Information About Our Meals

We provide a 3 week menu cycle which is constantly reviewed.  The menus handed to the children will be colour coded to make it easier to understand.  Up-to-date plain copies of the menus can also be accessed by clicking on the link to the right of this page.

We will also be advertising Theme Days from time to time, so watch out for more information in our Newsletter.

Important Information

• In order to make our hot meal service efficient we would like all meals to be ordered and paid for in advance. We will also accept orders placed before 10:00 am on the day the meal is to be eaten.
• Menus for ordering will be issued to parents on Monday.  This will need to be returned to the office, marked with your child’s meal requirements and payment by Friday.  If you prefer, you may come to the office to place your order direct. These meals will be eaten by your child starting on the Monday of the following week.
• Please keep a note of the days you have ordered meals for your child. (Particularly when there is a holiday in between).
• Every child who requires a meal must complete their order form (including those entitled to free school meals).  Please note, the school cannot make a choice on behalf of the children especially in the light of special dietary requirements.
• If we do not receive your order form and payment, we will assume that you will be providing your child with a packed lunch.
• You will need to specify whether your child is having the hot meal option, the vegetarian option or jacket potato.  Please remember that children do not have to be vegetarian to choose the vegetarian option.
• Meal price is £2.10.
• It is really important that the school is kept informed of any food allergies your child may have.  Please check with the office that they hold the correct information.

Healthy Eating Information

This document sits in conjunction with Healthy Schools, Child Protection, PSHE policy, Inclusion Policy and Nutrition Policy.

Nutrition is a significant factor in the growth, development and overall functioning of a child. Good nutrition provides the energy and nutrients essential to sustain life and promotes physical, emotional and cognitive development. The development of healthy eating practices and physical activity can prevent disease and support a lifetime of good health. Good nutrition is critical to optimizing each child’s potential for success. Meeting nutritional requirements throughout childhood is essential to full intellectual development. Research documents tell us that under nutrition impacts on children’s behaviour, performance and overall quality of development. Children require sufficient energy and essential nutrients each day to concentrate on accomplished learning tasks. Even mild and under nutrition and short term hunger are barriers to learning. Meals and snacks served should meet children’s nutrition needs, provide models of healthy eating patterns, and help children establish good eating patterns at an early age.

Aim To work in partnership with families and other professionals to support children in developing healthy eating practices which will become embedded for life.

Objectives

• To provide children with positive healthy eating experiences in order to promote their well- being.
• To respect the different dietary, cultural, religious and health needs of all our children
• To encourage children to develop positive attitudes towards food through the curriculum and all the other learning opportunities that are provided in the school.
• To promote an understanding of a balanced diet in which some foods play a greater role than others.
• To develop children’s understanding of the importance of the social context in which eating takes place.
• To raise awareness with children, parents and carers in developing a positive approach to food, nutrition and oral education.
• To encourage responsibility and accountability of all parents and carers in offering healthy choices to children.
   

The Importance of Nutrition for Children

A nutritionally balanced diet is important in childhood to ensure optimum development at a time of rapid growth. A balanced diet in childhood is not only important for growth but for learning and promoting positive habits towards healthy eating. An inadequate or unbalanced nutritional intake may not only affect growth and development in childhood but may also impact on health problems, such as heart disease and obesity in later in life. It is the types and varieties of food eaten at this time that ensure nutrient requirements are met and that the diet is nutritionally balanced. Children’s diet must include an appropriate intake of foods from the four main food groups:

• Bread, other cereals and potatoes
• Fruit and vegetables
• Milk and dairy foods
• Meat, fish and alternatives
   

The eat well plate highlights the different types of food that make up our diet, and shows the proportions we should eat them in to have a healthy, balanced diet.

Being Healthy

Eat breakfast every day
Eat fruit and vegetables daily
Choose snacks that will provide nutrients to compliment meals
Avoid snacks and drinks with a high sugar content between meals
Drink plenty of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated
Be physically active every day
Brush teeth twice a day and visit your dentist regularly

Food and drink

All snacks and meals provided at the school are nutritious, avoiding large quantities of sugar, salt, saturated fats, additives, preservatives and colourings. Menus are planned in advanced and food offered is fresh, wholesome and balanced. We offer a balance and variety of snacks to provide a range of nutritious experiences for the children.

The children also have Nutrition lessons where they are taught:

•  to understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet
•  to prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques
•  to understand seasonality and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared caught and processed.
   

Availability of water

• We have fresh drinking water readily available and water bottles are provided for children
• We support the children in recognising that they need to drink water when they are thirsty, hot or tired, or feeling unwell.
   

Special dietary needs and food allergies

We are sensitive to the catering needs of children with specific dietary needs, including religious considerations. Parents are  asked about any special dietary requirements their child has before they start school. Parents of children who have special diets (for example a gluten-free diet) or who have food intolerances are responsible for providing the school with information about their diet and choices available to the child. We update our records regularly. Menus will be carefully planned and adapted accordingly.

Food hygiene

The kitchen facilities at the school are inspected on an annual basis in relation to the Food Safety Act. The school adheres to the recommended guidelines and good practices for the preparation and storage of food. Staff directly involved in cooking and the preparation of food, including Nutrition teachers, in the school, have successfully completed a Food Hygiene Course.

Social skills

Meals can be times of pleasant social sharing. Opportunities for pupils, teachers and parents to eat and drink together are organised, providing an opportunity for children  to learn good social skills and behaviour associated with eating and drinking. This also enables staff to monitor healthy eating. Staff keep a discreet eye on those who appear not to be eating well and positive encouragement and peer support is used to encourage poor eaters to make healthy choices. Healthy eating suggestions from parents that will help us expand and improve our selection of recipe ideas are very welcome.

Special theme days

At Powers Hall Academy special theme days are organised  that provide a valuable opportunity for children to experience diversity from a wide range of cultures and nationalities and the contribution they make to the variety of foods eaten in Britain today.

Special celebrations or fundraising events

Throughout the school year Powers Hall Academy holds a variety of fundraising and special celebrations during which ‘treat foods’ available for children. As a school we feel this balances the rigour of the healthy eating policy in place at all other times.