Catering
At St Paulinus CE Primary School we are fortunate to have a great team of cooks who work in our school and prepare all the food on-site in the school kitchen.
Our meals are provided by Pabulum. Please see below for information about them as well as the current menu, Meals are provided free of charge to all pupils in years R, 1 and 2 and at a cost to older children. Some older children are also entitled to a free meal depending on their family circumstances. If you would like to discuss free meals or concerns about allergens, special diets or the food your child is eating, please contact the school office.
Your current school menu, along with allergens, can be found on Pabulum’s website at pabulum-catering.co.uk
A message from Pabulum:
Our menus are compliant with The School Food Plan and over 94% of our dishes are freshly prepared from unprocessed ingredients by our professional chefs.
The Pabulum dining experience gives every child time to enjoy our fresh food offer, whilst encouraging children to try delicious new dishes and rewarding them with a Healthy Bunch sticker or certificate. Pabulum goes beyond the fresh food dining experience; our initiatives engage and inspire to help develop a deeper appreciation of food through parents evenings, playground taster sessions, food assemblies and cookery demonstrations.
Please note that we are a NUT FREE school so please do not send any nuts or products containing nuts (such as peanut butter or cereal bars with nuts) into school with your child.
Packed Lunches
Children are encouraged to bring a healthy packed lunch in a named lunch box or bag. Whilst it is the parents/carers choice as to what they put in their children’s lunch box, we do encourage a healthy mix and we do not allow children to eat sweets, full-sized chocolate bars or drink fizzy drinks as part of their lunch.
Getting ideas and inspiration for what to include in your child’s lunchbox can be a difficult task. Healthy eating is simply about getting a better balance and eating a wide variety of foods. All foods provide energy and nutrients and it is achieving the correct intake of those nutrients that are important for health. Variety is the key to a healthy diet, so try not to offer the same foods on consecutive days. By including a broad range of different foods, a much wider variety of nutrients will be eaten. The ‘Healthier Lunchbox Checklist’ helps to explain what ‘a healthy mix’ means in terms of getting a well-balanced meal in a lunchbox.
Healthier Lunchbox Checklist:
- A good portion of starchy food: e.g. thick wholemeal bread, chapatti, pitta pocket, pasta or rice salad?
- Plenty of fruit and vegetables: e.g. an apple, a satsuma, handful of cherry tomatoes or carrot sticks, mini-can of fruit chunks or a small box of raisins?
- A portion of milk or dairy food: e.g. individual cheese portion or pot of yoghurt?
- A portion of lean meat, fish or alternative: e.g. ham, chicken, beef, tuna, egg, hummus or bean/lentil salad?
- A drink: e.g fruit juice, milk or water.
Free School Meals
Children in Reception Class, Year 1 and Year 2 are now offered free school meals as part of a Government scheme. If you change your mind for any reason and wish your child to be on packed lunch, please let the office know.
For all other children, currently, school meals cost £12.00 per week, or £2.40 per day, which should be paid in advance on Monday mornings. It is also possible to pay for the whole half term in advance if preferred. The cost for Autumn 2 (October - December) is £93.60. Cash or cheque made payable to 'St Paulinus CE Primary School' are acceptable or via Sims Pay.
It is preferable that children remain either school dinners or packed lunches for a full half term as this enables the kitchen staff to plan and order appropriate amounts of food. However it is appreciated that circumstances may change partway through the term and where possible children will be allowed to change their lunch arrangements, however, this cannot be done on a regular basis.