School Dinners

Lunchtime at our school is between 12.00pm and 1pm. We have an excellent kitchen team who offer a fantastic daily selection of healthy meals, the menus for which can be found at the end of our weekly newsletters.

Our latest Food Policy can be found here and this has a full and current list of allergens that are and are not permitted to be served in lunches whether they are made in school or are brought in from home.

Lunchtime - Hot school meals 

Hot school meals are provided from our school kitchen. Lunches are cooked on the premises and cost £2.75 per day. A menu is displayed in the entrance foyer and can also be found on our most recent newsletter. Vegetarians and special diets are catered for, please ask at the school office for details. In addition to the published menu we also have special themed meals, often relevant to events in school. We request that parents pre-pay for school meals using School Gateway.

Packed Lunches - Brought from home

In preparing packed lunches parents are asked to provide non-fizzy cold drinks only in spill proof containers, and we would also like to ask that no flasks, glass bottles, hot drinks or cans are included in the packed lunches. Hot drinks and soups must be avoided. Water is freely available in the dining room. We encourage parents to only provide healthy home made sandwich meals for their children and to talk to their children about this. Please note that no food items containing nuts are allowed in school because of concerns around allergic reactions. This includes all chocolate spreads as it can be difficult for staff to ascertain which spreads contain nuts.

Free school meals at Reception and Key stage 1 

Please note that all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to receive a free school meal, regardless of income, in line with the Government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals initiative. There is no need to make an application to the Local Authority for parents of these children. Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

• 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 guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, may also get free school meals. You can check your eligibility using this checker and then make an application directly to Essex County Council. 

Break time snacks

Children may bring a mid-morning snack to school. In the interests of health, parents are requested not to send sweets (including chewing gum) and to avoid chocolate snacks. Children in the Foundation class are provided with a snack and drink in snack time.  KS1 children receive free fruit or vegetables snacks at break time through the School Fruit & Vegetable Scheme.

Children are also able to buy a daily snack from our school tuck shop. There is a small charge for these items which can include items such as sandwiches, biscuits, small pizza slices, cakes and fruit. All of this is cooked form scratch in our school kitchens.