School Meals

We are fortunate to have a kitchen on site, providing freshly cooked, nutritious and delicious school meals every day. 

Who is our Caterer?

From September 2024 our school meals will be catered by Chartwells.

Chartwells are able to cater for pupils with medical-based diets, allergies or intolerances. Please view their website for detailed information.

https://loveschoolmeals.co.uk/

What’s for Lunch?

The Chartwells 3-week menu and medical forms are available via the links at the bottom of this page.

For a copy of the Chartwells Medical Diet Policy or to speak to a member of the medical diet team, please contact Chartwells directly on  chartwells.medicaldiets@compass-group.co.uk. Throughout the school year, Chartwells offers fun & tasty “theme menu days” such as World Book Day, Chinese New Year etc. We will send these menu changes to you in advance.

How Much Does a School Meal Cost?

As per Government guidelines, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal (UIFSM) and we strongly encourage all parents to take up this provision.

For children in Nursery and Years 3-6, a school meal currently costs £2.60. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals through benefits-related eligibility, there is no charge for meals.

How do I apply for Free School Meals?

Parents who are in receipt of certain government benefits may qualify for their children to receive Free School Meals. Please inform the school of your eligibility (even if your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2) as this information may enable us to support your child in other ways in addition to providing a meal.

How Do I Pay for My Child’s Lunch? (Nursery and Years 3 to 6)

We require payment, in advance, on Monday mornings, using our online payment system.  You will need to register to do this. Please let the school office team know if you have not yet registered, as they will generate a letter with a unique code for your payments.

http://www.scopay.com/merstham-surrey

Guide to Online Payment Registration
Guide to Online Payment Checkout

How Do I Let the School Know Whether My Child Is Having a School Lunch?

Please speak to our helpful team in the school office.

Packed Lunch

If your child will be bringing in a packed lunch, we ask that you support us in encouraging healthy eating habits and do not include fizzy drinks, sweets or chocolate bars and no glass bottles. For healthy lunch ideas please see Lunchbox ideas and recipes – Healthier Families - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Please remember - to ensure the safety of children with nut and seed allergies, please carefully check packaging for ingredients and do not send nuts/seeds or food containing nuts/seeds into school.

Additional Information

Nursery children are provided with milk at no charge to parents/carers.  Fruit is available for a small charge.

KS1 children are provided with fruit at no charge to parents/carers. KS2 children are encouraged to bring a piece of fruit in their school bag, to have as a snack during the morning break.

We also ask all children to bring in a water bottle every day to encourage them to drink healthy amounts of water during the day. It is important that water bottles are labelled with the child’s name.