School Meals
A Healthy School
The health and well-being of our pupils is something that we take very seriously at Darrick Wood Junior School.
Healthy eating, along with regular exercise, is a key aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and we therefore strive to ensure that the food pupils eat at school supports good health. In particular we have clear expectations in relation to school meals, packed lunches and breaktime snacks.
School Meals
Our school lunches are provided by Nourish Contract Catering.
For the academic year 2023/24 all primary school pupils in London will benefit from free school meals, therefore there is no payment required.
The current menu is shown below. You may find it helpful to discuss the menu with your child so they know what meals are available.
We operate a pre-ordering system whereby the children choose what they want for lunch at morning registration. We would be grateful if parents could discuss the menu options with their child beforehand so the pupil is clear about what they are choosing.
Free School Meals
Despite all pupils being eligible for free school meals for the 23/24 academic year, if you are a low-income family, and meet the qualifying benefits detailed below, you can help your child’s school by submitting a free school meals application to be assessed.
- Income support
- Income based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit (providing you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit), with a gross annual household income of no more than £16,190 (as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs-HMRC)
- Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit
- Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment received for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Universal Credit, with a net annual household income of £7,400 or less (after tax and not including any other benefits you receive).
The school receives additional funding for every child who registers for free school meals so we would encourage you to do this if you feel it may apply. Please note that your child is still free to bring a packed lunch to school even if they are registered for Free School Meals. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office officedwjs@solamat.co.uk
Kindness Day Menu 13.11.23Packed Lunches
Some children prefer to bring a packed lunch to school.
Whilst we understand that parents will have a much clearer idea about the eating preferences of their children, we also encourage parents to consider the nutritional aspects of the packed lunch that they provide for their children to ensure that it is a healthy lunch.
Ultimately, the decision about what goes into an individual child's packed lunch rests with the parents, although the school requests that the following items are not included in a packed lunch:
- Confectionery including all sweets and chocolate bars
- Fizzy drinks in cans or bottles
If these items are found in a child's packed lunch they will be removed. In addition, the school actively encourages parents to include at least one item of fresh fruit in their child's packed lunch.
Breaktime Snacks
Children are permitted to bring a snack into school to eat at break time out on the playground.
The school promotes healthy snack choices and pupils are encouraged to bring fruit as their playground snack. The school also operates a playtime Tuck Shop which stocks other healthy snack alternatives which may be purchased by the pupils. Crisps, sweets, cereal bars and other wrapped items are not permitted as playground snacks.
Further advice and guidance can be found on the Children's Food Trust website.
DWJS Tuck Shop
Pupils at DWJS have the opportunity to enjoy healthy, nutritious snacks that are purchased from the playtime Tuck Shop.
These snacks include dried fruits, fruit crisps, fruit bars, naturally flavoured raisins, flavoured water and milk.
The Tuck Shop, which is located on the bottom playground, is managed by Year 6 pupils. The team consists of Sales Executives, Accountants, Stock Controllers and Purchasing Managers. Managing the Tuck Shop enables pupils to develop key 21st century skills such as: teamwork, problem-solving, research gathering, time management, information synthesising and the utilising of technology. This leads to greater confidence in pupils and a greater awareness of their own strengths and areas for development.