School meals

The government’s school food standards require lower fat milk or lactose reduced milk to be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours. Milk must be provided free-of-charge to key stage one and benefits-based free school meals pupils when it is offered as part of their school meal and free to benefits-based free school meals pupils at all other times. Charges are usually made for all other pupils. To assist with the cost of providing milk schools can take part in the National School Milk Subsidy Scheme.

There is also the Nursery Milk Scheme, operated by the Department of Health, which provides free milk to children under the age of 5 at participating schools and childcare settings.

Four to six-year-old school children are eligible to receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every school day, outside of their school lunch, through the Department of Health’s School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, which is optional for schools to participate in.

Please contact the head teacher of your child's school stating the required diet. You will be provided with a Special Diet 1 (SD1) form to complete and return to the school office to start the special diet registration process. Medical diets will require a letter from a doctor or dietician.

Manufacturers are required by law to highlight if any of the food products they supply to us contain any of the 14 main allergens as an ingredient:

• celery
• cereals containing gluten – including wheat such as spelt and Khorasan, rye, barley and oats
• crustaceans – such as prawns, crabs and lobsters
• eggs
• fish
• lupin
• milk
• molluscs – such as mussels and oysters
• mustard
• tree nuts – including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts
• peanuts
• sesame seeds
• soybeans
• sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million)

If your child has an allergy to one of the 14 allergens, intolerance, or allergy to any food not included in the 14 allergens, or any other special dietary requirement, please talk to us and we will try to accommodate their requirements.

We can discuss catering for special diets including diabetic, vegetarian and vegan, religious and cultural diets.

Our cooks and catering managers are fully trained and updated in a range of special dietary management. They are supported with expert advice from our Technical Team, Nutritionist and wider network of accredited professionals. We are proactive members of LACA, which aims to set high standards of professionalism in Education catering; they are the lead consultative body to the Government in delivering healthy eating policies and provide knowledge and support to meet the changing demands of the industry sector.

We are unable to guarantee a completely food allergen free environment as foods containing allergens are used in our kitchens.

Catering staff in schools have all received the relevant hygiene training.

Throughout their employment they receive additional training including:

• NVQs in catering skills and professional cookery
• nutrition and healthy eating
• health and safety
• customer care

All our catering is monitored to ensure meals are safe, of high quality and value for money. Monitoring officers visit each school unannounced at least twice a year to carry out a kitchen audit. In addition, district council environmental health officers regularly inspect our school kitchens.

Please contact the head teacher of your child's school stating the required diet. You will be provided with a Special Diet 1 (SD1) form to complete and return to the school office to start the special diet registration process. Medical diets will require a letter from a doctor or dietician.

Manufacturers are required by law to highlight if any of the food products they supply to us contain any of the 14 main allergens as an ingredient:

• celery
• cereals containing gluten – including wheat such as spelt and Khorasan, rye, barley and oats
• crustaceans – such as prawns, crabs and lobsters
• eggs
• fish
• lupin
• milk
• molluscs – such as mussels and oysters
• mustard
• tree nuts – including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts
• peanuts
• sesame seeds
• soybeans
• sulphur dioxide and sulphites if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million

If your child has an allergy to one of the 14 allergens, intolerance, or allergy to any food not included in the 14 allergens, or any other special dietary requirement, please talk to us and we will try to accommodate their requirements.

We can discuss catering for special diets including diabetic, vegetarian and vegan, religious and cultural diets.

Our cooks and catering managers are fully trained and updated in a range of special dietary management. They are supported with expert advice from our technical team, nutritionist and wider network of accredited professionals. We are proactive members of the Local Association for Caterers in Education, which aims to set high standards of professionalism in Education catering; they are the lead consultative body to the Government in delivering healthy eating policies and provide knowledge and support to meet the changing demands of the industry sector.

We are unable to guarantee a completely food allergen free environment as foods containing allergens are used in our kitchens.