Education in Moray: Hungry pupils may be allowed to use free school lunch money at morning break

Pupils entitled to free school lunches could soon be able to use the cash to get food at morning break.

Moray councillors will decide whether to release funds to allow children who may not have had breakfast the opportunity to buy a sandwich or hot snack before lunch.

The move comes after Buckie High School pupils lobbied the education committee to bring forward the time the money is released.

They stated some children arrived at school without having breakfast, and that impacted on their ability to learn.

Children buy food using their Young Scot cards.

At the moment £2.40 is added to their cards just before lunch.

The total is enough to get a pancake at break and a hot snack and milkshake at lunchtime.

Any leftover funds are cleared at the end of each day.

It has taken almost a year for a report on the issue to come before councillors.

However, members of the education committee will discus it at their meeting on Wednesday, January 25.

Officers are recommending money be released in time for morning break.

There is a chance pupils could spend the whole £2.40 at break then still present themselves for a free meal at lunch – which the council is then obliged to provide.

But, according to information from other local authorities, there is a low risk of that happening.

There are two other options up for consideration.

One is to allow any unspent allowance to roll over until the following day or the end of the week.

While this would make pupils more likely to have funds for lunch, it could result in them having too much food on some days and not enough on others.

Also young people could either willingly or be pressurised to buy meals for others.

The last option is to leave the system as it is.

In the report catering manager Elaine McRae writes: "The free school meal allowance can be moved for pupils to use at break time.

"However if a child has spent all the allowance and still requests a lunch we are legally required to provide a lunch for them.

"The extra allowance for the lunch would require funding."

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