snack and lunch
Please note that we are a NUT-FREE SCHOOL so no nuts, nut products or sesame to be brought to school for snack or in packed lunches.
Please be aware that sweets and chocolate (eg Skittles, Dairy Milk, Rolos etc) and chewing/bubble gum are not permitted in school for snack or in lunch boxes and should not be brought into school or on school trips (a typical small biscuit such as a Club is acceptable).
Morning snack
In EYFS and KS1
Snacks for EYFS and KS1 children are supplied under the Government's School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme and these are given to children in class, usually on the carpet, before or after mid-morning playtime.
In KS2
KS2 children are welcome to bring a snack to eat during their mid-morning breaktime. In consultation with KS2 children, School Parliament has agreed the following list - their preference is real fruit and vegetables and all snacks must be low salt, low sugar or plain.
NO NUTS, NUT PRODUCTS (eg Nutella type) or SESAME PLEASE.
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Popcorn – plain only Plain bread sticks Plain pretzels Plain bread/ pitta Dried fruit – (low sugar) Real cheese including cheese strings Plain Indian snacks – slightly spicy taste but no sugar Fruit – real fruit Vegetables Flapjack – plain or fruit Crackers – plain Oat bars – low sugar Dunkers – savoury low sugar Rice cakes – plain Yoyo bears – avoid cards! |
Lunch
Children are welcome to bring in a healthy packed lunch to school (no confectionery please) or to have a school lunch, freshly prepared by our in-house school catering team.
School lunches
School lunches are free for all EYFS and KS1 children under the Government's Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme.
For children in KS2 whose families are NOT in receipt of Free School Meals, a school meal costs £2.70 per day (as of September 2024).
If your child is already attending Whitegrove Primary School and you would like them to have school lunches, please use your Scopay online payment system to book and pay for lunches.
Lunches must be ordered 7 days in advance. This is to enable the school kitchen to order the correct quantities of food. Why don't you log on and order a term in advance?
Our Autumn 2024 menu (with allergens table) is now available - please see below.
All school meals must be pre-ordered at home at least 7 days in advance. Please click on the link below to see the full menu for the term (with allergens table):
autumn 2024 menu with allergens v2 sept 24.pdf
Urgent Allergy Advice: Mustard Ingredients Contaminated with Peanuts | Food Standards Agency (24/9/24)
The Food Standards Agency’s guidance is that anyone with a peanut allergy should avoid consuming products containing mustard (potentially contains peanuts). We have removed mustard from items on our menu that may have contained it but, after much consideration, have decided to continue to offer tuna mayonnaise and egg mayonnaise on our menu and have flagged this in the allergens table.
We are delighted to have received a 5-star Food Hygiene Rating following our unanounced inspection on 12th January 2024 - please see Whitegrove Primary School | Rating Business Details | Food Hygiene Ratings.
How lunchtimes work
Lunch is in the School Hall, usually from 12:00 - 1.00pm. This time is split into 2 sittings, Sitting 1 (12:00-12.25pm) and Sitting 2 (12.30pm-1.00pm).
Each year group is allocated a group of tables and tables have a mix of children eating packed lunches and school lunches. Some year groups also mix children from different classes on tables within their group. Those having school lunches queue up, cafeteria-style, in year groups and their food is freshly served.
The two schemes offering free school meals
1. Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) for EVERY EYFS and KS1 child
Every child in Foundation (EYFS) and Key Stage 1 (Years 1 &2) is entitled to a free school meal under the Government's Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme. The meal is to be chosen from our catering team's menu (see link above). This is NOT means tested and is available to ALL EYFS and KS1 children, not just for families in receipt of benefits.If your child is in KS2 and you think you may qualify for Free School Meals, please see the information below.
2. Free School Meals (not age related)
If you think your child may be eligible for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, please see Bracknell Forest Council's website here then please apply here.
There is no stigma attached to Free School Meals - the process is completely confidential as we use an online payment system for paying families so gone are the days of children handing over tokens, vouchers or plastic coins.
Who is eligible? Children whose parents or carers receive any of the following are eligible for free school meals:
- Universal Credit - as long as parents/carers have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month)
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guarantee element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit, provided they are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by HMRC
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit.
If you are entitled to Working Tax Credit during the 4-week period immediately after your employment stops, or after you start to work less than 16 hours per week, your child would also be eligible to free school meals for this 4-week period only.
Apply online for Free School Meals here.
Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
Children who qualify for and receive free school meals (see above for eligibility criteria) will also be eligible for Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, as and when such a scheme is made available by Bracknell Forest Council via funding from the Department of Education.