A contracted caterer, Shire Services, provides our hot school meals. They have confirmed they meet and constantly review their menu against the school food standards.  We are really lucky as our hot meals are cooked on site at King Charles Secondary School lower school site which connects directly to our school.  The hatch is opened and dinners served fresh from the kitchen! 

Their menu includes 2 main meal choices and a vegetarian option.

· 75% of their meals are freshly prepared.

· They use Red tractor chicken that guarantees safe, quality chicken meeting welfare standards.

· All their fish is Marine Stewardship Certified and all eggs are free range.

· They do not add additional salt to their meals.

· All cakes and biscuits are freshly made and all puddings are made from a reduced sugar recipe

· Gluten free meals are available on request.

Menus are available from the school office and meals should be ordered via ParentPay. The meal choices should be ordered online by 3pm on the Friday of the prior week.

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be provided with a free hot school meal. This means that your child can enjoy a hot school meal every day with no cost to yourself. However, in order that we don't create surplus waste, we will be requesting that you order which days and meals are required via ParentPay.

Free school meals for Key Stage 2 children can be provided as part of the Family Support Benefit Scheme and applications are completed online at: https://emsi.worcestershire.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en.

(If the pupils are attending a school trip and you are entitled for free school meals, a packed lunch will be provided for them).

Packed Lunches

We actively encourage a healthy lunchbox and recommend that they should contain the following:

· a good portion of starchy food, e.g. wholegrain bap, thick sliced wholemeal bread, chapatti, pitta pocket, pasta or rice salad

· plenty of fruit and vegetables, e.g. cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, small box of raisins, mini can of fruit chunks

· a portion of semi-skimmed milk or dairy food, e.g. portion of cheese or pot of yoghurt

· a portion of lean meat, fish or alternative, e.g. ham, chicken, beef, tuna, Quorn, egg or hummus

· a drink e.g. fruit juice, semi skimmed milk or bottle of water

In addition, the school encourages a healthy diet and asks parents to consider the quantity and frequency of the following items in pupils’ lunchboxes:

· Sweets (including Winders), chocolate bars, etc.

· Crisps or any packeted savoury snacks high in salt and fat

· Sweet cakes, e.g. cakes, doughnuts, etc.

For the health and safety of children with nut allergies we recommend that the following are not included in pupils’ lunchboxes:

· Nut bars

· Foods containing nuts

· Packets of nuts

During meal times, children are encouraged to maintain good manners and are assisted by our caring lunchtime supervisors. 

Free School Meals 

If you meet the criteria below, we encourage you to apply for Free School Meals as this not only allows you to receive a free school meal every day for your child, it also brings in additional funding to the school which goes towards enhancing your child's provision.  There are also additional benefits such as discounts for school visits and wider opportunities. 

What is the Difference Between Free School Meals and Universal Free School Meals?

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to universal free school meals which means they all receive a free school meal.  If you meet the criteria below for Free School Meals, you still need to apply for this in order to get the additional benefits this brings. 

Please don't hesitate to pop to the office if you have any questions. 

Who can get free school meals?

If your child attends a state school, and you get one or more of the following you can get free school meals:

• Income Support 
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance 
• Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act, 1999 
• Child Tax Credit, and your annual income is less than £16,190 
• Guaranteed Pension Credit 
• Income-based Employment and Support Allowance 
• Working Tax Credit run-on 
• Universal Credit, and your annual household income is £7,400 per annum (£616 per month) or less after tax, and not including any benefits.