A PORTRAIT OF MODERN PARENTING
Families queue from 3am in bid to secure place at school’s breakfast club – so parents can head off to work
MORE than 100 parents queued from 3am to secure their child a coveted place at a school breakfast club.
Armed with chairs, flasks and biscuits, they arrived in the dead of night to wait patiently at the gates of the primary school.
By first light yesterday, more than 130 parents were in an orderly line stretching around the block.
The wildly popular breakfast club has limited spaces, handed out on a firstcome, first-serve basis with a waiting list for those who miss out.
Busy working parents said they have no choice but to get their children a place in the club, which serves healthy breakfasts an hour before lessons start at 9am. The earlier time allows them to beat the worst of the rush-hour to get to work on time.
Some parents fear they would be sacked if they could not take their children to the Government-funded club at Ysgol Y Berllan Deg primary in Cardiff. Front of the queue was Annett Farrow, who drove 70 miles from Carmarthen to the school to get a place for her grandchild.
‘We have been on the road since 1am and got here at 3am,’ she said. ‘My son and daughter-in-law are on holiday so we had to come. If it gets them a place, it will have been worth it. We have brought biscuits and crisps.
‘The only problem is the toilets – we have been using the facilities in the hotel opposite.’
Leanne Taylor arrived at 3.30am to gain the places which she believes will allow her to carry on working. ‘It’s not just the difference between dropping off at 8am and 9am,’ she said.
‘The difference is the amount of traffic on the road. If I drop them off at 8am, I can get in for quarterpast or half-past. If I drop them off at 9am, it’s more like 10am.
‘ I don’t think my managers would be that understanding. I don’t have a plan B. It is a really good school and I don’t think there is a fairer way to do it. You literally have to walk in and hand a form in.
‘They then write what number you were in the queue on the form. The ones here first are the ones who need it most. It gets longer and earlier because the people who did not get a place last year will get here earlier this year.’
Another parent, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘It is a big talking point. You get a text two weeks before and then a letter. It goes straight in the diary.
‘I have been doing this for two years and this is the biggest queue I have seen. I don’t know how a single parent would be able to do it as they would have to bring their children with them.
‘In previous years, people have brought multiple forms for friends and that has been banned because it wasn’t fair on the people who queued up. The atmosphere is much nicer this year.’
The club’s capacity varies year on year from 80 to 150 spaces.
Some parents have become veterans of the process, such as Julie Ayre, who commutes to Somerset daily. ‘My child will be in Year 6 so this is the last year I have to do this, thank goodness,’ she said.
‘Last year I was 125th and I didn’t get a place but I went on the waiting list and got one. If I didn’t get it I would have to pay for a childminder.’
The Welsh-language primary school has 454 pupils ranging from Reception to Year 6.
The Welsh Assembly aims to offer all primary pupils the chance to receive free breakfasts each day to help boost health and classroom concentration as well as tackle health inequality.