A VIDEO of a dinner lady confessing she is dreading going back to work after having to deny a growing number of pupils’ lunches has gone viral on social media as families become more concerned about the cost-of-living crisis.
The woman from Lancashire talks of how just before the summer holidays, she was spending “as much time taking food away from children as I do serving it”.
She said she has had to tell an increasing number of children they can’t have certain lunch items because there is a lack of or no money in their account.
While this used to happen every so often, she claimed this now happens to 10 to 15 children per shift.
The emotional video – from PoliticsJOE - has gained a huge amount of attention on social media and has been retweeted almost 9000 times.
This dinner lady says she cries going into work - because she has to deny children school lunch. pic.twitter.com/ep0C8WKpQR
— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) August 30, 2022
The dinner lady, who is not named, said: “I’m just dreading going back to work.
“I don’t even think I can do this job anymore. I didn’t take this job on to starve children.”
Who is entitled to free school meals?
Entitlement to free school meals varies across the four nations of the UK and it's important to check what you are eligible for. Here's a rundown of what's in place in each nation as things stand, and how that might change in the months to come.
Scotland
In Scotland, children can get free school lunches during term time in P1 to P5, regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.
Children can also get free school lunches if their family is in receipt of Universal Credit, income support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, or support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Outside of these benefits, children can get free school meals if their family is in receipt of Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and their income is less than £17,005, or if they get both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit and have an income of up to £7920.
The Scottish Government has been urged to extend free school meals to all primary school children, something the SNP pledged to do ahead of the last Holyrood election by this month. The rollout of the policy has been delayed but the Scottish Government has said it is planning to extend free school meals to all primary school pupils during this academic year.
Wales
The Welsh government is working closely with councils to ensure every primary school pupil receives a free school meal by 2024.
From September, the Welsh government will fund local authorities across Wales to begin rolling out their offer of a free, nutritious school meal, starting with their youngest learners.
This will mean that most children in reception classes will start receiving universal primary free school meals from this September.
By April 2023, the majority of children in years 1 and 2 will also start receiving free school meals, with local authorities given the flexibility, support and funding to start delivering free school meals to those in years 1 and 2 earlier than April if they can.
A total of £225 million has been set aside to pay for it over the next three years.
England
Children can get free school meals if they are in reception or years 1 and 2 regardless of their family’s financial circumstances.
Outside of these years, parents must be in receipt of benefits such as income support, Universal Credit or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance to be considered eligible.
Children who get these benefits directly instead of through a parent or guardian can also get free school meals.
Northern Ireland
Parents can apply for the Free School Meal and Uniform Grant if their child is in full-time education and if they are in receipt of certain benefits, including income support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Earlier this year, the Department of Education announced the NI school uniform grant will be increased by 20% to help support low-income families.
