Stigmatisation, discrimination and the administration of FSM

Sara Bryson & Stephen Crossley

‘Everything was fine until the dreaded lunch bell sounded’

‘Look there’s Hope, She’s got holes in her shoes,

Pays nothing for dinners,And holds up the queue’s,

Going home with a face full of sorrow,But don’t worry Hope,

We’ll get you tomorrow’

‘Schools cannot compensate for society’

‘Capitalist, neoliberalsocieties beget capitalist neoliberal

educational systems’

Reay (2013)

Food Insecurity in wider society

Food banks opening

A ‘nutrition recession’

Parents skipping meals

‘School was an engine of social grading, a place of humiliation for those without the possessions that guaranteed social acceptance’

Walker et al (2013)

‘(Children) in Britain talked about anger and the need to control it when faced by peers gloating over possessions and deliberately coaxing a response from those who could not afford them’

Walker et al (2013)

‘children identify free school meals as a very specific and visible difference, which clearly leads to fears of them being labelled and bullied’

Ridge (2002)

‘the greatest indignity is when one’s children are publicly displayed in the classroom or dining room as the children of a financial incompetent – one who cannot even earn enough to pay for their food.’

Veit-Wilson (1971)

Do you know who is poor in your school?

Areas to address

•The Administration of Free School Meals

•Quality & Portion Size

•What can you get for £1.90? What can’t you get?

Areas to address

•Breakfast

•Pre-Exams

•Black Market

•Knowledge, understanding and awareness of teaching staff

Conclusions

Universal Free School Meals?

Universal Breakfast provision?

Exploring practice across the school day

Acknowledgements

Four schools involved (children, parents, staff & governors)

ReferencesReay, D. (2011). Schooling for Democracy: A Common School and a Common University? A Response to “Schooling for Democracy”. Democracy and Education, 19 (1), Article 6. Available at: http://democracyeducationjournal.org/home/vol19/iss1/6

ROBERT WALKER, GRACE BANTEBYA KYOMUHENDO, ELAINE CHASE, SOHAIL CHOUDHRY, ERIKA K. GUBRIUM, JO YONGMIE NICOLA, IVAR LØDEMEL, LEEMAMOL MATHEW, AMON MWIINE, SONY PELLISSERY and YAN MING (2013). Poverty in Global Perspective: Is Shame a Common Denominator?. Journal of Social Policy, 42, pp 215-233.

Ridge, T. (2002) Childhood Poverty & Social Exclusion: from a child’s perspective, Bristol: Policy Press

Veit-Wilson, J. (1971) The right to Privacy and the Collection of School Dinner Money, Newcastle: Confederation for the Advancement of State Education

Contact Details

Sara.bryson@children-ne.org.uk

www.children-ne.org.uk

s.j.crossley@durham.ac.uk

www.nechildpoverty.org.uk