School Meals Information

OUR CURRENT SCHOOL MEAL PRICE IS £2.75 PER DAY. 

As school meals are universally free in the infants (YR - Y2), it is our expectation that the children in these year groups have school meals. This means that we do not allow children to bring a packed lunch to school until Y3.

Since April 2021, the catering at Yew Tree Primary School has been operated by Dolce Catering Services. Further information about this company is available by visiting their website: www.dolce.co.uk

As part of the service, school meals need to be ordered in advance via School Grid (available by CLICKING HERE). Information about setting up your account can be obtained from the office or by reading the information shared below. 

Parent/Carer Guides & Information

Food Standards & Allergens

In December 2014, new allergen legislation came into force, and from January 2015 the new Food Standards became mandatory. Our menus are fully compliant with the latest legislation and guidance.

Dolce, our catering company, have trained our catering staff to be aware of the changes to the legislation and competent at meeting the requirements. Information about allergens, and information about your child which you can alert our catering team to, is available on School Grid when you pre-order your child’s meal. If you require any further information please speak to a member of our catering team.

Information about the School Food Standards is available from:

www.schoolfoodplan.com/standards 

Information about the Allergens legislation is available from:

www.food.gov.uk/science/allergy-intolerance/label/labelling-changes

Free School Meals (FSM)

All children from Reception - Year 2 are now eligible for a free school meal regardless of income. However, it is vital that you register with the Council if you are eligible for means tested FSM (see below).

If you are a parent or carer, and receive any of the benefits below, then your child (of any school age) could be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM).

• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)

• Income Support

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• The guarantee element of Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)

• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit

If your application for Free School Meals is successful, Yew Tree Primary School will also receive extra funding from the Government to use in support of teaching and learning (Pupil Premium). The Pupil Premium funding also enables parents/carers to receive subsidies for school trips, clubs and instrumental tuition in line with our Pupil Premium Plan as detailed HERE.

For further information or to apply for Free School Meals CLICK HERE.

In response to feedback from children and parents/carers, we are delighted to be able to offer our KS2 children (Y3 - Y6) access to a Tuck Shop. 

Our infant children (YN - Y2) are not able to access the Tuck Shop but shall continue to have access to free fruit on a daily basis. 

The Tuck Shop is run by our catering company Dolce and is entirely cashless. Therefore, if your child wishes to purchase something, they must have money credited on their account. You can add additional funds by following the instructions on the video below:

https://youtu.be/KItSXmtH104

Children have a maximum limit of £1.30 per day (to enable them to purchase both a drink and some food if they would like to). Of course, this is entirely optional and children in our junior classes con continue to bring their own healthy snack/drink if they would like to. 

School Milk

School Milk is free to children who are under five years of age and for children who are eligible (and registered with the Local Authority) for Free School Meals across the school. 

If your child is over 5 years old, and is not eligible for Free School Meals, but you would like them to drink milk daily then you can also order this through our supplier for a nominal charge.

All orders (whether free or paid) will need to order directly from Cool Milk for a nominal charge. Information is available at www.coolmilk.com/parents but you can also speak to our office for guidance.

Food Hygiene Inspection

Our kitchens are inspected by the Food Standards Agency. During our most recent inspection, we were awarded the highest possible rating - 5 (Very Good). Information about the food hygiene ratings is available at: www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/food-hygiene-rating-scheme