School Meals
School Meals
All school meals are cooked on the premises by Chartwells. Nutritious and healthy meals are produced, following government guidelines, which are pre-ordered on a daily basis from the children. Portions of fruit and a salad bar are also available. Dinners cost £2.25 per day.
From time to time, the School Meals service like to encourage children to try new food from around the world, and there are sometimes ‘themed’ days where food from different cultures is available. Although the foods are varied, they all meet the nutritional standards set out by the Food In Schools authority, and on such themed days there will also be a non-themed popular choice and salad bar in order to meet the widest needs. This occurs only a few times across the school year, but it is always a good opportunity for children to try something new and encourage healthy choices.
Lunch money should be paid online via Arbor. If you do not have an Arbor account, please contact the school office for further information. We do not allow arrears to build up in respect of lunch payments. If your child owes more than two weeks worth of dinner money, we will request that you change them over to packed lunches or make alternative arrangements. We therefore appreciate prompt payment on a Monday.
Eligibility for Free School Meals
Some families will be eligible to receive a free school meal. To meet the criteria, the person with parental responsibility must be in receipt of any of the following benefits: Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Child Tax Credit WITHOUT the inclusion of Working Tax Credit and an annual income of less than £16,190. Application forms are available from the School Office. Even if you are eligible but do not want your child to have a School Meal, it is still worth applying as the school receives funding based on the numbers of Free School Meal places, which directly impacts on the service we can deliver.
Please contact the school office for further information on eligibility for free school meals.
Packed Lunches
We are happy for your child to bring a packed lunch to school. We would appreciate it if all meals could be made up in an appropriate, neat bag or container, clearly labelled with your child’s name and class. We promote healthy options as part of the wider school ethos, and therefore encourage fruit and other fresh ingredients as packed lunch content. Please do not send fizzy drinks, chocolate bars or sweets. Drinks should be either bottled water or fruit juice/cartons. We do not accept glass bottles or cans.
The following website links give ideas on how to give your child a healthy packed lunch.