Healthy Lunches

Our aim is simple: to provide every child with tasty, nutritious meals that they enjoy, while giving them the energy and focus they need for
learning throughout the afternoon.

Our school caterer is a wonderful, family-run company that specialises in education catering, focusing
on providing freshly prepared, healthy meals with plenty of delicious choices.

At Knowle Green base the meals are cooked on the premises daily and served in two sittings, the younger children eating first.

At Park Avenue base the dinners are cooked on the premises daily.

We actively encourage all children to have school meals as we believe it to be an important part of the school day.

Cost of a meal
The cost of a school meal for Years 3 to 6 will be £2.80 (£14.00 per week).

Our food offering
A whole range of food options are available which can include:

•  Hot meals
• Jacket potato and fillings
• Sandwich, roll or baguette
• Pasta Bar
• Fresh salad selection
• Traditional desserts, fruit and yoghurt

Menus may occasionally change due to unforeseen circumstances. For the latest updates please refer to the SchoolGrid portal and check your emails for any pre-order cancellation notifications.

How to order and pay for your child’s school meals
You can manage your child’s school meals using Dolce’s parent portal, called SchoolGrid. This easy- to-use system allows you to:

• pre-order meals
• pay securely by card
• view menus
• directly input vital allergen information

Pre-ordering Meals
To reduce waste and help to ensure your child receives their preferred choice, please pre-order meals before 8:55am on the day. You can also pre-order for the entire term in advance.

Online Card Payments
A card payment can be made online through your SchoolGrid account by selecting ‘Pay by card’

Telephone Card Payment
Dolce’s Customer Care team is available 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday to take a card
payment on 01942 707709. The minimum payment amount they can accept over the phone is £10.

Allergies or Dietary Requirements

It is essential that you record your child’s allergies on your SchoolGrid portal account so Dolce can provide a safe meal.
If your child has an allergy outside the standard 14 allergens, or any additional dietary needs (such as vegan or halal), please contact Dolce Customer Care and they will assist you in updating this information for your child’s account. 
If your child has a special diet or care plan, please speak to the school. Dolce’s Area Manager will then work closely with yourself and the school to ensure your child’s needs are safely met.

Contact Details

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding school meals, allergens, payments etc, please do not hesitate to contact the friendly Dolce Customer Care team:

• Availability - Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm
• Phone - 01942 707709
• Email - customercare@dolce.co.uk
• If you experience any technical issues with access to SchoolGrid, please contact SchoolGrid technical support on 01506 300310 or by email to support@schoolgrid.co.uk

From September 2014 the Government funded free school meals for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

Those parents in receipt of Universal Credit, Income Support, IBJSA or some forms of Child Tax Credit may be entitled to free school meals. Applications forms are available below or from the school office. Please note we are unable to provide free meals until the relevant documentation has been received.

Break-time snack

Children in nursery-Y2 are provided with fruit each morning. Older children are encouraged to bring a piece of fruit with them or a healthy fruit snack bar (These must not contain chocolate or nuts)

Packed Lunches

If your child wishes to bring a packed lunch please note that the children will all sit together during lunch time, therefore it is important to understand the school recognises that some pupils may require special diets, or have nut, sesame and food allergies.  Parents and Carers should ensure packed lunches are as healthy as possible and advise their children not to swap food items.

Be aware of nut allergies. Click here to access Allergy UK's advice page on Managing Allergies at School.

• Parents and Carers are responsible for ensuring all food in a packed lunch is both fit for consumption and meets the standards laid out below.
• The school has a duty of care to ensure that all packed lunches provide a healthy balanced meal to allow children to fully participate in afternoon learning.
• Lunchtime staff are primarily employed to supervise school dinners, however they will regularly check the contents of packed lunches.
• All packaging and containers must be easily opened by the children and should be returned home daily.
• Packed lunches should be brought to school with the child in the morning, except in very exceptional circumstances it is not possible to take packed lunches through to children.

Food and drink in packed lunches

• The school will provide facilities for pupils bringing in packed lunches and ensure that free, fresh drinking water is readily available.
• The school will work with staff and pupils to provide attractive and appropriate dining room arrangements.
• The school will work with Parents & Carers to ensure that packed lunches meet the standards listed below.
• As fridge space is not available in school, pupils are advised to bring packed lunches in insulated bags with freezer blocks where possible to stop food deteriorating.
• Pack lunches can comprise the following:-
  • At least one portion of fruit and vegetables every day
  • Meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein
  • Oily fish, such as salmon, at least once every three weeks
  • A starchy food such as bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other cereals
  • Dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard.
  • Only still water, fruit juice, semi-skimmed milk, yoghurt or milk drinks and smoothies.  These should be in plastic bottles or cartons.
• Hot food is discouraged on the basis that maintaining safe temperatures of certain food items can be difficult. Therefore there could potentially be a health risk to the child. Any food such as soup should be provided in a safe suitable flask which is age appropriate for the child. 
   
• Packed lunches should NOT include any food that contains nuts. This includes:
  • chocolate spread including Nutella & hazelnut based products
  • Sesame & sesame seed based products including hummus
  • peanut butter and/or cereal bars containing nuts, 
  • chicken satay
  • Pesto
• Packed lunches should also not include chocolate bars or sweets or fizzy drinks.

If you are unsure, we would be grateful if you could check the ingredients before you pack their lunches, this will be hi-lighted in bold on the ingredient list.

Packed lunches will be regularly reviewed by teaching staff/catering staff/midday meal supervisors. Parents & Carers who do not adhere to the packed lunch guidelines will receive a leaflet in the packed lunch informing them and if it is felt necessary, parents will be called.