Lunches
We have a no nuts policy – please respect this
Our meals provider is Nourish. The price of a school meal is £2.60.
Please note that all meals must be booked and paid for in advance on Parentmail, at least 24 hours before the day that you wish your child to have a lunch. Please see menu below.
Free School Meals
All children in EYFS, Year 1 and 2 are entitled to free school meals under the Government Universal School Meals Initiative.
If your child qualifies for Free School Meals, please apply for these as this funding helps the school to support your child’s learning, as well as providing a free meal. Link: Free school meals - Kent County Council
During their morning playtime all children are allowed to consume a healthy snack consisting of fruit, vegetables or dried fruit and a drink. Under the Government’s healthy school policy we offer the Infants a different piece of fruit or vegetable every day.
In addition, under 5’s are entitled to free milk, should they wish to take up this option. This scheme is operated through Coolmilk www.coolmilk.com should you wish your child to benefit from this scheme please register on line. Over 5s have the option of purchasing milk from this provider which may also be booked on line.
Lunchtime
To facilitate the smooth running of the lunch hour we group the children to eat with their Infant or Junior peers respectively. Infants generally use the lunch hall from 11.45 until 12.25, followed by playtime. Juniors generally enjoy outside play first and finish off with their lunch between 12.25 and 1pm.
Regardless of their age, children at St. Mark’s have the opportunity to choose between bringing their own packed lunch and purchasing a healthy cooked meal from the school’s caterers.
Lunchboxes
In the case of packed lunchboxes we would encourage parents to pack a healthy, balanced lunch for their children including protein, carbohydrates and fruit. Children must be able to open everything in their lunch box by themselves. It should be packed in a clearly labelled, non-breakable container or bag. A non-fizzy drink in an unbreakable container should accompany the lunch.
Please refrain from providing your child with nut products as there is a high risk of serious allergic reactions if other susceptible children accidentally come into contact with contaminated products in the dining hall.
Whilst we strongly encourage a healthy, balanced lunchbox, we do understand that parents sometimes wish to include special items in the lunchbox (e.g. chocolate biscuit or small bag of crisps) which their children like. We think these are acceptable as part of a healthy, mixed diet but do encourage you to keep them to an absolute minimum.