State funded Infant School children (i.e. those in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) receive a free School lunch. Herts Catering provide excellent healthy meals cooked in our School kitchen and special dietary needs are catered for. Parents order their child’s meals using SchoolGrid for up to a term at a time. This helps caterers ensure that children get the dish of their choice.
The Menu
The menu follows a similar pattern each week, with for example a different roast each week. It runs on a three-week rotation. A copy of the menu can be found below. Please note that the chilled options shown are not available. Please see the SchoolGrid for current chilled options.
If your child is absent, please ensure you cancel your child’s meal for that day. Thank you.
My Child needs a Special Diet Menu
HCL offers specifically adapted menus in line with the mainstream offer for selected food allergies, intolerances and some cultural choices. There is a rigorous process in place to provide a safe meal service to pupils with food allergies or intolerances. The online application service simplifies applying for a Special Diet Menu. This is the required process for all new applications for special menus.
To ensure that food groups are not withdrawn from pupils’ diets without medical supervision and to also ensure that we have a full understanding of the medical implications, applications for special diets for medical reasons can only be made with supporting evidence from a GP, hospital consultant or dietitian. If you do not hold medical evidence there is a form that can be downloaded that can be taken to a GP for them to stamp and sign.
The application usually takes about ten minutes to complete and can be accessed using this link: specialmenu.hcl.co.uk/
Packed Lunch
We promote healthy packed lunch provision and our on going attention to health and nutrition is part of our Healthy Schools status. Due to allergies some children may suffer, sweets, nuts and chocolate are not allowed in School and should not form part of a packed lunch. All children have water provided for them at lunchtime therefore cartons of juice etc. should not be put in lunch boxes.
School Milk
All children have the opportunity to have milk everyday at snack time. Milk is free to children until the term of their fifth birthday then there is a charge. Milk has to be ordered in advance for a whole term. Payment is required in advance and once ordered there can be no refunds or alterations.
School Fruit and Vegetables
All children will be encouraged to eat a daily portion of a fruit or a vegetable provided by the School.