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School refuses a child lunch over £1.75 debt 
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22855011

Disgusting :x

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Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:27 pm
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I used public transport to get to and from school from a very early age. One day, I think I was about 8 at the time, the bus driver refused to let me on the bus because I was short of the whole fare. I was an 8 year old kid, on my own, trying to get home from school. The fare was 4p.

Never forgot that.


Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:39 pm
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Disgusting?
The parents were told three times to pay up the debt, and his father was on the board of governors.
[LIFTED] parenting, to be honest.
If I owed you a debt, and you'd asked me three times for it, would you then go 'Oh ok then' when I tried to use your service?

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Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:49 pm
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ProfessorF wrote:
Disgusting?
The parents were told three times to pay up the debt, and his father was on the board of governors.
[LIFTED] parenting, to be honest.
If I owed you a debt, and you'd asked me three times for it, would you then go 'Oh ok then' when I tried to use your service?

It really should not happen. What about the story recently of the boy who was starved by his parents? He had to steal food at school. They should have reported it, if the police got involved it might set an example and warn him to make sure that funds were paid on time. It should also be brought to the rest of the governors attention. If he was no longer a governor he might have more time to sort these items out.


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Thu Jun 13, 2013 3:29 am
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Amnesia10 wrote:
They should have reported it, if the police got involved it might set an example and warn him to make sure that funds were paid on time.

In a story dominated by lack of proportionate responses, you have there actually managed even less proportional vision than the many idiots directly involved.


Once upon a time there was a very small boy, whose father owed a very small debt for his very small lunches. Although the very small debt was very slightly late, the boy had to eat a very very very small lunch one day. The very small father somehow made that into a very large story. Then end.


Thu Jun 13, 2013 4:31 am
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ShockWaffle wrote:
Amnesia10 wrote:
They should have reported it, if the police got involved it might set an example and warn him to make sure that funds were paid on time.

In a story dominated by lack of proportionate responses, you have there actually managed even less proportional vision than the many idiots directly involved.


Once upon a time there was a very small boy, whose father owed a very small debt for his very small lunches. Although the very small debt was very slightly late, the boy had to eat a very very very small lunch one day. The very small father somehow made that into a very large story. Then end.

+1

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 8:09 am
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ProfessorF wrote:
Disgusting?
The parents were told three times to pay up the debt, and his father was on the board of governors.
[LIFTED] parenting, to be honest.
If I owed you a debt, and you'd asked me three times for it, would you then go 'Oh ok then' when I tried to use your service?


I started at the top of the article, with one set of thoughts, and got to the bottom with a different set. I’m horribly cynical, but I can’t help wondering if the parents were wanting to make a point about the system. Maybe they knew something was wrong with it and wanted to see what happened if they defaulted.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this, or the motives, they should not be using their child as a pawn in a game (which this has now become). The fact that the school is an academy raises an eyebrow too. Is this how academies behave? They are certainly not answerable to the LEA.

All that aside, I think its appalling that the child went hungry that day. I’m going to lay fault at the doors of all involved. Yes, the money should have been paid, but equally the school has a duty of care (which I would argue transcends anything else) towards the child and should have given him a proper meal.

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 8:47 am
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paulzolo wrote:
ProfessorF wrote:
Disgusting?
The parents were told three times to pay up the debt, and his father was on the board of governors.
[LIFTED] parenting, to be honest.
If I owed you a debt, and you'd asked me three times for it, would you then go 'Oh ok then' when I tried to use your service?


I started at the top of the article, with one set of thoughts, and got to the bottom with a different set. I’m horribly cynical, but I can’t help wondering if the parents were wanting to make a point about the system. Maybe they knew something was wrong with it and wanted to see what happened if they defaulted.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this, or the motives, they should not be using their child as a pawn in a game (which this has now become). The fact that the school is an academy raises an eyebrow too. Is this how academies behave? They are certainly not answerable to the LEA.

All that aside, I think its appalling that the child went hungry that day. I’m going to lay fault at the doors of all involved. Yes, the money should have been paid, but equally the school has a duty of care (which I would argue transcends anything else) towards the child and should have given him a proper meal.

So how long do you feed the child for free - 1 meal - 1 year! - I'm sorry but the child went a little hungry (and was given an apple by someone) it isn't going to kill him and might make him realise how luck he is getting fed 3 x a day

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:04 am
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Taking out failures of parents on children is never appropriate. Imagine how the boy must have been taunted by the other children too after this event.

