Lunchtimes
Hot Meals
Good food and good food culture has been shown to lead not only to healthier, happier and more fulfilled children, but to improved educational attainment. Hot meals at our school are provided by Chartwells. Parents order hot meals for children in all year groups through ParentPay, a new ordering system implemented by Chartwells and West Sussex County Council.
Meals can be ordered via the website: https://www.parentpay.com/, or by downloading the ParentPay application on your mobile device.
Menu Choice
Chartwells order in a selection of items from the menu to achieve the total quantity of meals required on a daily basis, with the aim of meeting dietary needs. Jacket potatoes are part of this order.
Through ParentPay, parents are able to order specific meals every day, thus minimising food waste and giving greater control to parents and children over their meal choices.
Download the latest menu on the following link:
Allergy/intolerance, Faith Meals, Vegetarian, Vegan or Pescatarian Diets
Please download the West Sussex Special Diet information booklet, which provides you with information and guidance on special diets and other diets, and includes an application form so that you can notify Chartwells. Children with a special diet will be given a lanyard to help Chartwells staff to provide the correct meal.
How to Order and Pay for meals
Parents register their children for hot meals via the Chartwell's ParentPay website https://www.parentpay.com/. Meals can be ordered online up to 10 weeks in advance, and up until midnight on Thursdays - 10 days before the full week in which the meal is to be served.
The cost of meals for KS1 children (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) and children in receipt of Pupil Premium is covered by West Sussex County Council, which will show at the time of ordering the meals (a balance of £0 will be displayed.
Meals for KS2 students (Year 3 to 6 children) are paid directly by parents.
Hot meals cost £2.71 each which is paid when the booking is made.
Help and information is available to parents via https://parent-support.parentpaygroup.com/hc/en-gb/categories/4407704072081-ParentPay
Universal Infant Free School Meals
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to free school meals.
Free School Meals and the Pupil Premium
If your child is in Year 3 and above, they may still be eligible to receive free school meals which could save you more than £450 a year, as well as providing additional funding to the school via Pupil Premium funding. The Government is giving money to schools to help children from lower income families do their very best. No one will know you have registered and it will not affect any other benefits you are claiming. Children entitled to free school meals will automatically receive a meal, regardless of their year group, once confirmation of their entitlement has been received. This money is essential in supporting all that the school wishes to provide for pupils.
Please see below information from WSCC regarding Free School Meals applications:
On 1 January 2024, there will be a new process for parents to submit their applications for Free School Meals (FSM). The process will be entirely online. The system will give parents an instant indication of their child’s FSM eligibility status, with the aim of ensuring eligible children receive their FSM entitlement as quickly as possible, by helping to reduce the time for checks to be returned in busy periods.
This process, in most cases, allows parents to receive their initial eligibility result instantly. Our Catering Services FSM team will then run further checks and confirm the outcome via email to both the parent and the school.
If you encounter any issues with completing the online form, please contact West Sussex directly on 0330 222 5555 or at fsm@westsussex.gov.uk.