School meals: Pupils with lunch debts 'forgot to pay'

Merlin, Kit and Noah (from right to left) and a former Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle pupil have raised £600

Many pupils who have run up meal debts of more than £1,800 at a school have the capacity to pay but have not done so, its head teacher has said.

Neil Foden, of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, in Penygroes, Gwynedd, said he had spoken to parents who "admit openly that they simply forget to top up their children's accounts".

It comes as Canadian children are among those fundraising to erase the debts.

But Mr Foden said it was possible donors "misunderstood" the situation.

Gwynedd council and the school are set to discuss how to respond to the donations, but Mr Foden suggested anyone wishing to donate immediately to give to a food bank instead.

A letter to parents at the secondary school had said pupils would not be allowed school meals if they are more than a penny in debt.

Gwynedd council has since apologised for concern caused by the letter and school governors have announced a review of its payment system.

Mr Foden, the Gwynedd school's strategic head teacher, said: "Unfortunately, we believe that many of those in arrears do have the capacity to pay but have not done so."

A letter was sent out to Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle parents saying all debts over £10 would be transferred to the council

Coverage of the school's letter prompted three Canadian children, Merlin, Kit and Noah, more than 2,500 miles (4,023km) away from the school, to fundraise to help pay off the meal debts.

Eleven-year-old Merlin, whose great-grandmother was Welsh, said he and his brothers felt sad for the children.

Together with former Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle student Tamara Owen's fundraiser, they have raised more than £600.

'Super unfair'

Gwynedd council urged anyone "experiencing difficulty" paying for school meals to get in touch

Merlin, who lives in Novia Scotia in Halifax with his two brothers and family, said the pupils' debts reminded him of Tiny Tim and Ebenezer Scrooge, from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

He wrote that it was "super unfair" for children to go without over the debts, in their fundraiser page.

"It made me think about all those kids who aren't going to get lunches and are going to be hungry in school and not have the energy to do anything," he said.

"Families aren't going to have enough money to pay for the lunches, so I thought if we did a fundraiser... people would be able to have the money and still be happy."

Merlin said his message to pupils at the school was that they "don't need to feel guilty and can still be happy" because doing this fundraising was "for them".

"If you don't have lunch at school you're going to feel really tired. With math like science, you're not going to be able to really think."

'Our Welsh ancestry makes me happy'

Joseph Martin was born in Rhyl in 1879 and his daughter Ethel Martin called herself Welsh

"We like to think of ourselves as a little bit Welsh, a little bit British and a little bit from Bangladesh," his mother Natalie said.

Their great-great-grandfather Joseph Martin was born in Rhyl in 1879 and died in World War One.

His daughter and Merlin's great-grandmother Ethel Martin, who was born in 1906, "always said she was from Wales", Natalie added.

Merlin added that having Welsh ancestry made him happy and his trips to Wales when he was younger were fun.

"I find that having more ancestors means I have more culture and I can learn more about Welsh people," he said.

'Really heart-warming'

Tamara Owen and her brother, father and nan all have attended Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle

Former Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle student Tamara Owen said she was contacted by the Canadian family after commenting on a Marcus Rashford tweet about the story.

The Manchester United footballer and anti-poverty campaigner has tweeted twice in response to articles on the school's letter to parents.

The 21-year-old student, from Llanllyfni near Penygroes, set up a fundraiser because she felt there "wasn't much being done" to get rid of the children's school meal debts.

But she was surprised that the Canadian family had done the same.

"It's really heart-warming to think that someone that far away has taken an interest and really wanted to help our school," she said.

"I was absolutely taken aback, even to think that people from that far away knew where the area was.

"It's a tiny, tiny community, it's a small village and we all kind of know each other.

"So for someone that far away to do as much as they've done... it's really nice," she said.

Ms Owen, who is currently in her third year studying at Manchester Metropolitan University, said the reception to their fundraising efforts had been "overwhelming" with "so much kindness".

'Generous individuals have misunderstood'

Neil Foden has been the acting strategic head of the school since June

Responding to the donation offers, Mr Foden said it was possible that "generous individuals have misunderstood how the school arrived in that situation".

He said the school had received "considerable correspondence" following coverage of the letter to parents, with "some of these being abusive and in a small number of cases threatening", alongside many donation offers.

"Pupils entitled to free school meals have their accounts topped up daily and have no reason to run up arrears," he said.

"Thus, the most disadvantaged should still be being fed on a daily basis.

"Those just above the threshold for free school meals but who are still encountering, possibly short-term, difficulties can access vouchers from the school for the local foodbank or could discuss with the school a phased programme to reduce the arrears."

He added that charitable donations "may not reach the most disadvantaged", but may simply "write off the debts of some of those who are actually able to pay".

Mr Foden said that the school would discuss with the education authority how to resolve the issue and how to respond to the donation offers.

However, he added that anyone wishing to make an immediate donation "may wish to consider the food bank covering the Dyffryn Nantlle area".

Gwynedd council said it was "aware of the generous offers that have been made" and will discuss with the school about "the best way to respond".

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