The Government recognise that good food at school is particularly valuable for the youngest of our children. All children attending school in their first three years of schooling will be entitled to free school meals. By receiving our infant school meals you can save up to £400 a year and ensure your child is eating a healthy, balanced meal every day.
There are very high nutritional standards for school meals and they consistently offer children a third of their nutritional requirements every day which is essential to their growth and development. Having a meal at school has been proven to help children settle to learning quicker, improve their concentration and help with their energy levels to get them through an active school day.
Our school meals are provided by Hertfordshire Catering Limited. Their core aim is to improve school meals and make lunchtime a positive and integral part of a child’s school experience. They are passionate about fresh, local and seasonal ingredients that help to provide dishes that are not only popular with the children but also comply with healthy eating standards and guidelines.
Our meals are fun, nutritious and delivered by a dedicated team of catering professionals with a focus on taste, value and quality. We do this by ensuring that we use raw ingredients from a supply chain with a proven track record. We deliver dishes with a focus on taste, value and reassurance of the provenance of our meals.
So why choose a school lunch?
Children having a school lunch are:
- Encouraged to eat a wider variety of foods
- More likely to eat fruit and vegetables every day
- Less likely to drink sweet drinks and have water instead
- Served balanced meals that are more likely to reach the guideline amounts of vitamins and minerals
Children having a packed lunch should be able to deal with any packaging independently. Containers should be clearly named. Please do not send fizzy drinks, cans or glass bottles, a straw or plastic cup is better. Ensure that the contents in your child’s packed lunch are as healthy as possible – we are a healthy school.
What can I give my child for break time?
We are an accredited National Healthy School and are committed to promoting and monitoring healthy food at break and lunch times. You may like your child to have a mid-morning snack. We welcome fruit and vegetables, and would ask you not to send your child with chocolate, crisps or sweets of any kind. Please remember we are a nut free school and check your cereal bars.
Children in Puffin, Swift and Wren classes are provided with fruit every day as part of the National Fruit Scheme.
What drink should I provide?
Research shows that our brains need water to stay active and alert. All children are encouraged to bring only water into school daily, in a spill proof plastic bottle that they can take home at night to rinse and refill.
What if My Child has Food Allergies?
'If your child has a food allergy or intolerance and meets our qualifying criteria, then we have a range of delicious and nutritious menus designed especially for your child’s medical requirement.'
HCL have an on-line account system for parent of children with special dietary considerations. Before you apply, you will need at hand:
• Your child’s school details including their class name
• Medical evidence of your child’s special meal requirements
• Electronic Passport style photograph (which you will need to upload on to our system).
To apply, simply go to www.hcl.co.uk and click on the tab at the top of the website ‘Allergies’. If you need any further support, please see the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section of our Special Diets website or alternatively you can email HCL.Nutritionist@hcl.co.uk.
Once you have created your account you will be able to easily update both your child’s school and HCL with any changes to your child’s dietary needs in the future, and you will automatically receive new menus when they change (twice yearly).
