School Meals

DEAR PARENTS/CARERS

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT MEAL PRICES INCREASE FROM SEPTEMBER 2019.  THE NEW PRICE WILL BE £2.35 PER DAY

School Meals Information

In December 2014, new allergen legislation came into force, and from January 2015 the new Food Standards became mandatory. Our menus are fully compliant with the latest legislation and guidance.

Edwards & Ward, our catering company, have trained our catering staff to be aware of the changes to the legislation and competent at meeting the requirements. If you require any further information please speak to a member of our catering team.

Information about the School Food Standards is available from:

www.schoolfoodplan.com/standards 

Information about the Allergens legislation is available from:

www.food.gov.uk/science/allergy-intolerance/label/labelling-changes

Free School Meals

All children from Reception - Year 2 are now eligible for a free school meal regardless of income. Please speak to the office if you would like to receieve a free meal for your child.

If you are a parent or carer, and receive any of the benefits below, then your child (of any school age) is also eligible for Free School Meals.

• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net income not exceeding £7,400 [£616.67 per month])
• Income Support
• Income based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment & Support Allowance
• Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190 as assessed by HMRC)
• Working Tax Credit run on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

If your application for Free School Meals is successful, Parson Street Primary School will also receive extra funding from the Government to use in support of teaching and learning (Pupil Premium).

If you would like to apply for Free School Meals please get in touch so we can help you or look online BY CLICKING HERE

Our Catering Arrangements

Since November 2017, we have worked in partnership with a catering contractor called Edwards & Ward. Information about our catering partners is available directly from their website: http://edwardsandward.co.uk

For details of our current menu, click on the link below. There will be opportunities to sample or food at Family Lunch days throughot the year. Keep an eye out in newsletters for information about events and promotions. 

School Meal Menus

Mayor's Award for Excellence - Healthy Schools

In July 2018, Parson Street was revalidated with our Mayor's Award for Excellence for our work to promote Healthy Schools. It was noted that our submission was very strong and contained many examples of best practice. The report noted:

We were impressed with how pupils in the food crew have been actively involved and driving this work, the fact your school is now sugar smart, not using food as a reward and the carefully thought out and innovative approach to improving the dining experience - which is an example of excellent practice. The provision of physical activity in your school is broad and caters to a wide range of interests, it is great that children who are less active are identified and supported to engage. We were also impressed by all the work your school has done to increase active travel and the great results you have achieved. It is clear children’s wellbeing is a priority, as it is evident that there are robust systems in place to tackle bullying, to ensure children feel safe and to celebrate equality and diversity. Additionally we felt you had effective systems in place to identify and support children with mental health and wellbeing needs and ensure staff feel supported, it is great that supervision is offered to staff in pastoral roles. Finally the work to promote green issues and sustainability is exceptional.

Family Dining

From September 2018, we are introducing a Family Dining experience at lunchtime for our children. This means that we will try to replicate meal times in the home environment. We believe this will encourage children to try different foods and develop their language skills by encouraging conversation and dialogue at the dining table.

Children will eat together as a class group, will be responsible for helping to set the table and clear away at the end as well as organise themselves together. Children will not be permitted to leave the dining room until the end of the meal time so that they learn how to engage in a conversation with their peers. This will also prevent them from rushing their food simply to go and play.

As part of this experience, and to ensure that as many children as possible eat a nutritionally sound meal, we encourage all children to have a school meal. These are currently provided FREE OF CHARGE to all children from Reception - Y2. From September 2018, our new Reception children will not be allowed to bring a packed lunch and will all have a school meal whilst they are free. If you have any questions about these arrangements then do get in touch with the school.