School Meals
Taylor Shaw
The school meal contract is managed by Taylor Shaw in Sheffield. The new look nursery, infant and primary school menus, contain a wide variety of red meat and poultry dishes (including roasts), omega-3 rich oily fish, rice, pasta and fresh fruit, vegetables and salads. The fat, sugar and salt content have all been reduced to produce a wholesome, highly nutritious and appetising range of dishes that not only look and taste good, but also fully comply with the new government food and nutritional standards.
Your choice of meal every day
We operate a band system to ensure that your child receives the meal of their choice every day. At registration time the teacher will ask your child to select a 'colour' to represent their meal choice for the day. The colours are taken from the menu and represent the meat dish, vegetarian or sandwich option. Please ensure that your child knows the colour of the meal they would like each day.
Table Manners and Etiquette
Good table manners are an important part of every meal and should be encouraged from an early age. In recent years we (as a society) have seen a decline in family meals eaten together around a table. Rather worryingly, many children nationally now start primary school unable to use their cutlery properly. However, teaching your children table manners is not just about showing them how to hold the knife and fork correctly, you are also instilling in them the importance of showing respect and courtesy to their fellow diners.
Click on the link to a simple YouTube video that might help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlEA3uYu74Y
Medical Diets
If your child requires a medical diet due to a food allergy, food intolerance or a medical condition that requires an adapted menu (e.g. carbohydrate count for Type 1 Diabetes), please follow this link to request a medical diet: https://orders.lunchhound.co.uk/medicaldiets/request For further support, please refer to the Parent User Guide. This is then used by the Nutritionist at Taylor Shaw, who will work out the best menu plan for your child. You can find more details about Medical Diets on our page on the Councils’ website – just go to www.sheffield.gov.uk and search for ‘school meals’.
Parent and Carers of Infant Children
Universal Infant Free School Meals
The Government introduced a new policy of a free school meal for all infant children in schools from September 2014.
There are very high nutritional standards for school meals and they consistently offer children a third of their nutritional requirements every day which is essential to their growth and development. Having a meal at school has been proven to help children settle to learning quicker, improve their concentration and help with their energy levels to get them through an active school day. The Government have recognised that good food at school is particularly valuable for the youngest of our children and therefore provide a free meal for infants as a legal duty for schools to deliver.
For parents of infant children who are about to start at Loxley, we hope that you will take up the offer of a free meal for your child. It will be a great way of giving your child the opportunity to enjoy a nutritionally balanced and healthy meal, eaten with their friends and learning all about how to socialise together in the dining room. It introduces them to a wide variety of foods as well as learning how to make choices and try different things.
How You Can Help Your School
Income Based Free School Meals
Schools will be given funding by the Government to provide free meals and this will come from different sources. Funding that is based on your family income levels is still needed and gives schools a variety of ways to support the meal on offer but also individual children. For every child who qualifies for free meals due to family income or benefit levels, your school receives the maximum funding to support your child through something called the Pupil Premium. It is only available to schools if you apply and are eligible for income based free school meals. It also means that your child can have free milk at break-time. With Pupil Premium funding, schools can organise extra help and support for children such as more teaching assistants, set up breakfast clubs and buy learning tools for the classroom. It also helps schools to decide how much to charge for trips, music lessons or after school activities so it will really help your school if you qualify for income based free meals for lots of reasons.
Applying for free meals is very quick and easy so if you or your partner think you may qualify for free school meals, please still take the time to apply. Even though your child will be able to have a free meal anyway, your school needs the funding that comes from Income Based Free School Meals, receiving the right funding at the right time - now and in the future. To find out if you are eligible, please go to the Council’s website at www.sheffield.gov.uk and search for ‘free school meals’. Or ring on 273 4567. It is a very quick and simple process.