Newtown Primary School Lunches
School meals matter. It has been well documented that children who eat nutritious meals every day and lead active lifestyles tend to excel. ACE Academies recognise that our schools are on the frontline of efforts to improve childhood nutrition and our collective health. Improving the meals that our pupils eat in schools is an important step to achieve that goal.
Packed Lunches and Morning Snacks
Children bringing in foods for snack and lunch must meet with our Healthy School expectations. Please note we are a nut free school so please ensure your child’s lunch or snacks do not contain nuts. The following guidance is from School Food Standards :
Packed lunches should include:
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at least one portion of fruit and one portion of vegetables every day
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meat, fish, eggs, or a non-dairy protein (e.g. lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, humus) every day
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a starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or another cereal every day
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a dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard every day
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a drink of water
Packed lunches can occasionally include:
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meat products such as sausage rolls, individual pies and sausages
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cakes and biscuits, but be mindful of appropriate portion sizes
Packed lunches should not include:
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confectionery such as chocolate bars, chocolate-coated cereal bars, processed fruit bars and sweets
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sugary soft drinks, such as squash and fizzy drinks
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nuts or any foods containing nuts
Morning snacks should be either a portion of fruit or vegetables or a cereal bar (without chocolate and/or nuts).
ACE Catering Service
Coming soon - April 2024
ACE Catering service is passionate about ensuring the well-being of young people, through healthy and balanced nutrition We pride ourselves on a high-quality in-house catering provision working closely with local suppliers to ensure we use as much local, seasonal, British and organic produce where we can. We see this as an important investment in our children and their future health and well-being.
Our talented Catering teams work together to achieve positive outcomes for our pupils and also collaborate with their local communities. Through improving school meals, we are not only providing important nutritional assistance, but are also helping pupils to be better equipped to feed their minds.
ACE catering teams are making positive steps to sustainably manage their energy, water and waste. Through the sustainable catering charter they are also actively increasing local and seasonal produce, using high welfare meats but less of it and increasing grains and pulses to minimise the impact of climate change.
Free School Meals
Under the Government ‘Universal Infant Free School Meals’ scheme, children in Reception and Years 1 and 2 are entitled to a hot meal free of charge. However, parents and guardians are encouraged to apply for free school meals when they enrol their child in school regardless of which year they are in, as this can help their child’s school to attract additional pupil premium funding to support learning.
Children in Years 3 - 6 are required to pay for meals unless parents are in receipt of a means tested benefit and have registered for free school meals. A 'meal' is a main meal with vegetables, a dessert and a drink.
How to apply
The quickest and easiest way to apply for free school meals is through the Devon County Council Portal Citizen Portal.
The person making the application should be the person who holds parental responsibility for the child that they are applying for. This will result in an instant decision direct to your phone, tablet or computer. A print out of the result or screen shot confirming eligibility should be shown to the School Office allowing free meals to commence straight away.
Parents and carers can also ring the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019 to request a paper copy of the application form.