Parents

School Lunch

Hot school meals are provided by a DCC approved supplier, Cygnet Catering. Meals cost £2.20 and are bookable weekly in advance. Payment and orders are to be received in the School Office by 10 a.m. latest on the Monday of the week prior to meals being required. If you require a copy of the current menu then please contact the office.

Children who do not have a cooked meal bring their own healthy lunchbox; in case of incidences of children who suffer with “nut” allergies we would appreciate it if nut products were not sent to school. We encourage children to lead healthy, active lives in our general teaching and, for this reason, we prefer them not to bring sweets or chocolate in their lunch boxes. A piece of fruit or raw vegetable is a healthy way to end a meal and much better for their teeth.

All children eat together in the hall, in mixed age groups and are supervised by our Lunchtime Assistants, with a member of teaching staff also on duty.

Free Meals

Your child may be entitled to receive free school meals if you are in receipt of one of the following benefits:

Income Support (IS) or
Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual taxable income (as assessed by The Inland Revenue) which from 6 April 2011 does not exceed £16,190
Income-Based Job Seekers' Allowance (IB JSA) or
Employment Support Allowance (Income Related) (ASA(IRA)) or
Guaranteed Element of State Pension Credit
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

From 1 May 2009 where a parent is entitled to Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment ceases, or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week, their children are entitled to free school lunches.

How do I apply for free school meals?

You can apply by telephone - call Dorset Direct on 01305 221000.

You will need to advise your:

Name
Date of birth
National Insurance Number (or your registered asylum seeker number)
Child's details - name, date of birth, and school for which you want free school meals

Dorset Direct will make automated checks to confirm your entitlement, and if you qualify, will tell you immediately, and then write to you within three working days of your call to confirm it.

Alternatively, you can apply using a paper application. Paper forms are available from your child's school, some libraries, or from Dorset Direct - please contact us and a form can be sent to you.

Send the completed form to Dorset Direct (the address is on the form) Please note - you do not have to send any documents to show your entitlement to one of the above benefits. Automated checks will be made to confirm your entitlement, and if you qualify, we will write to you within three working days of receiving your form.

(For both telephone and paper applications - If the automated benefit check does not work, then we may need to ask you to supply documentary evidence. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.)

Please apply if you are eligible, or let us know if you are eligible, then the school's funding is increased and extra resources will be available to support your child's learning. Thank you!

Charging

As part of the broad curriculum offered to our children, we often have to fund certain activities outside the provision of the LEA. The 1988 Education Reform Act does not allow us to charge for such activities. We, therefore, ask parents for occasional voluntary contributions towards such funding.

The 1988 Education Reform Act states that:

“There is no obligation to contribute and no pupil would be omitted from the activity because his/her parents were unwilling to contribute”.

If, however, sufficient voluntary contributions were not forthcoming, any such activity would have to be cancelled.

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