'I lost free school meals for my daughter after extending my shifts by 90 mins'
A dinner lady who lost out on free school meals for her daughter after working 90 minutes longer each day has said she's no better off because of the cost of packed lunches.
Michaela Thomas, 30, who works at Mayfield School in Redbridge, east London, said her 11-year-old daughter no longer qualifies for free lunches after she increased the length of her working day last September.
Her monthly wage increased from just under £700 to £1,050, which took her over the threshold to qualify for free school meals for her daughter, who was in Year 6.
Strict eligibility rules mean children from Year 3 onwards no longer qualify for free lunches unless their families receive certain benefits.
"I should have just stuck with my hours as I'm paying the same amount anyway. I'm no better off at all if I'm honest," Michaela said.
Free school meals for all primary kids in London, says capital Mayor Sadiq Khan
Children in Year 3 and above only qualify for free school meals if their household receives certain benefits (Getty Images)"When I actually got it (the extra pay) I thought, 'yes, this is going to be brilliant'. Now I've lost all my money to packed lunches."
Michaela said her shopping bills have gone up, which limits what she can buy to feed her family.
She also described seeing kids come into the canteen who are hungry and don't have enough money to get lunch.
“Over the past few years, the amount of free school meals that come through has gone up,” she said. "With the economy we're in, we should be able to afford for them to have food."
She said she sometimes pays for pupils who are short of cash to get their lunch and the school will later chase it up with the parents.
Michaela said: "I'm a dinner lady. If a child comes up to my till and they've got 25p in their account... I physically cannot take that food away, I can't."
She said: "Most of the time the parents are just like me. It's not that they don't want to pay, they just haven't had time."
She backed the Mirror's calls for free school meals for all primary children regardless of their parents income. "It ain't like it's a lot. It can be done," she said.
Michaela is also a singer outside of work, recently beating 200 contestants to win the Aspers Live & Unsigned competition.
"A few of my students have been told I'm the singing dinner lady. I have had a few students say, 'Oh miss, will you sing something for me?' I will if I've got time and the queue's not too long."
'I know free school meals are a lifeline because I depended on them'
The Mirror and National Education Union (NEU) are campaigning for Free School Meals for All.
A Department for Education spokesperson previously said it had extended eligibility "several times to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century".
Nearly one in four (23.8%) pupils in England are eligible for free school meals.
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