.uk

Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pledged that all infants at schools in England will receive free school lunches from September. The £600m-a-year scheme agreed by the Coalition is argued to be helping out all families with young children, as the scheme will save the average family £437 a year in meal costs. The scheme has also been backed by the Conservatives as it will ensure that more is done to promote healthy eating in schools, a task started by the Labour party.

The new legislation will see all children in state education aged between five and seven receive a free meal regardless of household income. The scheme rolls out across the country in September and is hoping to reach out to all primary school children by 2016.

Previously free school meals were means tested. An average household income would have to be below £18,000 for a child to receive a free school meal. Currently in Sheffield just 3,300 school pupils qualify to receive free school meals, this is set to increase to over 18,000 students in September when the new arrangement begins.

Nick Clegg told The Sheffield Star: “I’m delighted thousands of local children and families across South Yorkshire will see real benefits”.

The scheme has been challenged by many people as ‘taking from the poor to feed the rich’ and is believed that other sectors will suffer because of this scheme.

Mother of four, Suzanne Marshall from Dore said: “I think it is outrageous that any child should receive free school meals. People shouldn’t be having children if they cannot afford to feed them. I will still be sending my children to school with a packed lunch, I know school meals have got a lot better since Jamie Oliver but I still wouldn’t trust them.”

Example of exisitng school meal from Martha Payne's blog

One of the main objectives of the bill is to decrease childhood obesity in the UK by making sure that all children have a healthy and nutritious lunch whilst they are at school. An insight into the current issues with school meals was a hot topic for the press last year after 9-year-old school child, Martha Payne took a photo diary of her school meals with some shocking results, causing a much needed shake up to the meals available for children. Currently over a fifth of 4-5 year-olds currently overweight or obese in the UK (Public Health England) many are welcoming the change as a way to help better a child’s future.

Cliff Woodcraft

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Fulwood, Cliff Woodcraft thinks that children will benefit from the changes: “Too many children, do not get to eat a nutritious meal each day.  This is not just because their parents cannot afford it. The free school meal will ensure that all young children will receive at least one good meal each day. This will benefit their ability to progress individually and thereby raise general standards in the schools.”

The Coalition is also pledging £150million to ensure that schools can build new kitchens and increase dining capacity where necessary in preparation for the changes. This increased demand is thought to push smaller schools to their limits and will mean that more staff will need to be employed. Head Teacher, Robin Dungate will see the number of children receiving these meals more than double in September: “I think it is a very noble idea and I am sure that we would see an improvement in children's well-being as a result. However  it all has to be paid for of course and I am would be worried if we don’t get the extra funding into the budget for extra staff our existing lunchtime staff will be over worked and under a lot of stress which will not benefit anyone.”

Do you have any memories of school meals you want to share? Or have a view on the new legislation? I'd love to hear from you, tweet @Kelly_Kooks