School Meals

School Meals are cooked daily on the premises and we operate a ‘wrist Band pre-choice menu’. This means that children staying for school lunch must select their lunch choice from a given selection in advance. Each day the lunch menu will offer a range of foods including meat, vegetarian and cold options. Children will be allocated a coloured wrist band which they will present to the school lunch staff and will then be served their appropriate choice. There are also a selection of desserts for children to choose from each day.

At present the cost of school meals is £2.50 per meal £12.50 per week but all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal as part of the government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme.

A copy of the lunch menu is available below, copies of the menu can also be obtained from the School office.

We ask parents to pay for school meals via Arbor. Parents may pay for school lunches on a weekly, monthly or termly basis and any meals which are not taken will be credited to the child’s lunch account.

Free School Meals

You can register your child for Free School Meals if you get any of these benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
• Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ – the payment someone may receive for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

For parents who may be eligible Registering is really quick and easy –contact the Free School Meals Team at Stockton Borough Council on 01642 526606 who will help you to register. There are many benefits of this for your child in addition to the free meal which may save you more than £350 a year). Extra benefits includes an additional £1320 pupil premium funding allocated to the school which is used to support your child’s learning. If you don’t want your child to have the school meals they can continue their lunchtime routine as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the school still gets £1320 extra. No one will know you have registered and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming.

PACKED LUNCHES

Parents may prefer their child to have a packed lunch. This should be in a rigid plastic container or lunch box carrier and must be clearly marked with your child’s name. We have a school policy offering guidance on the content of packed lunches available on the school website but we strongly request that no glass bottles, canned drinks, sweets, fizzy drinks, nuts or chocolate are included in packed lunches.

CHANGING LUNCH OPTIONS

You are more than welcome to change from school lunch to packed lunch and vice versa, we require a minimum of one weeks’ notice to the school office. This is essential as the Cook orders provisions in advance and major changes to school lunch numbers can affect the kitchen staffing arrangements.

SNACKS DURING THE DAY

We encourage all children to drink plain water during the day. Only plain water may be drunk by children during the school day. In addition a piece of fruit is provided for all children in EYFS and KS1 daily. Children in KS2 are encouraged to bring into school their own healthy snack such as of fruit or a cereal bar to eat at playtime.

Every day the children are asked from the menu which meal they would like and are given a corresponding coloured band to wear.  The children hand these bands to the cook when they go into dinner.  This ensures that each child gets the meal that they want.  It is very helpful especially with the younger children if you could take the time to go through the menu with them and help them with their choices.  The menus are attached below:-