A Catholic primary school has been accused of treating pupils like ‘Oliver Twist’ by refusing to serve them a proper meal because of their parents’ debt to the canteen.
Struggling families at St Raphael’s primary school in Northolt, north London, have been warned that children will be fed only ‘bread and fruit’ for lunch if they can’t pay-up.
Parents are furious at staff for the ‘disgusting’ decision and have accused them of ‘humiliating’ their youngsters.
A letter sent to mothers and fathers said the move had been taken because ‘budgets are tight’ and that controlling ‘parental debt’ would be in the best interest of the school.
One furious parent posted a photo of the letter sent out to parents at St. Raphael’s Catholic Primary School in Northolt, north London
Staff at St Raphael’s were accuse of treating the children like the famous Charles Dickens character, Oliver Twist
St Raphael’s canteen is run by caterers Harrisons, with parents pre-paying for children’s meals via a top-up account system.
The school’s menu offers a wide array of options for each day with children able to tuck into dishes from chicken curry and beef onion pie, to carrot and lentil lasagne.
But new rules state that if pupils in years three to six go over their balance by more than £2.30 they will be left without a full meal for lunch.
In the letter, parents were told: ‘As part of the school’s procedure to improve the efficient running of the school, at a time when budgets are tight, we are implementing a new procedure to control parental debt.
‘We have opted for the ‘one day debt rule’ for all children from years 3 to 6. This means your debt for the day should not exceed £2.30.
‘Any child with an outstanding debt will not receive a school meal and will be fed bread and fruit on the day.
St Raphael’s canteen is run by caterers Harrisons, with parents pre-paying for children’s meals via a top-up account system
‘To avoid this embarrassment for your child, please ensure that full payment is made before 11.00am on the day or provide with a packed lunch.’
St Raphael’s was judged as ‘good’ in its last Ofsted report and in her mission statement to parents, head teacher Evelyn Ward said the school aims to ‘work in a spirit of partnership with you, our parents, developing our respective roles and responsibilities, to teach children.’
But families have slammed the new lunch-time rules and have accused staff of imposing conditions fit for a Charles Dickens novel.
Others claimed the canteen rule singles children out and leaves them vulnerable to bullying.
One father, who posted a photo of the school’s letter on Facebook, fumed: ‘I don’t mind them saying you will only be allowed minimal debt.
The school’s menu offers a wide array of options for each day with children able to tuck into dishes from chicken curry and beef onion pie, to Carrot and lentil lasagne
‘But to use scare tactics that your child will be served bread and fruit and will be embarrassed!
‘It might as well be bread and f****** water and put them on a pedestal so humiliation is complete.
‘What about the families that are struggling to even put a meal on the table when the child gets home. Will they keep giving the child bread and fruit for days or weeks on end?
‘These 3rd parties companies don’t care about the welfare of the children they just want your £2.30 per day. I just hope the schools are watching out for the children and not passing the buck to the 3rd Parties.’
One parent mocked the school’s canteen decision and posted a still from the popular 1968 film Oliver!
Another mother also compared the school’s behaviour to the harsh conditions of Dickensian London and wrote: ‘This can’t be for real, surely not, this is from a Dickens [novel] surely?’
Parents reacted furiously to the canteen rule and slammed it as ‘disgusting’ and ‘horrendous’
Another parent wrote: ‘This is horrendous, not every family has two parents supporting their children and can struggle constantly, those poor kids!’
One angry mother said: ‘If school is compulsory surely school dinners are also whether parents have money to pay or not?
‘Humiliating children because they are of poor families is totally unacceptable, leads to being singled out and bullying!’
One mother ranted: ‘That is awful. It’s like blackmail – if you don’t pay, your child will get scraps! It’s disgusting.’
St Raphael’s told MailOnline that all parents are notified in advance if their children’s account has gone into debt so that they can ‘rectify’ the problem before it becomes ‘unmanageable’.
A spokeswoman also said that no pupils have ever been denied a ‘school meal’.
Headteacher Ms ward added: ‘The well-being of our pupils is always our main priority and our school ensures that all children are provided with lunch, even if their school meal account is in debt.’