Maybe this country should be like Finland and all children get a free (or a token yearly amount) healthy lunch every schoolday. Increase in cost would be minimal if the kitchens were repatriated on sites and everything cooked from scratch.


Thu Jun 13, 2013 9:24 am
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I'm going to agree with that. On principle, what on earth are we doing charging children for food anyway?


Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:48 am
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TheFrenchun wrote:
Taking out failures of parents on children is never appropriate. Imagine how the boy must have been taunted by the other children too after this event.

Maybe this country should be like Finland and all children get a free (or a token yearly amount) healthy lunch every schoolday. Increase in cost would be minimal if the kitchens were repatriated on sites and everything cooked from scratch.

My wife's school has no kitchen for providing school meals. That went a long time ago. I can't remember the reason why - possibly lack of interest in such things. No hot meals are bought in or served. It's packed lunches all round, and those on free school meals get a free packed lunch.

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 1:14 pm
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I can see both sides of the issue - the school has to put a line somewhere or the parents would never bother paying if their child still got fed. And although the parents owed money, it was only £1.75. It might have been better to send the child home - it would mean the child would have been fed and it would have actioned the parents into doing something eg take time off work (which would cost more than £1.75), or just pay up.

At our school, we had to pay one week in advance for meals that week so the debt would have been £10. If it had not been paid, we would have been given a letter to take home which would have stated the problem.

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 1:39 pm
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TheFrenchun wrote:
Taking out failures of parents on children is never appropriate. Imagine how the boy must have been taunted by the other children too after this event.

Maybe this country should be like Finland and all children get a free (or a token yearly amount) healthy lunch every schoolday. Increase in cost would be minimal if the kitchens were repatriated on sites and everything cooked from scratch.

Not just Finland, also in Sweden, and probably Norway as well. There are also no restrictions on how much you could eat, so you can go back for more. Also any parents who spent the day with the kids would also be fed. Under Swedish system all parents are allowed to spend 4 days a year per child at the school going to all the kids classes with them. These days are also payable by the employer. I got taken along quite a few times.


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Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:10 pm
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paulzolo wrote:
I started at the top of the article, with one set of thoughts, and got to the bottom with a different set. I’m horribly cynical, but I can’t help wondering if the parents were wanting to make a point about the system. Maybe they knew something was wrong with it and wanted to see what happened if they defaulted.


I don't think it's anything to do with 'the system' and everything to do with 'School governor embarrassed by school'.

paulzolo wrote:
Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this, or the motives, they should not be using their child as a pawn in a game (which this has now become). The fact that the school is an academy raises an eyebrow too. Is this how academies behave? They are certainly not answerable to the LEA.


In fairness, the boys father is responsible for using him as a pawn, instead of coughing up the £1.75 and saying sorry. Instead he decides to pick up the phone to the press. Nice. Thanks Dad.

paulzolo wrote:
All that aside, I think its appalling that the child went hungry that day. I’m going to lay fault at the doors of all involved. Yes, the money should have been paid, but equally the school has a duty of care (which I would argue transcends anything else) towards the child and should have given him a proper meal.


Presumably the school had been feeding the child regardless of the outstanding debt up to the point where they had to cut him off in order to make the point?

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Thu Jun 13, 2013 2:28 pm
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From a local interest Facebook page, as this story is local to me:
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"Hi, there is far more to this story. I know the parents personally. First of all, the 3 emails were sent to an email address that the mother had informed the school was now inactive. The school were supplied with a new email address 3 months earlier and failed to update the contact details. However, I also think phoning the parents or a letter home when there was no response would have made sense. Secondly, the younger sibling that attended the school also had plenty of credit in his account as he had swapped to packed lunches. Common sense dictates that the siblings account should have been checked and credit could gave been transferred over, rather than just not feed a child and humiliate him in front of his friends. Finally, I too removed my son from this school. There are massive concerns with the school as a whole, the children's wellbeing and safety are not the priority and I believe there are many risks present. The communication between school and parent are non existent, the head teacher is never to be seen and it is impossible to get an appointment with him and there is a culture of bullying from top to bottom. I am not the only other parent to have removed my son, in just his year at lease 7 children that I know of have been removed due to a lack of confidence in the school to keep them safe. That is only the children I know about, I believe there are many more. Just wanted to give you the facts before you pass judgement on 2 parents that are trying to protect their children and that after a build up of events have now been left with no other option.

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Fri Jun 14, 2013 9:28 am
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