School Meals

Our kitchen team cook and serve delicious, fresh food for our children every day.  Meals are balanced and meet the nutritional standards set out by the DfE. These guidelines aim to ensure that the food given to school children is nutritious and of high quality, and to promote good health and eating behaviour. Our menu is full of child-friendly meals. Although our kitchen team cook and serve hundreds of meals every day, their aim is to provide children with a healthy and filling home-cooked dinner.

As well as our standard menu which changes twice a year, we offer special menu days. A few of our planned special menu days include:

• Christmas dinner
• Chinese New Year
• Spanish tapas
• Pancake day

Spring Menu

Winter Menu

Our Kitchen team consists of Sue Harris, Head Chef, and two kitchen assistants: Dawn Noott and Louise Guise.  

A message from the team:

"We pride ourselves on being one of the few schools in North Somerset whose catering is all overseen in house, down to the menu writing and creating unique fun recipes!

As mums ourselves, and having children and grandchildren that attend Mendip Green, we strive to produce and offer healthy, well balanced, delicious food that the children want to eat in a happy, welcoming, fun environment.

We will always adapt and accommodate any dietary requirements where necessary and our door is always open for you to talk to us about any concerns."

Do I need to book a school meal?

• There is no need for you to book a dinner in advance.
• During morning registration, children can select a school dinner (including their choice of meal) or a packed lunch.
• Children will have the choice of a red option or a green (vegetarian) option.  All dinners are served with vegetables and children may select additional fresh sides from the salad bar. Children can also choose from a range of puddings each day: the pudding of the day, organic yoghurt and fresh fruit.

How much are school dinners and how do I pay for them?

• Our school dinners cost £2.10 a day.
• Our preference is for meals to be paid for via ParentPay.  This means you can control the amount you have on your account and add additional amounts at anytime to suit you.  If you would rather pay cash, please bring this to the school office.
• We politely request that there are sufficient funds on your ParentPay account to pay for any school meals in advance of your child requesting a dinner.
• To set up a ParentPay account or if you have any questions regarding an existing account, please contact the school office.
• To login to an existing account, visit the online payments section of our website.

Is my child eligible for free school meals?

There are two schemes for free school meals:

• universal infant free school meals for all children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 – you do not need to apply for these meals. Children are automatically entitled to them
• free school meals for people on qualifying benefits – you will need to apply for these

You can find full details about Free School Meals and how to apply for them here.

Drinks Bottles

Children need to bring in a drinks bottle every day. This should be filled with fresh water or weak squash. Children will have access to their drinks bottle throughout the school day. This is part of our commitment to being a 'healthy school' and supporting the health and wellbeing of our children. 

Mendip Green water bottles are available for purchase from the school office.

Packed lunches

Children may bring a packed lunch to school. These should not include:

• hot/fizzy drinks
• glass containers
• food that requires reheating/cooking
• food that requires refrigerating
• chocolate bars or sweets

We ask that parents do not include nut products (nuts or any products where nuts are listed in the ingredients) in packed lunches as we have children in school with severe nut allergies.

Children are not permitted to share any of their packed lunch with others. This is to ensure the safety children with allergies and food intolerances, 

It is important that children eat a balanced diet - this will naturally include a mix of healthy foods and small treats.  Although we request that chocolate bars and sweets are not packed in the children's lunch boxes, a chocolate biscuit, small cake or other sweet treats such as popcorn can be included as part of a balanced meal.

So that you can monitor how much and what your child has eaten, children will be asked to take their rubbish and any left over food home with them in their lunch box.

• Children will receive free milk, a third pint carton up to their fifth birthday.
• Children over the age of 5 can continue to receive milk in one of two ways:
  • If they are entitled to free school meals (not universal free school meals) milk can be provide free of charge throughout their time at school.  Please contact the school office if your child is entitled to free school meals and would like to receive milk.
  • If children are not eligible for free school meals, the opportunity to continue receiving milk beyond their fifth birthday is available at a cost.  Please arrange this with the school office.

Snacks

Fruit and vegetables are a good source of the nutrients that children need and form part of a healthy, balanced diet. It is recommended that children – like adults – eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day.

Children may bring a healthy snack with them which can be eaten during the morning session. These snacks should be fresh or dried fruit/vegetables.

As part of the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, all children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 will be offered a fruit/vegetable snack each day. This provides 1 of their 5 A Day portions. The scheme also helps to increase awareness of the importance of eating fruit and vegetables, encouraging healthy eating habits that can be carried into later life.

Teachers find that distributing the fruit in class groups helps to encourage a sharing, calm, social time. It also allows them to incorporate the scheme into teaching and learning.

The fruit and vegetables are delivered to schools 3 times a week to ensure freshness.

Depending on the season, there's a choice of:

• bananas
• apples
• pears
• carrots
• tomatoes
• easy-peel citrus fruits, such as satsumas

Some schools also offer strawberries when they're in season.

All the fruit and vegetables are washed before they're handed out, which is usually just before the mid-morning break, normally in individual class groups.