Parents fear children 'could starve' as school issues warning

A mum has threatened to remove her eight-year-old son from his school over fears pupils could be “left to starve” at lunchtime. A parent told the ECHO how she received an email from St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School in Walton last week warning parents if their ParentPay balance isn’t paid their child will not receive any school meals.

ParentPay is the system the primary school uses for parents to pay for their child’s school meals. The balance is topped up online, however the school has now warned parents that the balance must be less than -£100 or the pupil will be refused a meal. The ECHO understands an email was sent to all parents last week informing them of the rule.

The warning has left some parents who are struggling financially scared their child may be left without a meal that day. A 38-year-old mum-of-four, who did not want to be named, said: “The email has made me angry for parents. There are people who are financially struggling in the city and to receive this email to say unless the balance is under -£100 we won't feed for children, it's disgusting.

“Some parents can’t afford it and it’s reassuring for them to know that their child is getting at least one hot meal a day at school. People are struggling to pay bills at the moment, fortunately, I'm in a position to be able to pay mine, but others aren’t. It’s disgusting.”

However, the school has argued that it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure children have enough money to pay for lunches but the headteacher has assured parents that the school "would never let a child go hungry".

The mum says she received the email on Friday (August 30) afternoon and has since left her “angry” and “worried.” She added: "I know I owe money for the school dinners, luckily I am in a position to pay mine. But I know parents who are basically worrying if their kids won't get fed that day.

"We have just paid out for uniforms too, then to be told to clear the balance on ParentPay so our kids can eat is just disgusting. We were also told they are needing a new PE kit from September, parents can’t afford it. School meals are reassurance for some parents to know your child is getting at least one meal a day. People are struggling.”

She claims she purposely bought her home in Walton so that her four children could go to St Matthew’s as she says it “used to be sought after in that area.” She now claims she is looking to remove her child from the school.

Claire Sime, headteacher of St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School, said: "We work hard as a school to support our parents as much as we can as we know that the cost of living has presented a lot of challenges. This support, such as purchasing items of school uniform, running a food pantry and offering Christmas dinner boxes, has been acknowledged in our recent Ofsted and religious education inspections.

"However, if children are not on free school meals, parents have a responsibility to make sure that their children have sufficient funds on their ParentPay account to pay for school lunches. The school has reached a point where we are owed a significant amount for school lunches which is impacting on our wider budget and our aim is to reduce this debt over the coming months.

"We also acknowledge that there has also been an issue with synching the ParentPay system. Our school team has worked hard over the summer to address this and to contact parents about the money that is owed. We have asked parents to reduce the amount they owe us to £100 or less.

"We understand that families may not be able pay what they owe as a one-off payment so we are asking parents to come in and work out a payment plan so that their debt can be reduced manageably over time. The majority of parents we have contacted have responded positively and are working with us.

"Our school would never let a child go hungry and if parents are worried they should come and speak to us about how we can support them."