School Lunches

Hutchison Catering provides school lunches for St Mary’s. Here is some information about the company:

‘Nutrition is at the heart of the menus that we develop at Hutchison Catering. We wholeheartedly aim to provide a balanced diet that is not only nutritious but also engaging with our young customers… …our meat is Red Tractor, all our fish is sourced from sustainable sources in line with MSC guidelines, eggs are free range, fruit and vegetables come from LEAF accredited suppliers and we also use Fairtrade products wherever possible.’ Hutchinson Catering Ltd, website, services to primary schools, August 2021

Our catering staff cook meals in our on-site school kitchen each day. Lunch consists of freshly-made, hot main courses, served with a selection of vegetables, potatoes, pasta or rice plus a selection of fruit or homemade desserts.  There are vegetarian options and food allergies are catered for.

Our menu works on a three-week cycle to make sure there is variety and choice. Below is our current menu. Sometimes slight amendments need to be made to the menu but parents will be notified of this change via the newsletter or a text.

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to free school lunches, which they can choose on a daily basis. For children in other years, parent pay is used to pay for all schools meals. A school meal currently costs £2.65 per day.

 

New Process for booking meals

We are introducing a new way for you and your child to order school lunches, which involves selecting and pre-paying for a school lunch through Parentpay. This should make the process quicker and more efficient.

Menus for next half term are now available to view through the Parentpay app and pre-ordering and paying is essential.

Going forward, we ask that you order and pay for your child’s lunches for the week ahead by the previous Friday at the latest.

If you are eligible for Universal Free School Meals or Free School Meals (FSM) you can still order through the app, but you will not be charged.
The process for booking on the app is as follows:
  • On the homepage, select ‘book meals or places’
  • Select the relevant week
  • Click ‘make or view bookings’
  • This will take you to the weekly menu view, and you will be able to select your child’s choices

Please note: you will only be asked to select your child’s main meal choice. Full menus including sides and desserts are attached and the rotation will start with the Week 2 menu on Monday 3rd November

If your child has a separate allergen aware menu, you will not need to follow the process above.

Autumn Menu

Packed Lunches

As an alternative to school meals children may bring a packed lunch. This should be brought in a firmly closed box, bearing the child’s name. Insulated lunch boxes are recommended to keep food safe and fresh. Drinks must be brought in plastic or cardboard containers. For safety reasons, canned drinks and glass containers are not allowed.

If your child forgets his or her packed lunch we will try and contact you. If we are unable to do so we will supply a school lunch for which you will be required to pay.

Milk

Every child under the age of five is entitled to a free 189ml serving of milk. Older children can pay weekly for a daily serving of milk. Please visit the Cool Milk website to register your child for their milk (regardless of age)