School meals
All school meals are free.
The Government currently provides free school lunches for all students in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.The Mayor for London provides free meals for all children in Years 3-6
Greenshaw High School currently supplies our lunches and the menus are updated on a termly basis.
If you meet certain criteria and are on a low income you can also apply for Pupil Premium through the free meals application, see the link below:
Ordering School Lunches
Our meals are served on a two week cycle, you can find full information on how to order through Schoolgrid on:
Healthy Packed Lunches
Whilst hot meals are provided each day and provided free to students in years R, 1 and 2, we understand that some families prefer for their child to have a packed lunch from home and this option is available to you.
Preparing a good packed lunch
Lunch is an important part of the school day and it's important that your child receives a good balanced school lunch to feel fulfilled and ready for an afternoon of work in the classroom.
You must avoid sugary food, chocolate and nuts. High sugar food add to dental decay and cause highs and lows during the day, they are best avoided. Supermarkets often sell high sugar foods as if they are healthy - it's best to read the label.
The Eatwell Guide can really help you to make good choices, to provide a balanced packed lunch.
According to NHS choices a balanced lunchbox should contain:
- Starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes or pasta
- Protein foods like meat, fish, eggs or beans
- A dairy item, like cheese or yoghurt
- Vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit
We do realise that children can be very fussy eaters and at lunchtime we will encourage them to eat and come back to you if we have any concerns. We trust you to provide healthy food that your child can eat, you know best and we will work with you to ensure that your child is well fed at lunchtime.
At times, we find that parents pack too little, too much, or too much of the same thing. We will feed this back to you as well. Please remember that your child will have 25 minutes to eat lunch at the most, therefore please pack food which can be eaten in that time, even with all the distractions of the lunch hall. You might need to practise at home.
Please bear in mind these really good lunchbox tips from Change4Life.
Food temperatures
It's worth investing in little ice blocks for the warmer weather, packed lunch bags are not refrigerated but we do keep them away from heat sources. We recommend that in summer parents:
- purchase a small ice block
- add a chilled drink to reduce the temperature of the bag
- make the packed lunch the night before and place it in the fridge.
- use frozen bread, it will thaw by lunchtime and keep the ingredients cool.
If you have any concerns please contact your child's Class Teacher on Dojo or the School Office on office@stcecilias.school.
You can find some great packed lunch ideas, like the three shown above, here on the Change4Life Website.
Change4Life Lunchbox Ideas
healthy packed lunches for early years fact sheet 214747607.pdf
