A choice of well-balanced, tasty meals is produced in the school’s own kitchen by Hertfordshire Catering Ltd (HCL), and these are paid for weekly in advance on the first morning of the school week.
We run the Pupil Choice Menu which includes a nutritious packed lunch and vegetarian option. Menus are sent out termly to help you choose with your child and can be viewed below:
Payment
Payment for school meals can only be made on the School Gateway App. Please contact the school office for support with this.
Parents who wish to pay half-termly or termly in advance are very welcome to do so. We will only be able to provide a dinner for all children in Reception or Key Stage 1, for free school meals pupils in KS2, or where meals have been paid for in advance or on the day. We are no longer able to build up any dinner money debt due to Government changes. Any future debt would be taken out of the school budget, which would then have a detrimental effect on the education of our pupils. Please do not put us in the position of not paying for a meal but still expecting us to provide one. Refunds can be given at the end of the term or half-term when children have been absent or have missed meals.
Free School Meals
KS1
Universal Free School Meals are available to all children in Reception and Key Stage 1.
KS2
Families in receipt of Income Support via Children, Schools and Families can also qualify for free school meals in Key Stage 2. See criteria listed below:
Free School Meals for Children in Year 3 or older
Your child could get a free school meal if you receive any of the following:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (as long as you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and you don’t get more than £16,190 a year)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit (with annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax and not including any benefits you get).
Applications can be made on the Hertfordshire Website, please see link below. Have your National Insurance number or Home Office number to hand when you apply.
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk and select the ‘Free School Meals’ option.
If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible until 2022, or until they finish their current phase of schooling (primary or secondary), if that’s after 2022.
Packed Lunches
Packed lunches brought in from home, must be stored in a clearly-named, secure container.
The lunch-boxes will be deposited in the classroom at the beginning of the day and collected as the children go to the dining-room. Please make sure that the contents of the lunch box do not include any glass bottles, cans, thermos flasks, hot liquids, fizzy drinks, nut products and sweets, all of which are not allowed for safety reasons.
So that the children can be properly accounted for, those having a packed lunch are entered on the dinner-register.
We do ask for a minimum of a week’s notice if children are changing from School Meals to Packed Lunches, or vice-versa.
School Milk
Cartons of milk are available to all children in the school. Milk is free for Nursery age pupils and children entitled to Free School Meals. From the term that your child reaches 5, if you are not eligible for Free School Meals, milk must be ordered and paid for termly in advance. If you would like your child to benefit from this, please let his/her teacher know, or collect an order form from the School Office.
Payment can be made via School Gateway App.