Ashmole Primary School Is Committed to the Protection and Safety of Its Children

Packed Lunch Policy

Ashmole Primary School is committed to the protection and safety of its children

Our Vision

Ashmole Primary School is committed to the vision of raising attainment to ensure all children have an outstanding education.

This is done through all children being engaged with and enjoying, practical relevant lessons across all areas of the curriculum.

At Ashmole we understand the importance of healthy eating and our role in ensuring that we make a positive contribution to children’s health and to our Advanced Healthy Schools Status. Eating healthily encourages happier, calmer children and promotes consistency in the quality of the packed lunches and the lunches provided by the school, whether eaten on the premises or on trips.

At Ashmole we follow the national standards as set out by the government.

Aim
To ensure that all packed lunches brought from home and consumed in school (or on school trips) provide the pupil with healthy and nutritious food that is similar to food served in schools; which is now regulated by national standards and applies to all parents providing a packed lunch to be consumed within school or on school trips.

(The policy was drawn up using a range of national documents including a toolkit and a draft policy from the School Food Trust and Food policy in schools – a strategic policy framework for governing bodies (National Governors’ Council, (NGC) 2005).

Packed lunches

·  The school provides a packed lunch trolley for the children to store their packed lunches on. The trolley is in the hall and the children should put their lunches their before school.

·  Children who have a school packed lunch are provided with fresh drinking water, which is readily available in the lunch hall.

·  All children from a class enter the hall together and are allowed to sit together during the lunch time.

Packed lunches should include

·  at least one portion of fruit (grapes, Satsuma, banana, apple) and one portion of vegetables (celery, carrot sticks, sliced peppers) every day.

·  a starchy food such as any type of bread, pasta, rice, couscous, noodles, potatoes or other type of cereals every day.

·  meat, fish or other source of non-dairy protein (e.g. lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas, hummus, peanut butter and falafel) every day

·  dairy food such as milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais or custard everyday

·  only water, still, flavoured or sparkling, fruit juice, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, yoghurt or milk drinks and smoothies.

Packed lunches can also include

·  snacks such as a small packet of crisps, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruit (with no added salt, sugar or fat), savoury crackers or breadsticks

·  a sweet option such as a single chocolate biscuit or individual cake.

Packed lunches will be regularly reviewed by the midday meal supervisors. Healthy lunches will be rewarded by a sticker and a reward ticket.

If a child regularly brings a packed lunch that does not conform to the policy then the family will be reminded of the policy and the school will contact the parents to discuss this should this be necessary.

Parental responsibility

Pupils are normally expected to eat the lunch provided by the school. However, parents of children wishing to have packed lunches for a particular reason are expected to provide their children with packed lunches which conform to the packed lunch policy.

Parents must let the school know when they are changing from school lunches to packed lunches and vice versa. A fortnight’s notice is required.

Monitoring and review

This policy is reviewed annually by the governing body.

Reviewed: November 2012

Next review: November 2014