Parents at The Limes Primary School in Oulton, near Lowestoft in Suffolk, have accused staff of using pupils as young as nine to cover a shortfall in lunchtime supervision. Children in Years 5 and 6 are required to clear other pupils' plates, wipe tables and sweep floors during the school day, with some parents claiming this amounts to unpaid labour that eats into their children's own lunch breaks and raises hygiene concerns, as gloves are reportedly not provided when handling others' leftover food and cutlery.

The scheme, introduced last term, also involves older pupils emptying food waste from younger children's lunch boxes. The school, which opened in 2018, has around 370 pupils and was rated "good" by Ofsted in 2023. While some parents have complained directly to headteacher Charlotte Thompson and the Reach2 Academy Trust without response, others have publicly backed the initiative as teaching responsibility, and the trust insists it has not reduced lunchtime staffing or handed supervisor duties to pupils, describing the tasks as risk-assessed and age-appropriate.