School Meals
School meals are cooked in our own kitchen at school and are served cafeteria style. Our catering is provided by abm Catering Solutions, under the 'Grow' brand.
The cost of a meal is set by our caterers and parents are notified of any changes in advance.
The current cost of a school meal is £2.50 per day or £12.50 per week, although we are currently offering free school meals to all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 as part of the Government's 'Universal Infant Free School Meals' (UIFSM) scheme. As well as this, some pupils may be eligible for 'Free School Meals' (FSM) throughout the whole of their time at school. Scroll to the bottom of the page for more information about free school meals.
We also provide facilities for children who wish to bring a packed lunch in from home.
New Caterers Arrive at Yardley!
We are excited to announce that from April 2024 we welcomed our new caterers to school, abm Catering Solutions.
Their school meal service is delivered under the 'Grow' brand, which you can now see in our dining hall.
Lunch Menus
To give our pupils a wide variety of options, our lunch menu operates on a three week rota and includes Halal and non-Halal meat.
Also available daily are a choice of freshly baked flavoured or wholemeal bread, a fresh salad bar, water, seasonal fresh vegetables, seasonal fresh fruit, fruit yoghurt and fruit jelly.
Our current lunch menus are displayed below (updated for September 2024).
Breaktime Tuck & Snacks
Paid for tuck is available for Years 3-6 during their breaktimes. It is entirely optional, pupils will purchase it themselves from the dining room during their breaktime.
If pupils wish to purchase tuck, they should bring in money to do so. ParentPay cannot be used to pay for tuck.
The price list for tuck is as follows:
Toast (per slice) 25p
Fruit 40p
Allergy free biscuit 60p
Allergy free cake 60p
Orange juice 70p
Apple juice 70p
Water 50p
You may wish to send your own snack in to school for your child to eat during breaktime. This must be a healthy snack as opposed to chocolate, sweets or crisps.
Here are some suggestions for snack time, which can be sent in a food bag or a sealed container:
Whole or sliced fruit.
Vegetable sticks, e.g. celery, carrot, pepper and cucumber. Some vegetables are naturally baton shaped which can save you time preparing them, e.g. sugar snap peas and baby corn.
Bag of plain popcorn.
Bread sticks.
Rice or corn cakes.
Small handful of mixed dried fruits.
Cereal bars.
Free School Meals
Trying to understand free school meals in schools can sometimes be a bit confusing. Hopefully we can help.
There are two ways pupils get free school meals at the moment. 'Free School Meals', quite often referred to as FSM, and 'Universal Infant Free School Meals', sometimes known as UIFSM. But what is the difference?
Free School Meals (FSM)
Your child may be able to get free school meals for the whole of their time in school if you get any of the following:
Income support
Income-based Jobseeker 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 the 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)
Children who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get free school meals.
To check to see if you are eligible, complete our online free school meals application form using the button below. You will need to make a new application for each child but your information will be remembered to help you to complete multiple applications quickly.
You may apply for eligibility on behalf of a parent/carer if you have permission to do so and their details.
Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)
This is a scheme run by the Government where every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 is able to get free school meals. There is nothing you need to do for your child to be eligible, they will be entered automatically.
However, even though this scheme is open to all children, we would still urge parents/carers who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) as stated above to complete the online application form. This means that your free school meals will continue as your child moves into Year 3 and it means our school will receive extra funding from the Government.
Healthy Lunchboxes
As a school we encourage parents to provide their child with a healthy packed lunch at lunchtimes, if school meals are not taken and for educational visits.
The NHS Eatwell Guide advises that a lunchbox should contain:
A starchy food, e.g. potatoes, bread, rice, pasta.
Plenty of fruit and vegetables, e.g. carrot sticks, an apple, sliced cucumber.
A source of protein, e.g. beans, pulses, egg, fish, meat.
A healthy drink, e.g. water, semi-skimmed milk.
Please do not include the following items in lunchboxes:
Nuts.
Confectionary e.g. chocolate, sweets etc.
Carbonated (fizzy) drinks.
Download the 'Healthy Lunchbox Information' guide below for advice on putting together a healthy lunchbox:
Healthy Lunchbox Information.pdfFor further information and inspiration around healthy lunchboxes, check out these very useful websites:
Better Health: Healthier Families
Healthier lunchbox recipes
Early Years Nutrition Partnership
How to make the perfect school lunchbox!
School packed lunch inspiration
