School Dinners and Healthy Eating

Could your child be entitled to a FREE school meal? If you are in receipt of benefits, your child could be entitled to a free school meal and you could save up to £380 per year. Please see the attached document for further details or speak to one of our Family Workers who will be able to help you.

School Dinners

The school provides a school meal service in conjunction with three other local schools. Mark Passarelli, our Catering Manager works closely with Georgina Passarelli (our Kitchen Manager) and her team to provide nutritionally balanced meals.

The cost of each meal is £2.10 per day. Please ensure you have enough credit in your ParentMail account each week for your child to have their school dinner. Accounts that slip into arrears have lunches stopped and you must send in a packed lunch for the child. If you need help registering please contact one of our Family Workers who will be able to help you. Staff are not allowed to accept cash payments.

Children in Years R, 1 and 2 receive free school dinners in line with Government policy.

Packed Lunches

It’s just as important to make sure the lunchbox your child takes to school provides a healthy, balanced lunch. This means plenty of foods that contain the nutrients that children need, and fewer foods that are high in sugar and saturated fat. A balanced packed lunch should contain:

Starchy foods: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and others.
Protein foods: meat, fish, eggs, beans and others.
A dairy item: cheese or yoghurt.
Vegetables or salad, and a portion of fruit.

If your child forgets their packed lunch the kitchen will provide a school lunch and you will be charged £2.10 for the school dinner – we will never let a pupil go hungry.

Our goal is to improve the health of the entire community by teaching children and families ways to establish and maintain life-long healthy and environmentally sustainable eating habits. This mission shall be accomplished through food education and skills (such as cooking and growing food), the food the school serves, core academic content in the classroom and cross curricular activities.

Mid-morning Snack

Foundation Stage and KS1 – Children are provided milk and a portion of fruit or vegetables. Children have the choice of water as well.
KS2 – Pupil Premium children are given milk as part of this funding. Other children are able to buy milk. Please speak to your class teacher for further details, thank you.

Drinks

Children are encouraged to drink water at school particularly after P.E, active play and in the hot weather. School provides water through water fountains and classroom taps.

Free School Meals

The school recognises the particular value of school meals to children from low-income families. All children in years R, 1 and 2 are eligible to receive a free school meal under the Universal Free School Meal scheme, please speak to your class teacher or Family Worker for further details.

The system for free school meals is actively promoted to parents by the school and a non-discriminatory process is emphasised. If you think you may be eligible to claim free school meals for your child/children please contact Luton Borough Council by clicking here or speak to a Family Worker who will be able to help you.

Curriculum, Teaching and Learning

Pupils are given the opportunity to taste, touch, smell and feel a variety of foods.

Multicultural aspects of food are explored and linked with school meal theme days.

Teachers link healthy eating/food to other areas of the curriculum as part of our cross-curricular approach.

Parental Involvement

Information about school catering is available at parent evenings and in school newsletters, e.g. menus, theme days, free school meals, etc. This information is also available on the school’s website.

Feedback from parents is invited in newsletters.