Lunch Menus
Meals are cooked on the premises, and provide the children with a varied and well-balanced diet. A canteen method of service is in operation, and the children are able to choose for themselves from a menu which offers a choice of two main dishes, salad or vegetables, and two desserts. The weekly menu is available to all parents on ParentPay and here.
Meals have to be paid for at least a week in advance. Alternatively, half termly or termly payments can be made. As we are a ParentPay school parents have a secure online account on www.parentpay.com, activated using a unique username and password; making a payment using your credit or debit card is straightforward and ParentPay holds an electronic record of all payments for you to view at a later date. When you make a payment, an e-mail confirmation is sent to you, giving you reassurance that the transaction has been successful.
ParentPay is our preferred method of making payments to school for school dinners, milk, trips, breakfast club, swimming, etc. Please rest assured that no card details are stored on the system or are accessible by the school or ParentPay.
Parents who do not wish to make online payment can pay cash at the local PayPoint stores using the barcoded letter provided by the school office.
If dinner money is two weeks outstanding school meals will terminate and your child will need to bring a packed lunch into school. Full repayment of the debt will still be required.
If your child wishes to change from dinners to packed lunches or vice versa you can let the office know at the beginning of the term or half term.
Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)
From September 2014 every pupil in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be offered free healthy school lunches, as part of the School Food Plan, which aims to transform what children eat in schools and how they learn about food (see www.schoolfoodplan.com).
We encourage all the parents to take up this offer of a free school meal, as good food and good food culture has been shown to lead not only to healthier, happier and more fulfilled children, but to improved educational attainment. New standards for school food have recently been published and will come into force in January. By following them, we can be sure that our pupils will get the nutrition they need across the whole school day. We believe that the school lunchtime is a great opportunity for all our children to sit down together and enjoy their healthy and tasty meal, while developing their social skills.
If however you prefer for your child to be on packed lunch please let the school office know.
Registering for School meals
We ask that ALL PARENTS fill in the attached school meals registration form. This is important so that we can continue to register pupils who attract pupil premium, which is worth £1,300 a year per pupil for our school. If you have any questions, please contact the school office.
Register for free school meals to help out your school
If your child is eligible for free school meals, it’s worth registering them even if they’re not going to have the school lunch. This is because schools receive a ‘pupil premium’ – an extra payment for each eligible child which they can spend on useful services. Registering might also get you extra help for things like music lessons or school trips.
Families who may be eligible to apply for free school meals can complete an application form at salford.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals
Are you eligible?
Parents or guardians in England do not have to pay for school meals if they receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Child Tax Credit, provided they are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
- Where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit Run-on, which is the payment someone receives for a further four weeks after they stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit, their children are entitled to free school lunches.
- Children who receive a qualifying benefit in their own right are also eligible to receive free school meals
Packed lunches
The children are allowed to opt for a packed lunch. We offer the following as guidance on the types of items you might like to include in your children’s lunches.
- A good portion of starchy food e.g. wholegrain bap, wholemeal bread, chapatti, pita pocket, pasta or rice salad. Small amounts of low fat spread in sandwiches as opposed to butter.
- Plenty of fruit and vegetables e.g. an apple, satsuma, handful of cherry tomatoes or carrot sticks, mini can of fruit chunks, packet of unsalted nuts or small box of raisins.
- A portion of semi skimmed milk or dairy food e.g. individual cheese portion or pot of yoghurt.
- A portion of lean meat, fish or alternative e.g. ham, chicken, beef, tuna, egg or hummus.
- A biscuit, cake, bun or scone.
Water
The children have access to water at all times both during lessons and in the dining hall. Parents are asked to supply their child with an appropriate named water bottle. Children are not allowed to bring fizzy drinks, juices, flavoured water or other soft drinks to school in their water bottles. Fizzy drinks are not allowed as part of packed lunches.
Snacks
At present, all Foundation Stage and KS1 pupils are given a piece of fruit at morning break.
Sweets are only allowed as special treats for the whole class on birthdays or from holidays. These must be given out at the end of school with a teacher’s consent. Chewing gum, bubble gum and lollipops are strictly forbidden for health and safety reasons.
Milk
Milk is provided free for all children up to the age of five years. Children who are on free school meals are also entitled to free school milk. If your child is over 5 and not on free school meals there is a charge for milk paid termly.
The school kitchen was inspected on 13 February 2019 and was awarded a 5 star Food Hygiene Rating.