School Meals/Snacks

School Meals/Snacks

Packed Lunches

A packed lunch may be brought to school in a sturdy container marked with your child’s name and class. Drinks must be provided in a carton with a straw (no cans or bottles please). As a healthy school, we encourage parents to provide a healthy packed lunch therefore no sweets, Nutella or chocolate bars please. If you are providing grapes, please ensure they are cut in half (lengthways) to avoid choking.

St Joseph’s School is an egg free and nut free school. We have several children and adults with severe food allergies in school. In order to ensure their safety in school, please DO NOT include egg products or anything that contains nuts of any description in your child’s packed lunch.

Children are encouraged to use good table manners under the supervision of our team of midday supervisors.

School Milk and Fruit / Playtime Snacks

Foundation Stage and KS1 – Free fruit is provided daily as part of the National Fruit Scheme.

Under Fives are entitled to free school milk.

KS1 and KS2: Milk can be ordered for a small charge or you can provide a small carton of drink, with a straw, if you wish. Please contact Cool Milk http://www.coolmilk.com/

Alternatively, children may bring in a piece of fruit as a snack each day.   Children are allowed to have a water bottle clearly labelled with their name for use in class.

School Lunch

The school uses ParentPay for preordering school lunches.  You will be provided with unique registration when you start at school.  These will be emailed to you:

ParentPay: How to Activate Your Account

ParentPay: How To Add A Child To Your Account

ParentPay: How to Preorder School Lunches

Important Information for Parents: Preordering School Meals

Parents are required to preorder their child’s menu choice (red, blue, green, or packed lunch) using the ParentPay app from home. You must preorder for the upcoming week, but you can also place orders for the entire term in advance.

The system directly communicates recorded lunch choices to the school kitchen staff. If your child has a known food allergen, this will automatically be flagged within the system. We recommend that parents review and discuss the menu choices available each day with younger children to ensure they’re happy with their selections.

If your child is absent, a member of the office staff will update their status on the system on the day.

Nutritional Balance and Healthy Eating
All meals consist of one item from each food group, providing a balanced mix of nutrients to support your child’s health and well-being. Drinking water is freely available for all children during lunchtime. Occasionally, the Catering Service hosts a special menu day, and a link to the current menu is available below:

We are proud to be a ‘Healthy Eating School.’ Our cook and her team prepare a delicious and nutritious selection of meals daily, in line with the new Healthy Options Menu.

Free School Meals
You may be eligible for free school meals. For more information and advice, please visit: [Havering Free School Meal Enquiry Link]

Infant Children – All infant children (Reception, Years  1 and 2) are entitled to receive Universal Free School Meals provided by Havering Catering Services.

Junior Children – Junior children are currently entitled to free school meals.  This is being funded by the Mayor’s office.

You may be entitled to free school meals.  Click the link for further advice from Havering: Free School Meal Enquiry

Current Dinner Menu

Current menu – from 4th November 2024

Visual 3 Course Menu from  (Check the dates at the top of each week to see which menu to choose from).

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Gluten & Dairy Free AW24 Menus

For full information including updates, please follow the Havering Catering website and kafoodle link provided below:

https://wba.kafoodle.com/15672

Havering Catering Services ‘Veggie Run App’