Healthy Eating
Morning snacks
EYFS and Key Stage 1 children have fruit and vegetables provided for them by the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme. KS2 children are encouraged to bring a fruit or vegetable snack from home for break. Click here for ideas on what you can provide your children as a healthy snack.
School Lunches
Children can either have a school lunch or bring a packed lunch.
All children in Reception and Key Stage One are entitled to a Free School Meal.
All of our meals are cooked fresh on-site and include a vegetarian option. The children are offered a main course, with an additional fresh salad bar and a variety of desserts including fresh fruit.
The cost of a school meal is £2.50. We would like payment made in advance in line with our no-debt policy. School meals, swimming and trips etc are payable via Parent Pay
Allergen Identification Lists are available from the school office.
Water for All
Children are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school and regular water and brain breaks are built into the school day and curriculum by class teachers. During lunchtime, we ensure there are enough cups for all pupils (regardless of whether pupils are eating a packed lunch or school dinner) to consume water/milk. Fizzy drinks are not allowed in school as these can contain lots of added sugar and very few nutrients.
Lunch Boxes
School Health UK has developed a ‘Packed Lunch Guide’ for schools in order to help parents to prepare healthy and balanced packed lunch items. We encourage parents to follow this guidance when preparing children's lunch box items.
Confectionery
Children are not allowed to have sweets, chocolate, confectionery or confectionery-covered items in schools. Children are also encouraged to bring in something other than sweets/cakes for birthday treats (although we still allow children to bring these in if they would like).
Nut allergies
There are children across the school with nut allergies that range from mild - severe. We run a nut-free kitchen and ask parents/carers to be considerate of this and provide children with alternatives to foods containing nuts.
Lunchbox litter
All litter from packed lunches must be taken home in the packed lunch box - this helps to ensure parents are aware of what their children are / aren’t eating.
Free School Meals
Free school meals are available to some children according to family income. It's important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch - this is so we can receive additional funding (called Pupil Premium) which we can use to help your child.
To find out if your child qualifies for free school meals, and for any help or advice, please contact:
Website: https://www.essex.gov.uk/free-school-meals