Healthy School – Lunches, Snacks and Drinks – Our Lady's Catholic Primary

Our Lady’s is dedicated to being a Healthy School. This means that we promote the health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff through a well-planned, taught curriculum in a physical and emotional environment that promotes learning and healthy lifestyle choices.

At the heart of our Healthy School strategy are our four core themes. These themes relate not only to the taught curriculum but also to the emotional, physical and learning environment provided by the school.

personal, social and health education including sex and relationship education and drug education (including alcohol, tobacco and volatile substance abuse);
healthy eating;
physical activity; and
emotional health and wellbeing (including cyberbullying and staying safe online)

Family Fitness Awards

School Lunches
Why choose school meals?

School meals offer great value for money and provide your child with a healthy, nutritious, tasty meal cooked fresh every day.

School meals are:

Nutritionally balanced to ensure they are low in fat, sugar and salt and high in vitamins and minerals – healthier than many packed lunches

Helping your child to concentrate throughout the day – a hot meal at lunch-time provides energy – as well as encouraging them to try new foods

Produced to a high quality using locally produced ingredients

Helping your child to learn the social skills that eating and interacting with others brings

Great value for money – £2.40 for a primary school meal. School meals are free for children in Reception, Year One and Year Two. For Year three upwards payments can be made on your ParentPay account.

Children choose their lunch choice during registration time

Sample Menus – 2024 Primary Autumn Winter Menu 2 Choice

Free School Meals

Did you know that

our school’s food ordering process is the same for every child as we use an anonymous system therefore there is no way of identifying a child in receipt of free school meals?

at our school, both school meal and packed lunch children sit together therefore swapping a packed lunch for a free school meal won’t alter where your child sits or who they sit with?

approximately 20% of children who are entitled to free school meals are not registered?

the school receives additional funding known as pupil premium funding for every child entitled to free school meals?

INFORMATION FROM KNOWSLEY COUNCIL – Free School Meals

School meals are free for your child or children if you receive:

Income Support

Income-based Jobseekers Allowance

An income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Child Tax Credit and have an annual income of £16,190 or less (but not if you are in work and receive Working Tax Credit)

The guarantee element of State Pension Credit

Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Universal Credit, provided you have an annual net earned income not exceeding £7,400 (£616.67 a month)

You will need to apply for free school meals by completing an application on the parent portal link below.

Apply for free school meals

Packed Lunches
Food and drink in packed lunches

The key to a healthy lunchbox is to include a balance of appropriate foods from the four main food groups:

Fruit and vegetables

Milk and dairy products

Breads and cereals

Meat and alternatives

The school does provide facilities for pupils bringing in packed lunches and we do ensure that free, fresh drinking water is readily available at all times.

As fridge space is not available in school, pupils are advised to bring packed lunches in insulated bags with freezer blocks where possible to keep food fresh.

Please do not use glass containers or bottles to pack your child’s lunch.

Packed lunches and breaktime snacks MUST NOT include:

nuts – including peanut butter and Nutella – because of the life threatening risk to any other child who may have a severe allergy.

confectionery such as chocolate bars and sweets (fruit strings are considered to be sweets). Cakes and biscuits are allowed but encourage your child to eat these only as part of a balanced meal.

drinks other than water and squash – fresh water is available at all times so you do not need to include this.

Ideas for lunchbokes can be found on the following links:
Healthy Lunch Recipes NHS

Healthy Lunchboxes - Simply Veg

Snacks and Drinks

Snacks

We encourage children to bring in healthy snacks full of vitamins and minerals containing no added salt, fat or sugar to eat at breaktime. Many of these will help contribute to their 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables, keep them alert and help them concentrate.

Providing snacks in a small, named, recyclable container is ideal. Children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 have a daily snack of fruit or veg provided for free by the government. EYFS children have an additional snack mid morning. Payment for this is £1 per week.

All food items being brought into school must be nut free. Items brought into school should be carefully checked by you, to ensure this. Our Lady’s has pupils who are severely allergic to a range of nuts.

We are aiming for a common-sense approach, with the key being to keep it healthy and no chocolate, sweets or crisps.

Drinks

We need the children to stay hydrated and so please ensure they bring a named water bottle into school daily. Squash and fruit juice are not permitted. Milk is available to EYFS free. For Y1 and Y2, milk costs 25p per day, payable termly via ParentPay. Children with dairy allergies can bring their own milk from home.

Knowsley Healthy Schools Award

We are going for our BRONZE award!

The Knowsley Healthy School awards aim to recognise and encourage schools’ contribution in providing healthy environments for their pupils and staff. It celebrates positive actions that schools are delivering in terms of healthy eating and physical activity and aims to identify next steps to improve their provision.

Healthy schools provide a whole school approach which enables pupils to access nutritious food to fuel learning and promotes opportunities for children to be physically active throughout the school day. Playing a part in improved health for children in Knowsley, reducing health inequalities, increasing social inclusion and raising achievement for all.

By enabling children and young people to make positive changes to their behaviour around health and wellbeing, schools can help them reach their full potential. This will have benefits for the children now and in the future.

Healthy Schools is not just about children and young people, it is about involving the whole school community together with local services and agencies to improve health outcomes for all. Schools taking part in the voluntary scheme can work towards achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Parents and Families Useful Links