School Meals

All children at St Bede’s can have a mid-day meal at school. This can either be ordered through our meals provider or by bringing a packed lunch to school.

A two-course meal is provided daily with menus designed to meet the nutritional requirements of young children and to introduce a wide variety of food.  As social training is an important aspect of the lunch period the children are supervised during the lunch break by school staff.

Provision is also made for those children who bring a packed lunch and as part of our healthy schools initiative, we encourage parents to provide their child with a balanced packed lunch.

Our freshly cooked meals are prepared by the catering department at St Benet Biscop Academy and they are transported to St Bede’s kitchen in time for the lunch break.

Meal Costs

The cost of the meals is:

Year 3 to Year 6 £2.70 per day

Nursery £2.70 per day

All pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state-funded schools in England are eligible for universal infant free school meals.

There are also concessions for children who live in a home where benefits are needed to maintain a satisfactory standard of living. If you think your child may be entitled to free school meals, please enquire at the school office.

Drinking Water

Each child is supplied with a water bottle when they join Reception, this should be brought to school each day filled with fresh water.  It has been proven that if children have regular access to water during the day they are more able to concentrate and make greater progress at school. Replacement bottles can be purchased at the office.

Snacks in School

Children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes are all offered a morning snack. This is a subsidised scheme from the government. Children in Key Stage Two (Years 3, 4, 5 & 6) can bring a healthy snack to school so that they can have this during break time. As with the packed lunches parents are asked to ensure that the snack is nutritious and not high in sugar.

School Milk - Cool Milk

Thanks to government subsidies, school milk is free for all under-fives and is subsided at around £15 a term for children aged five or older.

If your child is currently under 5, we’re delighted to confirm that we have arranged for them to receive free milk at school, funded by the UK Government's Nursery Milk Scheme.

When your child turns 5 or if they are already over 5, you have the option to pay for their milk.  We have made arrangements with the UK’s leading school milk supplier, Cool Milk, to supply milk.

St Bede’s Catholic Primary School will automatically register your child with Coolmilk when they start school, if you do not wish your child to receive any milk, please let the School Office know as soon as possible.

What you need to do:

1. Visit www.coolmilk.com as soon as possible and select "Register your child for milk here", then follow the on-screen instructions to register and pay

2. If your child is over 5 and entitled to benefit-based free school meals, school shall be funding their milk

Should you have any queries regarding your child's registration or milk supply in general, please do not hesitate to contact Cool Milk directly at customerservices@coolmilk.com or call 0844 854 2913.

Please note has soon as your child turns 5 of age, they will automatically stop receiving their free milk.  Please register with Cool Milk online if you wish your child to continue having milk.  Your child’s school does not have anything to do with payments or registration going forward.