School Meals
We are delighted to announce that we have employed a new school catering company, ABM Catering Ltd, trading under the brand GROW for primary schools.They will be working in partnership with us, to provide nutritious, healthy, freshly prepared, seasonal, locally and ethically sourced meals from September 2021.
The GROW brand values correlate well with our School Food Plan. We look forward to working together, to offer a delicious menu that can be enjoyed by all the children at school.
Please find the welcome letter for parents from GROW below:
Please note that the price of school meals will increase to £2.50 from January 3rd 2023.
Meals can be paid for by ParentPay (see School Meals Payments below).
The menu will change twice per year – a summer and winter menu, reflecting seasonal produce and a menu selected to appeal to children throughout the school year. The menu plan is based on a three week cycle, and parents are required to pay for meals in advance.
There are three menu choices daily:
- meat/fish
- vegetarian
- jacket potato/simple pasta dish
Seasonal vegetables will be served daily, plus a dessert, yoghurt or jelly, fruit of the day, a salad bar and wholemeal bread.
Please find the menu plans here:
Menus February to March 2024
If you are interested in learning more about ABM catering solutions, please follow the link https://www.abmcatering.co.uk/brands/grow/
We encourage the children to eat but never force them. Whether your child is bringing a packed lunch or taking a school meal, if they are not eating enough over a period, we will inform you.
Free School Meals
In order to qualify for Free School Meals you must be in receipt of one 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)
If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2022.
Please contact the school office in confidence, if your circumstances have changed, or you believe that your child may be eligible for free school meals. A simple and straightforward check can be carried out which will confirm your eligibility.
School Food Plan – Universal Infant Free School Meals
It was decided that from September 2014 all pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2 would be entitled to a free school meal. Audley Primary School therefore offers all children in these year groups a free school meal. Every child, irrespective of household income, is entitled to take up the offer.
If your child has free school meals, you can also pre-select meals on ParentPay (see below). The system will recognise that you are entitled to free school meals, and there will be no charge to pay.
School Meals Payments
School meals for pupils in KS2 must be paid online in advance using ParentPay. The option to take a school meal will only be available to children where sufficient funds have already been paid to the ParentPay
It is not the duty of the school, but the duty of the parent to ensure that payments are made in advance to cover school meals that their child has.
The menus have been loaded onto ParentPay so that meals can be pre-selected at home, or the parent can pay an amount ‘on account’ and the child can select their meal in the morning at registration. The meals can be pre-selected up to 10 weeks in advance.
Packed Lunch Items
Audley has been awarded Healthy School status – an award that both pupils and staff are very proud of. In keeping with the healthy school requirements, we teach children to make healthy lifestyle choices both at home and at school.
If required, packed lunches prepared by the school caterers adhere to the Government Food Lunch Standards. The school encourages parents and carers to provide children with packed lunches that complement these standards. This is achieved by promoting healthy packed lunch options using the principles of the ‘eatwell plate’.
Listed below are our current expectations regarding school packed lunch items:
| Packed lunches should include:
| Packed lunches should not include:
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| – At least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables.
– Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (e.g. lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, houmous, and falafel). – A starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other type of cereals. – Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard. – School will provide fresh drinking water thus packed lunches do not need to be supplied with a drink. All children are still required to bring a water bottle to drink from during the day. – One snack such as a wafer chocolate bar for e.g. a Kit Kat, biscuit or a packet of crisps. | – Audley Primary is a Nut free school, please ensure no nut based products are in a packed lunch including; cereal bars, peanut butter, cakes.
– Due to serious allergies please also be reminded that kiwi and shellfish should not be included in lunch boxes. – confectionery items and sweets – Unhealthy sandwich fillings such as chocolate spread.
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Children will be offered water to accompany their packed lunches at lunchtimes. If your child requires a drink other than water, then this would be deemed to be as part of special dietary requirements and therefore medical evidence will be required by the school, e.g. doctor’s certificate/note.