Your School Meals
School meals are so much more than lunch. They're the fuel that helps children concentrate, learn, and thrive — served fresh, every day, by people who care.
Nourishment that matters
A hot, balanced school meal provides up to a third of your child's daily nutritional needs — supporting brain development, immunity and steady energy through every afternoon lesson.
Cooked fresh, on site
Our meals are prepared fresh in the school kitchen every day — not reheated, not processed, not driven in from a warehouse. Real food, made with care, just before it's eaten.
Convenient & easy
No packed lunch to assemble at 7am. No wondering if they actually ate it. No lunchbox coming home untouched. Just one thing crossed off the list — every single school day.
WHY IT MATTERS
The meal in the middle of the day shapes the whole day
A child's ability to concentrate, sit still, retain information and engage with their teacher doesn't just depend on what happens in the classroom. It depends enormously on what they've eaten. The science on this is consistent and clear: well-nourished children perform better, behave better, and feel better.
A balanced school lunch gives children a steady release of energy during the afternoon — the kind that doesn't spike and crash like a bag of crisps or a sandwich eaten in twenty seconds. Iron supports concentration. Protein supports memory. Zinc and B vitamins support the brain's ability to process and retain what it learns. A well-designed school menu isn't just food — it's the infrastructure of a productive afternoon.
Beyond the science, there's something equally important: social eating. Lunch at school is one of the few moments in a child's day when they slow down, sit with their friends, and simply enjoy food together. It builds confidence with new flavours, encourages healthy habits that can last a lifetime, and removes the subtle divisions that packed lunches can sometimes create.
Frequenly Asked Questions
Everything parents most commonly want to know — about our meals, free school meal eligibility, how to apply, and what's changing. If you can't find your answer here, please speak to the school office.
Every school meal includes a main course (with a meat and a vegetarian option), a vegetable side, salad bar, and a pudding or fruit. A drink — typically water — is also included. All of our menus are designed to meet the School Food Standards, which set legal requirements for nutritional balance, variety and the types of food that must and must not be served.
We aim to offer two hot main choices daily, so there is always something your child will enjoy. Menus rotate weekly on a 3-menu cycle, with a new menu change twice a year to give variety throughout the term.
Research consistently shows they are. A 2013 Children's Food Trust study comparing school meals with packed lunches in secondary schools found that school meals provided significantly more fruit, vegetables, fibre and key nutrients, and significantly less salt and saturated fat.
Packed lunches — even well-intentioned ones — tend to include more processed foods, more sugar and less variety. Our school kitchen cooks from fresh ingredients every day, using ingredients that meet national nutritional standards. The comparison is rarely close.
Please let us know before your child begins having school meals. We cater for a wide range of dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free and common allergen-free options. Our kitchen team takes allergen management seriously and follows strict food safety protocols.
For more information on special diets and to register, please visit www.cleverchefs.co.uk/allergens
Current meal prices are listed on the school's payment system. Please contact the school office for the latest pricing. Payment is made in advance via the school's online payment platform, which allows you to manage your child's account, top up their balance, and review what they've eaten.
Yes — though we do ask for reasonable notice so the kitchen can plan accurately. In most cases, changes should be requested at least one full school week in advance. Please contact the school office to arrange this. Changes made at very short notice may not be possible to accommodate immediately.
FREE SCHOOL MEALS | Elegibility & How to Apply
ENGLAND
In England, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free lunches under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme. For Year 3 and above, eligibility is based on household benefit receipt.
WALES
In Wales, all primary school children (Reception through Year 6) automatically receive a free school meal under the Universal Primary Free School Meals (UPFSM) scheme — no application needed. For secondary school pupils, free meals are available to families receiving one of the qualifying benefits below
Qualifying benefits (England & secondary Wales):
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Universal Credit — with annual net earned household income under £7,400
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Income Support
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Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
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Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
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Child Tax Credit (without Working Tax Credit, with income under £16,190)
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Guaranteed element of Pension Credit
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Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Check eligibility and apply on GOV.UK → | GOV.WALES guidance for parents →
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Yes. The Welsh Government's Universal Primary Free School Meals (UPFSM) policy means that every child attending a maintained primary school in Wales receives a free school meal, regardless of family income. This applies from Reception all the way through to Year 6.
You do not need to apply or meet any income criteria. Your child will simply be provided with a meal at lunchtime as part of their school day.
The simplest route is to apply through your local authority — either online or via a paper form available from the school office. You will need your National Insurance number and details of the qualifying benefit you receive. In most cases, eligibility is verified electronically within a day or two, and the school is notified automatically.
You only need to apply once. Eligibility is then checked periodically — you will be contacted if anything needs to be updated or if your circumstances change.
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England: Apply via your local council or directly at gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals
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Wales: Apply via your local authority — find yours at gov.wales
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No. Free school meals are completely invisible to other children. Cashless payment systems mean that all children simply present themselves in the same way — there is no visible difference between a free meal and a paid one at the serving point.
Eligibility information is held confidentially by the school and is not shared with other pupils, parents, or staff beyond those who need to know for administrative purposes.
ENGLAND
In June 2025, the Government announced a significant expansion to free school meal eligibility in England. From the start of the 2026/27 school year (September 2026), every pupil in a household receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals — regardless of earned income. This removes the current £7,400 annual earnings cap and is expected to make more than half a million additional children eligible.
Important: This expansion applies from September 2026. Until then, the existing income threshold of £7,400 net earned income per year continues to apply for Universal Credit claimants in Year 3 and above.
Full Government announcement on the Education Hub → | House of Commons Library briefing →
ENGLAND
Since 2018, children who were receiving free school meals but whose household income subsequently exceeded the eligibility threshold were protected — meaning they continued to receive meals regardless of the change in circumstances.
These transitional protections ended at the close of the 2025/26 school year. From September 2026 onwards, all eligibility will be assessed against the new, expanded criteria (Universal Credit, without an income cap). This means many families who previously lost protection may now qualify again under the new rules.
If you are unsure whether your child's eligibility is protected or how this affects them, please contact the school office or your local authority's free school meals team.
ENGLAND & WALES
In most local authorities, your child's existing eligibility transfers automatically when they move schools — you will not need to fill in a new form. However, eligibility will be re-checked at the point of transition, so if your financial circumstances have changed since you first applied, this may affect their entitlement.
We recommend confirming with your new secondary school's office when you receive the offer — just to make sure everything is in order before the first day of term.
Wales note: Children moving from primary to secondary in Wales will no longer be covered by the universal UPFSM scheme. Secondary eligibility in Wales is means-tested, so families on qualifying benefits should ensure they have a registered claim in place before September.
If your circumstances have improved — you have started work, left a benefit, or your income has increased — you are legally required to notify the school or local authority. Eligibility is re-checked automatically at least once a year, but please do not wait for this if you know your circumstances have changed.
If your circumstances have worsened — you have lost your job, started a new benefit, or your income has fallen — you may now be eligible for free meals if you were not before. Apply as soon as possible; entitlement cannot usually be backdated.
Contact the school office or your local authority's free school meals team — they will advise you on next steps.