School meals

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Lunches are provided free of charge for children in Reception to Year 2 as well as those families eligible for Free School Meals. For those not eligible for Free School Meals the cost will be £2.60 per day. All school meals must be ordered in advance on iPayimpact. Please see video link below for how to book, cancel and change a meal order:

https://www.youtube.com/@iPayimpact-app/videos

A vegetarian option is always available and the kitchen is usually able to cater for special dietary/medical needs if given advance notice – please contact the school office so we can help you organise this if necessary. 

Packed lunches

Ark Castledown Primary Academy is committed to healthy eating and in order to promote a healthy lifestyle we ask that pupils do not bring chocolate, sweets, fizzy drinks or other ‘fast food’ items into school. 

We believe in encouraging our children to eat healthily. Therefore, anyone who wishes to bring a snack of fruit or raw vegetables may do so. The children in Reception class and Years 1 and 2 will be provided with a snack (a piece of fruit) as a part of their daily routine.

Access to drinking water

Children will be encouraged to drink water throughout the day and water is made available at tables during lunch time. Named water bottles should be brought into school. For hygiene reasons, they should be taken home at the end of each day for cleaning and returned to school with fresh water. There will be opportunities during the school day for pupils to replenish their water bottles as required. Please note that only water may be given to children to drink during the school day. Parents can provide a healthy alternative to water for packed lunches, such as fruit juice.

Some parents may be entitled to receive free school meals for their children.

In order to determine if you are eligible and to apply please click here.

We have a number of children who have severe, potentially life-threatening nut allergies. Not only are they allergic to nuts, they also cannot tolerate having any food substances that contain nuts. Therefore, we aim for Ark Castledown to be a NUT FREE school. Please ensure that your child does not bring any nuts or food items to school which contain nuts as a listed ingredient.

Our “Nut-Free Approach” means that the following items should not be brought into school:

• Packets of nuts
• Peanut butter or Nutella sandwiches
• Fruit and cereal bars that contain nuts
• Chocolate bars or sweets that contain nuts
• Sesame seed rolls (children allergic to nuts may also have a severe reaction to sesame)
• Cakes made with nuts
• Any home cooked meals for packed lunches that are made from nuts