Our school meals are cooked on the school premises and offer good value at £2.15 per day for a two course meal. School meals are provided by Taylor Shaw who work with school to ensure meals are healthy of a high quality and nutritionally balanced. Children have a two choice menu. Nursery children and 2 years old lunch is £2.50
We are able to offer vegetarian dishes and all pupils who require medical therapeutic diets can be accommodated at no extra cost. We one sitting for all children at 12:00 am. Our menu follows the National Nutrition Standards for School Lunches and is currently provided by Taylor Shaw. We believe that the provision of a healthy school meal is an essential part of education not only covering dietary aspects and the classification of foods but also encouraging good social behaviour.
Please find below an example of our School Lunch Menus which you can view or download by clicking the link below:
We are a cashless school, all meals, snacks and activities are available on ParentPay. Please contact the school if you have further questions on how to set up your account.
Application forms for free school meals are available from the reception desk.
A Free School Meal is supplied to all children who are in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (Key Stage 1) as well as to children whose parents are in receipt of Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support, or Child Tax Credit; provided they do not receive Working Tax Credit and have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190. If you think your child may be entitled to free meals please contact the school or the School Meals Team at Durham County Council (03000 268002). Every effort is made to ensure that children receiving free meals cannot be distinguished from other children.
As well as a school meal, children are welcome to bring a packed lunch to school. Please note, that if you wish your child to change their lunch time meal arrangements (i.e. move from school meal to packed lunch) we require 2 weeks written notice.
Although some older children bring packed lunches to school, I do not advise this for younger children who do not know the daily routine and who require a greater degree of supervision. Packed lunches brought to school must be in a suitable box or container which should be named. These are stored in the hall until lunchtime and collected from the hall at home time. For health and safety reasons no drinks in cans or glass bottles and no hot liquids. Children should have either a paper/plastic cup or a straw to drink with and drinks should be in leak proof containers – please NO FIZZY DRINKS OR SWEETS.. Our school food policy is available on request. It is important that you understand any chocolate bars and/or other unhealthy items found in lunch boxes will be confiscated and returned to you at the end of the school day. School will provide an alternative healthy option for your child which you will then be required to pay for. We are a healthy school and as such advocate healthy lunch boxes too.
Healthy Lunchbox Checklist
- A good portion of starchy food, e.g. thick wholemeal bread, chapatti, pita packet, pasta or rice salad.
- Plenty of fruit and vegetables, e.g. an apple, satsuma, handful of cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, mini can of fruit in natural juice.
- Portion of milk or dairy food, e.g. individual cheese portion, pot of yoghurt.
- Portion of lean meat, fish or alternative, ham, chicken, beef, tuna, egg, humous or bean/lentil salad.
- A drink of fruit juice, milk or water
Children bringing packed lunches must be able to manage the opening of their lunch boxes and contents.
Playtime Fruit
The school is involved in a Government initiative to provide a piece of fruit for every Key Stage 1 child every day. This is usually eaten by children at morning breaktime. All pupils in school are welcome to bring additional fruit to eat at break time.
Subsidised whole milk is also available through Lancashire Dairies – forms will be sent out on admission. Older children can request a form from the reception desk.
We also run a healthy tuck shop open to all where children can purchase fruit or milk at 25p per portion.
Water Bottles
We encourage our children to drink plenty of fresh water. Water coolers are available throughout the school and the children are encouraged to use them frequently. Research indicates that drinking fresh water helps promote good concentration and good behaviour.
