At my son’s school they have recently changed the system for paying for snacks. They provide toast, juice and milk for the children. Previously, we as parents would place the order at the beginning of the week or even at the start of the term or half term if preferred. The snack would be delivered to the children in the classroom and all seemed to work well from the perspective of parents and children.
Apparently, it was proving to be a bit of a headache on an administrative basis. The school introduced a new system which involved the children paying for the snacks and drinks themselves on a daily basis. Children from the age of 5 and up. So now we have to make sure we remember to give the cash to the children every day or every week. We’ve had to buy a little purse. It’s been a pain in the neck, but I guess it might be teaching some valuable skills: dealing with money, shopping, etc.
The trouble is that the system is not working. On a fairly regular basis there is not enough toast to go round. Children are going back to their classrooms hungry. Now I know they won’t starve as lunch isn’t that far away, but it can’t help their concentration.
I don’t even understand why it is happening and happening repeatedly. We can never run out of toast in this house because we keep a spare loaf in the freezer. I just can’t get my head round why the school aren’t doing the same. It seems the easiest thing in the world to keep a few loaves in the freezer or just make a bit more toast. They could even nip out to the shops to get some bread, after all the school is in an urban area.