We have our own school kitchen which is run by the local authority catering service.
All our meals meet the national food standards for schools which are set by the government.
Tasty meals are prepared daily, following the Fresher Plus menu.
We have a high uptake of school meals because the children (and staff!) enjoy the food.
Children in KS2 are able to pre-order their choice of food.
Vegetarian and halal options are offered.
Please inform us if your child has any dietary needs - we take this very seriously.
The kitchen has had a hygiene rating of 5 for many years.
Lunchtimes
Lunchtime is from 12.00-1.05pm.
(Reception have their lunchtime from 11.45am-12.45pm.)
KS2 children choose either school meals or packed lunches.
The children can sit together wherever they choose.
The kitchen staff serve food at the counter. There are at least two choices each day, supplemented by a fresh salad bar and bread basket. The welfare staff help the children in the hall and on the playgrounds or, in the summer, on the field.
The Reception children are taken into the hall first and assisted with their food choices and cutting up when necessary. Year 1 come in for lunch next.
Year 2 play out for a short while before they are called in.
Once the infants have finished lunch, they go out to play until 1.05pm, supervised by the welfare staff.
The KS2 children have a dinner rota which changes each week so that it's a different class coming in first each week. Each class is called in from around 12.20pm, has their lunch and then goes back out to play.
Snacks
As part of our healthy school ethos, we ask that only healthy snacks are brought in for playtimes.
These may be fruit, salad or veg snacks eg raisins, banana, carrot sticks.
We discourage any fruit winders or cereal/muesli bars as these can be deceptively sugary.
The infants are offered a fruit, salad or veg snack every day.
These are provided for free by the government.
We offer toast as a morning playtime snack.
Parents pay for this in advance via ParentPay.
Water
The children should bring in a named drinks bottle each day filled with fresh water (not cordial).
Children have good access to water throughout the day.
Milk
Parents of the infants may buy milk for their child. Payment via ParentPay.
Reception children are given free milk in the term(s) before they turn 5.
Milk cartons are stored in the fridge before distribution.
Free school meals for all children in reception, year one and two
All children in reception and years one and two are entitled to free meals as part of the Government’s Universal Infant Free School Meal programme. This is worth up to £480 per year per child - please talk to your child’s school for more details.
Benefits of free school meals
Financial savings: Parents save money as they don't need to budget for their child's lunch, which can be a significant expense
Improved nutrition: Children receive balanced, nutritious meals, which can positively impact their health and development
Convenience: Parents don't have to worry about preparing packed lunches every day, saving time and effort
Enhanced academic performance: Studies show that children who eat healthy meals perform better academically
Claiming free school meals for older children
If you are on certain benefits, just ring your local Area Education Office with details of your name, date of birth and National Insurance number and they will let you know if you are eligible.
Contact your Area Education Office on: 0300 123 6701 or visit the Lancashire County Council free school meals guide.
Some KS2 children may choose to bring in a packed lunch.
If you choose to provide your child with a packed lunch, we kindly encourage you to consider preparing a Healthy Lunch Box. The information below offers guidance and suggestions to help you make nutritious and balanced food choices for your child.
The children will bring home any packets/wrappers in the box to indicate what has been eaten.
Packed lunchboxes are stored on a trolley until lunchtime. In warmer weather, parents may like to put a mini cool pack in the box.
Primary School Special Diets
Special diets are diets for pupils with a medically diagnosed requirement; not just a dislike of certain foods or food groups. It is our policy to provide a menu for those pupils with medically diagnosed food allergies, food intolerances or a medical condition which affects eating requirements. The Catering Service understands that some people have particular sensitivities to certain foods that non – sufferers would find harmless. When someone has a food allergy, their immune system reacts to a particular food or food groups.
We recognise that severe allergies can cause life threatening reactions and that food intolerances do not involve the immune system and are not generally life threatening, but can make the customer feel poorly.
It is our policy to safely provide special diets by operating a rigorous food safety management system as part of our central HACCP system, which identifies the appropriate controls and working instructions required for the provision of special diets.
The organisation provides all necessary training and instruction to Catering management and frontline staff and monitors its effectiveness. The provision of special diets will be regularly audited and if applicable corrective measures put in place.
Parent/guardian responsibility:
- To inform school of their child's allergy or intolerance and provide supporting medical evidence relating to their child's condition. This can be provided as a letter from their GP or a consultant paediatrician, together with any information received from their dietician.
- To seek medical or dietetic advice if they consider their child to have a medical condition that affects eating requirements.
- To provide as much information as possible to their child's school to assist in the provision of a suitable menu.
- To discuss the menu with their child and/or dietician to assist in making suitable choices.
- If necessary to meet with the school and catering supervisor to discuss the menu provision
Allergens
Allergen information shall be available and easily accessible to customers, in accordance with the Food Information Regulations (FIR) 2013, for all foods, for the following list of allergens:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soya
- Sulphur dioxide/ Sulphates