School Dinners

At St Chad’s, we believe that a daily nutritious meal at lunchtime is an essential part of the school day. It enables pupils to feel re-energised and ready for their afternoon learning.

All of our children in Reception and Key Stage 1 qualify for Universal Infant Free School Meals (this is a government scheme). All children receive a free school meal regardless of their parents’ income.

Our school dinners are eaten in our school hall. We view our lunchtimes as a very sociable occasion. Our children are encouraged to try new foods and practise good table manners. Staff will often eat their own lunches alongside the children in the dinner hall.

We have a group of Lunchtime Monitors (children in Year 1 and 2) who support our lunchtime staff with the tables and chairs and the tidying up of plates. Our older children are wonderful ambassadors to our younger children in Reception and will help them carry their trays.

We encourage all of our children to have a school dinner. Our school dinners are freshly cooked and nutritious. The use of a knife and fork also helps to strengthen little hands!

 

 

 

Our school dinner menus are regularly updated. Copies of our menus are sent home and displayed in the school office. Please encourage your child to look through the menu and choose their meal options.

Lunchtime LOVE Table
We want all of your children to look forward to their lunchtimes and for mealtimes to be a positive experience. We have a daily LOVE Table that helps to reward children for trying new foods, showing good table manners, eating all of their food and looking after the dinner hall. A group of Year 2 children (our LOVE Ambassadors) are responsible for the organisation and smooth-running of the LOVE Table. Everyday children are nominated to sit on the LOVE Table daily and they are rewarded with a special certificate. Staff take it in turns to sit and have their lunch with children on a daily basis.
Packed Lunches and Home Dinners

Although we like our children to have a school dinner, we understand that some children prefer to eat a packed lunch from home. All of our children eat together in the hall. Packed lunches must be healthy. The key to a healthy lunchbox is to include a balance of foods from the four main food groups:

  • Breads and cereals

  • Fruit and vegetables

  • Meat

  • Milk and dairy products

Foods in the fifth food group, containing fat and sugar, should be eaten in moderation.

Children can have their lunch at home, if parents prefer. Children must be collected at 12pm and dropped back off at 1pm.

Mid Morning Snack
Free fruit and vegetables are provided to all children in Reception and Key Stage 1 as part of the Government scheme. Children may also bring in their own healthy snack each day. As a 'Healthy School' we encourage children to bring in either a piece of fruit or a healthy option such as dried fruit (e.g. raisins). We do not allow food such as sweets, biscuits or crisps as part of the mid-morning snack.
 
Milk is provided free for children under the age of five and is subsidised by the European Union under the European School Milk scheme.