School Meals Autumn 23
Dear parent / carer
Autumn Menu
I am pleased to share our new menu for the Autumn term which can be found at this link. The menu includes some fantastic dishes perfect for the Autumn season such as mince and dumplings, vegetarian toad in the hole, apple crumble and custard and many more!
Paying for meals
You may have noticed that where you pay for meals in the School Gateway app has moved to the home page. You can now open the app and click ‘lunch money’ to ‘top up balance’ for an even quicker way to pay. There is a button in this section called ‘make or view meal bookings’. Please disregard this option as it does not apply to our school meals set up. You simply continue to top up your balance and the cost of a meal (£2.50) will be deducted each time your child takes a school meal. All meals must be paid for in advance using the School Gateway app. We operate a no debt police and if your child does not have money on their account we will not be able to provide a school meal.
Children in Reception to Year 2
Your child is entitled to universal infant free school meals. This means your child can take up a school meal every day for no charge.
Children in Year 3
If your child is in Year 3 from September 2023, can I remind you that their entitlement to universal infant free school meals has now ended. To continue to take up the school meals offer, you will need to ensure there is a suitable balance on your child’s School Gateway account.
Free School Meals (FSM)
If your child is currently eligible for benefits related FSMs, your child will continue to be able to access a school meal every day with no charge. If your circumstances have changed and you believe you may now be eligible for benefits related FSM, you can apply online using this online form. To see full eligibility criteria, please click here.
Food allergies and intolerances
If your child has any dietary requirements and would like to take up school meals, please contact the school office in the first instance. You will then be asked to complete a form which is shared with Hutchinson Catering, allowing their dietitian to liaise with you and school staff to create a suitable menu for your child. You will also need to provide medical evidence to support with the creation of an allergy or intolerance special diet menu. Please note, until all information has been provided by the parent / carer and a special diet menu has been approved, you will need to provide a packed lunch for your child.
Packed lunches
If you provide a packed lunch for your child, we ask parents / carers not to include sweets as we encourage children to bring a lunch that supports a healthy balanced diet. Packed lunches must not contain any nuts or nut containing products (e.g. peanut butter, Nutella, breakfast bars etc) as several children in school have severe nut allergies. This also applies to any snacks or food brought into school for other occasions.
If you have any further questions about our school meals offer, please contact the school office where a member of staff will be happy to help.
Thank you
Mrs Hunter
Business Manager
