Hot School Lunches

We have had an exciting new development at Chartridge over the summer 2024. A brand new kitchen has been installed and all our school lunches are now cooked from fresh ingredients on site daily by The Pantry. Each child's parents will be sent an email by The Pantry detailing how to create an account. To avoid waste, meals are ordered online in advance by parents using their account. They need to be ordered by 9am on the morning they are to be taken. Payment is also made directly to The Pantry in advance of ordering.

The children will check themselves in as they queue for their lunch. There will be someone to help the little ones! It is important that children know which hot meal has been ordered for them to avoid any upset at the serving counter. 

If your child has an allergy, please inform The Pantry via your account so that provision can be made for them.  Please do also let school know via email.

Free School meals and Pupil Premium funding

Since September 2014, all Key Stage 1 and Reception children have been entitled to a free hot school meal each day.  Children of course may still bring a packed lunch if you wish.

Schools will continue to receive pupil premium funding from the government for all children (even if they receive a funded meal in Years Reception to Year 2), whose families are eligible for free school meals, for children who have been looked after continuously for more than 6 months or any pupils who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years. This invaluable funding is used by the school to help raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. One example of this is by contributing to the cost of learning support assistants who provide much needed support and also lead and organise a range of one-to-one or small-group interventions under the guidance of class teachers and our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

The current amount of pupil premium funding we receive for students registered for free school meals is £1,300 per child. A premium has also been introduced to support children and young people whose parents are currently serving, or have served in the past 3 years, in the armed forces. This year and next, the school will receive £300 per pupil who comes from a service family.

Of course, we can only receive the funding if you let us know that you are eligible to receive free meals for your child, or if you are a member of the armed forces. Even if your child does not want to have hot meals at school, it would be beneficial to your child if you apply for them anyway, so that we can receive the funding and use it to assist your child in their education.

All information about pupil premium and free school meals is kept confidentially. Please click here for the form for free school meals and send the completed form to Linda Dudley or Linda Riley in the school office (a paper copy is available from the school office). If any parents are members of the Armed Forces please e-mail or telephone us to let us know.  If you are already receiving free meals for your child you do not need to contact us again. 

Packed lunches & snacks in school

For those children who bring a packed lunch from home, we ask parents to provide a balanced lunch which will meet your child’s nutritional requirements.  Click here to see Change 4 Life's website with examples of healthy children's lunches

Please do not include foods containing nuts or sesame, we have several children in school with nut and/or sesame allergies.

Children may bring in a small snack to eat at playtime, which should be a piece of fruit or vegetable.  All children should bring a water bottle into school each day which is kept in their classroom, and they are encouraged to drink water throughout the day to keep hydrated. 

Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 classes receive a piece of fruit or vegetable each day, as part of the government’s free fruit and vegetable scheme.