Smartcard scheme removes stigma of free school meals

Schools in Lanarkshire have launched a school meals credit card to stop pupils who receive free food from being teased and bullied by other children.

Pupils at the 10 schools involved have each been given a card, whether they receive free meals or not, which they use to buy their lunches.

The cards, called smartcards, are identical, so it is impossible to tell who has free food and who does not. Before they were introduced, children from deprived backgrounds were given free lunch tickets.

Karen Thomson, catering manager of Columba High in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, one of the schools piloting the scheme, said: "The cards take away the stigma of having to stand in a dinner queue with a free ticket.

"They do stop bullying, and it means some children who used to skip lunch because they were so embarrassed now have a meal."

Each week the children put their food money into a machine that credits the money to their card. When they buy a meal, the price is deducted from their card.

Children who receive free meals have their own cards which are automatically credited each day with £1.35 - the price of a meal and a drink.

The cards also allow parents to ban foods. If a child tries to buy a food its parents have banned, the card causes the till to bleep when it's swiped through.

Thomson said that none of the parents at her school had yet banned their children from eating chips.

by Louise Bozec