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School Meals

Lunchtime - School Meals

We are delighted to introduce St Anne's as our chosen Food Provider commencing September 2021.

St Anne’s have wonderful catering facilities which enables them to expand their operations beyond their school and provide other schools with nutritional and tasty meals.

The emphasis is on fresh ingredients, sourced locally where possible, freshly prepared and well presented. All the food complies with the School Food Plan, is nutritionally balanced and has a strong emphasis on allergens.

They believe children eat with their eyes and strive to provide colourful, enticing food, helping children to make healthy choices and promoting a well-balanced diet.

They have an experienced, friendly and smiling team, who understand how food can sometimes be stressful for young children and strive to ensure that lunchtime food is fun! The team pride themselves on getting to know the children and understanding likes/dislikes and specific needs.

They are passionate about food, they don’t just want children to eat their food, they want them to love it!

  • All meals are offered with salad, wholemeal bread and at least two vegetable selections.
  • They use various local businesses including Bewdley Farm Shop, Ashley’s Bakery and Mawley Milk.
  • All fish used on the menus is Marine Stewardship certified (MSC).
  • No salt or sugar is added to any of the meals.
  • All eggs are free range.
  • All cakes and biscuits served are freshly made.
  • Puddings are made using reduced sugar/fat recipes and fresh fruit is available daily.

Menus are on a 3 week cycle and reviewed twice a year.  

Meals are £2.40 a day and there is also the option of daily toast at morning snack time at £1.60 per week.  All meals should be ordered through ParentPay, by the Friday evening before the week commences.

If you have any queries or wish to discuss any food allergies directly, please email catering@stannesprimary.worcs.sch.uk

A lunch is provided for all Reception and Key Stage One children free of charge but parents are still required to select the meal option via ParentPay for their child. 

Ordering and paying for lunch

Parents can order and pay for meals at Parent Pay. You can choose from a meat or vegetarian meal or a range of jacket potatoes and sandwiches.

Children are still able to bring a packed lunch if they prefer but the scheme is aimed at providing Reception & KS1 children with a balanced meal and a range of foods to try as part of developing a healthy life style.

Packed Lunches

Children who do not have a school meal may bring a packed lunch and drink. In the interest of safety we ask that children do not bring drinks in cans or glass bottles, and no fizzy drinks please. 

Free School Meals

Criteria Change for Free School Meals - 

From April 2018 the criteria used to determine which pupils are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) will be updated to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit and the phasing out of other income-based benefits. The updated criteria are being introduced following a public consultation, these are listed below:

  • Universal Credit, provided claimants have an annual net earned income not exceeding £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

Under the updated criteria, an estimated 50,000 more pupils will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.

Applying for Free School Meals - New

Worcestershire Children First are inviting parents to use a new self-service process to manage free school meals applications and keep you up to date with any changes.

For anyone who is currently eligible and receives free school meals, there will be no changes or loss of eligibility until at least July 2023 even if your personal circumstances have changed.

What do you need to do?

The system uses the same portal you used to apply for your child’s school place. You should use your admission application login details on the Citizen Portal to apply for Free School Meals. You can access the portal using this link:

 https://emsi.worcestershire.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE/en?ReturnURL=%2FCitizenPortal_LIVE%2F

If you do not currently have a Citizen Portal account, please follow the on-screen instructions to register an account.

Worcestershire Children's First need your permission to communicate with you in this way, so they need you to use the portal, enter your details and make an application. This will mean reapplying for Free School Meals for your child(ren) but please do not be concerned that this will affect current arrangements - all eligible families are protected until at least July 2025. Using the portal will not change this, it’s just so that we can communicate with you.

Once you have applied using the new system, you will receive a confirmation message that your application has been received and is being processed. You will then receive further notifications via the Citizens Portal as your application progresses.

Why have WCF developed a new system?

A key part of the new system is the ability for parents to receive updates on their application and ongoing status without delay via email and portal messages.

What about Universal Free School Meals?

Universal Infant Free School meals for pupils in Reception, Y1 and Y2 will continue to be managed by the school and are not managed via the Portal.

Any questions or concerns?

If you have any questions or comments about this new process, please contact the Free School Meal team via freeschoolmeals@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk

Thank you, and we look forward to receiving your application