All our menus comply with the current legislation for school lunches. This legislation includes

• Offering one or more portions of vegetables or salad each day and one or more portions of fruit each day. At least 3 different fruits and 3 different vegetables each week. Offering a dessert which contains 50% fruit two or more times each week.
• Offering one or more carbohydrates each day and least 3 different types of carbohydrates each week, of which at least one should be a wholegrain variety. Restricting the number of times, a carbohydrate, where oil is added prior to cooking, to a maximum of twice per week
• A portion of protein daily and for vegetarians a portion of non-dairy protein at least 3 times per week
• A portion of milk or dairy daily
• No more than two portions of food containing pastry each week
• No more than 2 portions of breadcrumbed/battered food each week
• No more than one processed meat each week. All processed meat products meet or exceed the required 62% meat
• Ensuring that the portion size is appropriate for the age group
• Confectionery is not used on the daily menu. Very occasionally it may be used on a theme day menu, which is allowed

Additional information

• We are a fresh food company and wherever possible meals are cooked from scratch. Limiting processed foods helps to reduce the intake of fats, sugar and salt
• We include hidden fruit, vegetables and pulses in our dishes
• Wherever possible we purchase ingredients which are lower in fats, sugar and salt
• Our fruit slushy is 100% fruit juice and counts as one of your 5 a day. As per the legislation, it does not exceed the 150ml portion size for primary aged children
• Wherever possible we make our own sauces
• Our desserts meet the sugar reduction targets set by Public Health England
• We offer one sugar free day each week. On this day all meals served are free from all types of added sugar
• Wherever possible we use natural flavourings like herbs, lemon zest etc rather than salt
• Our ingredients are GM free
• Our menus are free from harmful additives which have been linked to behavioural and concentration issues in children
• Our eggs are free range
• Our fish is MSC certified or does not appear on the MCS fish to avoid list
• Our meat is sourced from farms with higher animal welfare standards
• Wherever possible we use local suppliers
• Our buying lists are tightly controlled and chefs are not able to purchase any unauthorised ingredients
• We hold the Food for Life accreditation is all of our schools and are audited annually. The accreditation is awarded to caterers who provide healthy meals, with emphasis on local purchasing and sustainability. We are audited annually and as part of the audit our menus are checked against the legislation for school lunches.

If you have any questions about school meals please contact Clare Doran.

E: schoolmeals@brindisheschools.org

M: 07943 041790

It is important that every child can have a hot meal if they wish. If your child has any special dietary requirements, please complete the following from and send to Clare Doran. She will work closely with you and Radish to provide a menu to suit your child’s needs.

E: schoolmeals@brindisheschools.org

M: 07943 041790

Free School Meals (Pupil Premium)

Applying for Free School Meals or Pupil Premium

School Meals and Free School Meals

Our school meals provided by Radish are healthy and tasty and choosing a school lunch for your child/children could help save you up to £460 per year if you take up the offer of free school meals. School meals are freshly prepared every day using high quality ingredients. Radish provide menus that are accredited by the Soil Association and meet the Silver Food for Life Standard. Meat and vegetarian options are available every day, and children who have other dietary needs are catered for where a menu is agreed in advance. This can include religious, cultural or allergy and/or intolerance diets.

You will be eligible for free school meals for all of your children if your joint family income is less than £16,190 per year.

Details of how to apply are in this document.

How to Apply

Please apply for Free School Meals through the Lewisham Council website: www.lewisham.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals.

Free school meals for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

All pupils in the above year groups (or infant classes) will be able to receive a school meal at no cost to their parent/carer. This is known as Universal Free School Meals and is a government initiative.

Pupil Premium

Although children in the infants (Reception, year one and year 2) do not pay for school meals it is important that you still register for free school meals if you are eligible. This is because schools are able to claim a Pupil Premium of up to £1345 per child on free school meals to make sure each school’s budget matches its community’s needs. Families eligible for free school meals or Pupil Premium may also be offered reduced rates for extras such as clubs, educational visits and school journeys. Pupil Premium funding or Free School Meals are for all families with a joint family income of less than £16,190 a year. Make sure you apply today or ask in the school office for help or information.

As you know, we try to keep our school meal prices as low as possible, however we do need to make small increases at times. From September 2021 the cost of a meal will be £2.51 per day. You will receive a communication each time we have to increase the meal price.

Payment will be made through the Arbor Parent portal; this is the system that holds your child’s information so is really important you have access to this.

To gain access if you don’t currently have access simply provide the school office with your email address and the team will set you up on the Arbor Patent Portal.

You will receive an email inviting you to log in (using your email address as your username and set yourself a password)

Access to the Arbor Parent Portal must be made through a PC or laptop (please use Google Chrome browser and not a tablet or smart phone) you will need to go to the school www.brindisheschools.org and click on Arbor Parent Portal

Once you have logged in and set your password you can follow the attached instructions

If you do not have access to a pc please ask in the school office for help, all dinners must be paid in advance, where possible half termly.

At present, children are asked to sign up on a half termly basis. If you child chooses to be packed lunch, they can change to a school meal at the start of each half term.

All meals are cooked on the school site. We have a Chef and team of cooks at each school who work closely with Radish to ensure the fresh meals are prepared every day.

We encourage families to look at the menu and talk to the children at home. Each morning the class teacher will share the meals of the day with the class as they take the morning register.

At different times throughout the year, Radish will work closely with the school to provide Theme Day meals. If you child is packed lunch, they can choose to have a school meal on these particular days.

Keep an eye out and join Herbie for meals around the world or celebrate specific meals linked to a range of different festivals. You will be charged the normal school meal price of £2.45 (unless you are in receipt of UFSM/FSM)

Herby and the Sugar Sherriff are here to support and educate our children on healthy eating. Both may attend assemblies throughout the year.

Herby is an acronym which stands for Healthy Eating Really Benefits You. Herby brings the children interesting facts, theme days and fun activities throughout the year to get the children to understand the food they eat and to improve their dining experience.

Every Wednesday will be our Sugar Sherriff day, on this day the menu will be specifically designed to have all our meals prepared with no added sugar.