School meals information
We recommend school meals for every child!
We are very proud of our school meals at Pensford - they contribute significantly to our 'Happiness' value.
All our meals are cooked on-site from scratch by our wonderful Edwards and Ward chef.
We are grateful to all parents and children who continue to take up school meals - only with your support can this arrangement continue to be funded.
Breaktime Snacks
We participate in the national scheme that provides free fruit and vegetables to children for breaktimes. Parents are also invited to send children in with nut free snacks using this guidance, which has been developed with parents.
How our school meals work
Meals for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are FREE for all parents. However, there are many other benefits to registering your child for free school meals too, so see below for more information if you are currently on a low income.
In Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6), meals are charged at £2.90, unless your child does qualify for free school meals. Please make sure your MCAS account is topped up so that you have enough credit each day for your child to have a meal.
Menu information
Our current menu is available to download (the dates that relate to each week are shown at the foot of each column).
The special Christmas menu for Wednesday 18th December is below. PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE for this, using this link.
Free School Meals information
Free School Meals are available to children whose parents are in receipt of:
- Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods)
- Income Support
- Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income Related Employment Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit (without Working Tax Credit) and have and annual household income (as assessed by HMRC) below £16,190
- Run-on Working Tax Credit which is only paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- The Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
- Support under PartV1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Further information can be obtained from the Bath & NES council website.
Apply for Free School Meals
It is important that children register for Free School Meals if their parent/guardian receives any of the eligible benefits. Registering for Free School Meals attracts additional funding for the school and may also qualify children for additional financial support for other activities, such as school trips.
Although it is recommended the child eats the meal, this is optional and parents/guardians should register regardless of whether or not the child wants a meal.
Parents need to make an official application to receive Free School Meals for their children, but while their application is being processed schools have the discretion to issue temporary cover.
Download a PDF version of the form, or an editable Word version, Alternatively, you can call 01225 394317.
Packed lunch information
While we do not want to tell parents how to feed their own children(!), we do have a some guidelines for packed lunches.
Nut-free
For safety reasons, we are a nut-free school.
This is to ensure the safety of our children and to support the needs of the several pupils who have nut allergies which require an Epi-pen. Following medical advice, must not have nut and nut products (including Nutella) as well as other chocolate spreads, and pesto onsite. See our nut free policy in full.
Supporting healthy eating
We ask parents to support children's learning about healthy eating. Please include a maximum of one 'treat' item (something high in sugar content) per packed lunch. We have a safeguarding duty to ensure that children's wellbeing is prioritised. If we do notice children being supplied with consistently unhealthy meals, we would be expected to talk to parents about this.
Thank you for your support, this helps us to prioritise the health and wellbeing of all our children.
Please let the school know if your child has any dietary requirements.
Our provider - Edwards and Ward
We chose Edwards and Ward because they are passionate about involving children in meals, and learning about food, as well as just providing them with a tasty lunch. You can find out more about Edwards and Ward on this 1-page profile.
All the dishes produced by Edwards and Ward Meals Service meet the government's nutritional standards and are analysed using the 'SAFFRON Nutritional Analysis System'. Edwards and Ward follow recommended portion sizes.
The Edwards and Ward menus have been compiled to offer children an imaginative range of interesting dishes. They incorporate:
- Quorn - a quality, purely vegetarian alternative source of protein to meat.
- Free range eggs from a local farm.
- RSPCA standard pork and Red Tractor, Farm Assured standard for all other meats.
Special dietary requests - please contact Edwards and Ward on 01761 490470 for further details.