Focus group summary
Agree / disagree statements
3 . Free school meals - young people told us :
This question brought up a debate as some students believed that not everyone should have free school meals and others did .
Most students agreed that it should be like it is now where there are categories that you should meet to get free school meals . They believed that the meals should be free but it depends on the price . If the meals are affordable then people should be paying for them but if it is impossible then they should be free . Some students also argued that if someone is paying for a private education then the meals should be part of that price .
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" Would this initiative work for every school ? More money would be needed for certain schools , and more food , which would be hard to keep up with ." " You should pay for the time and effort the people spent making it for you , it is their job after all so they should see the bene ts of it . Though , they probably shouldn ’ t do it just for that ." " Entitled to free education , but not free meals ? it ’ s a basic human right , it doesn ’ t make sense ."
4 . Transport - young people told us :
Students who can easily walk shouldn ’ t be getting transport for free , but people who are like one of our participants who lives nearly 2 hours away and takes 2 buses to college should be allowed to have her bus fare free , even if she doesn ’ t live in the school bus area .
Most students said that it can cost them from £ 20 pounds a week just to get to and from school . They believe that transport should be free because if they are already paying for other aspects of school then why should they pay high prices just to get there . Some also stated that if they don ' t want to go to school in the rst place then why would they pay to get there .
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" We should encourage more healthy ways to get to school instead , like walking and cycling . It helps lower the carbon footprint and gets you exercise ." " Some people wouldn ’ t make use of it , because public transport isn ’ t suited for everyone . Maybe money should be put in to make transport more accessible in other ways ." " You can ’ t rely on transport every day . Things get cancelled and routes change . Alternatives should be funded ." " Certain people should get it for free , the same as it is currently for free school meals . Things like living a certain distance away or having low income ."
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