Free school meals (FSM)
We know that having a nutritious meal during the school day is important for children’s health, wellbeing and learning – and we want to ensure that all children who are eligible for free school meals benefit from this scheme.
Your child may be able to receive free school meals if you get any of the following:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit – your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
If you think that your child(ren) may be entitled to free school meals then you can either apply online or download a form via the Nottinghamshire County Council website here, or phone them on 0300 500 80 80.
Once your application has been approved, the council will inform the academy and we can then start providing free school meals for your child(ren). We treat all recipients with complete discretion.
We are here to help, so contact us if you have any queries or concerns you would like to discuss directly with the academy.
Payment
If your child is in key stage 2, you can pay for their meals by cash or cheque, in a named envelope handed in to the academy office, or by using an online Squid account.
Children across all years may be entitled to receive free school meals if parents are in receipt of financial support. You can find out more about this, and check if you are eligible, on the Nottinghamshire County Council website.
Click here to log in to sQuid.
Our meals
Each meal consists of a protein (either meat, fish or a vegetarian option), two vegetables, a starchy carbohydrate such as pasta, rice or potato, and a pudding. There is also salad available daily for children to help themselves to, and fresh drinking water is always on offer. We also have fruit and yoghurts available for those who don’t want a pudding.
We realise that not all children will want a full hot meal at lunchtime. Therefore, there are daily options of jacket potatoes with a variety of fillings and a range of sandwiches to choose from instead. You can also switch between packed lunches and school meals, or just send your child with a packed lunch, if you prefer.
Dietary requirements
Our dedicated team of nutritionists work with our chef teams to create menus for those children that suffer with allergies or require a special diet. A special diet is a requirement different to the choices offered within the menu cycle, which are medically required or due to religious beliefs. For medically required diets, all special diet requests are required to be supported with a GP or Dietitians letter confirming the allergy.
The Chartwells nutrition team develops four core special diet menus that are released with every new central menu cycle. This includes gluten, milk, egg, and nut-free menus. Chartwells can also create multi-allergy menus on a case by case basis.
Please note that, for safety reasons, Chartwells can only provide a special diet menu for any of the 14 EU allergens, which include:
- cereals containing gluten
- milk and milk derivatives
- egg, nuts, peanuts, lupin, soya, fish
- molluscs
- crustaceans
- celery, sesame seeds, mustard
- sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre expressed as SO2
Once a special diet menu is devised it will then be sent to you for written consent, and only when you have authorised the menu will any food be given to your child.
