School meals

All our school meals are freshly prepared by an on site catering team, to menus set by Hutchisons Catering, our School Meal Contractor using only:

• fresh meat and poultry sourced from the region;
• fruit and vegetables sourced regionally where possible using local suppliers;

Our meals:

• have a three-menu cycle, allowing children to become familiar with the food served;
• are changed every term to reflect the seasons

Free School Meals

Free school meals are available to children whose parents are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits:

• income support
• income-based job seeker’s allowance
• income-related employment and support allowance
• child tax credit with an income of less than £16,190  and not in receipt of 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)
• support under part VI of the immigration and asylum act 1999
• guarantee element of state pension credit

Where parents are entitled to working tax credit during a four week “run on” period immediately after their employment has ceased, or after they have started to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school meals.

Update from September 2026

From September 2026 there will be three types of free school meal:

• Targeted FSM: pupils in households with earned income under £7,400
• Expanded FSM: all other pupils in families receiving Universal Credit
• Universal Infant Free School meals: these will continue for all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 who don’t qualify under either of the above criteria. Families do not need to apply for these.

Please click the following link to register your details for our Free School Meal checking service: https://apply.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/eboracademytrust

If at any point while your child is at school with us you become eligible for Free School Meals the system will let you know. Our school gets crucial funding so please register your details even if you are not eligible today. Alternatively please call into the school office of a Free School Meal application form.

If you are eligible for Free School Meals, it may be that your child will still prefer to bring a packed lunch on some days, or even every day, but as registering for free school meals also brings extra funding to our school to spend in the classrooms, we are keen to encourage as many parents as possible to register.

If your child prefers a packed lunch from home please see advice on healthy packed lunches on the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes/#tips

Should you meet the above criteria, you can apply by using the link below

https://apply.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/eboracademytrust

Be in the know about Free School Meals

Paying for School Dinners

The current cost of a school meal is £3. We ask that you pay for all meals in advance. Please login in to your School Grid account, if you need help to do this please contact the school office.

With School Grid, you can easily order and pay for your child’s meals with just a few clicks. To get started, School Grid will be sending you a welcome email with instructions on how to activate your account and create your password. We will let you know what date to look out for this in your inbox. Please note that in order for your account to be created, we will be sharing your information with School Grid. 

You can order on a daily, weekly, monthly or even termly basis. The system will allow you to place as many orders in advance as you like, up to the point the menu has been opened for. You can also make a same-day order up to 8:55am.

If you pay for your child’s meals, then you have two options on School Grid. You can top up your account by making a card payment or alternatively, you can set up a Direct Debit. To place an order, you need to ensure you have the relevant credit on your account or a Direct Debit set up. If you do not have these, you will be unable to order and receive a reminder message to make payment.

With Direct Debit, School Grid collects the payment on a monthly basis and it is collected in arrears. Your Direct Debit amount can vary depending on the amount of meals taken within the period so a statement will be sent to you two weeks prior to the collection, detailing the exact date and the amount to be collected, as well as all the meals included.

Please remember to cancel your order if your child will not be having the meal at lunchtime, otherwise you may still be charged. This also helps cut down on food wastage.

We hope that you find School Grid easy to use and convenient for ordering and paying for your child’s school meals. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can contact School Gird directly on  01506 300310

Here is a user guide to help SchoolGrid – Parent User Guide

Hutchison Catering – Statement of Compliance against the School Food Standards

Please advise the school office of any special dietary requirements. Please note we are a ‘nut free’ school and nuts should not be included in packed lunches from home.

You can download our Medical and dietary update form here:

Dietary & Medical Condition form

2a. Managing Special Diets in primary schools- parent information Final May 23

1. a. Hutchison Special Diet Policy July 24 FINAL

Please see the menu below for our current menu

Current Menu

Food Explorers packed lunches leaflet

Advisories

Whilst we feel that all children benefit from a freshly cooked meal at lunchtime we understand that some parents prefer to send in a packed lunch. If this is the case we ask that you provide a healthy lunch which includes a balanced variety of food groups. Sweets and fizzy drinks are not allowed. We encourage parents not to send in nuts or nut products in children’s packed lunches, as we have some children who can suffer severe allergic reactions. This also applies to packed lunches for educational visits.

For years 3 to 6 the cost of a school meal is £3. This can be paid via School Grid.  Pupils may be entitled to free school meals.