Catering

School Meals

Our school hall becomes our 'dining room' every day at lunchtime. The children can choose to eat a home packed lunch or a hot school meal.

Our school meals are cooked by the kitchen team working for Independent Catering. The current cost of a school dinner is £2.50 per pupil per day. If your child is having a school meal, it is important that payment is made in advance.  Payment can be made via Arbor, our online payment portal, using your unique login details.  Your unique login details can we obtained from the School Office.  Unfortunately, we are unable to accept cash, cheque or card payments.

Independent catering offers freshly cooked meals daily.  Your child can choose from a main meal, vegetarian meal, pasta dish or jacket potato and children are able to help themselves to salad from the fresh salad bar every day.

If you would like more details about Independent Catering, please look at their website Independent Catering. 

Alternatively, children may bring a packed lunch. This should be in a secure, named container. A drink should be provided in a non-breakable container. Packed lunches are eaten in the school hall. We ask parents not include sweets or fizzy drinks – instead, we encourage lots of fruit, vegetables and water.

Free School Meals

Currently, all children in Reception to Year 2 are entitled to a hot meal at lunchtime.  These are known as Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM).  From Year 3 to Year 6, you are required to pay for your child’s school meal in advance via our Arbor payment system.

Free school meals are available to some children according to family income. It’s important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch – this is so that we can receive additional funding called the Pupil Premium which we can use to help your child.

Even if your child is entitled to UIFSM, please still apply for Free School Meals if you are entitled as this will benefit your child in many additional ways, for example, your child may be able to receive additional support, subsidised trips, access to extended school activities, etc.  For more information, see here.

Children are entitled to Free School Meals if their parents, carers or guardians receive any of the following:

• Income support

• Income based job seekers allowance

• Income related employment and support allowance

• Guaranteed pension credit

• Child Tax Credit, but not Working Tax Credit, and an annual income lower than the limit set by the Government

• Support under Part VI of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999
  
  

To find out if your child qualifies for free school meals, and for any help or advice, you could:

• Contact KCC Free School Meals on 03000 416464

• Visit Kent County Council

• Call HMRC Tax Credit helpline (0845 300 3900) or visit their website

If you’ve any general questions about free school meals, please ask us at the School Office (or send an email).

Milk

Every child in the UK is currently entitled to free school milk until their fifth birthday.  At Repton Manor Primary School we provide free milk to all of our Reception Children.

Once your child is in Year 1 and above they are still entitled to subsidised milk.  We are registered with the subsidised school milk via Cool Milk.

Children who have registered for this milk scheme usually drink it just before or after their morning playtime.