Healthy Eating at Highgate Primary

Head Chef – Jakeline Londono

Menu

Please see our current menu: Autumn 24 Menu

Our Food Culture

Highgate Primary School is committed to providing an environment that promotes healthy eating and supports children to make informed choices about the food they eat. Educating children about food and nutrition is at the cornerstone of good health. As dietary habits track from childhood to adolescence and then to adulthood, eating well at school and learning about food, including how to cook nutritious snacks and meals, contributes to the long-term wellbeing of our pupils.

In keeping with our values at Highgate Primary, we want to create a culture where our children and staff enjoy and appreciate tasty, healthy food in a happy environment where:

• as much of the food as possible is homemade and freshly prepared daily
• local produce is used wherever possible
• our own produce from the allotment is used when available
• children discover new flavours and dishes
• children and staff enjoy a pleasant dining experience
• teachers sit down to eat with the children when possible
• queuing times are limited
• milk and water are provided
• we listen to feedback from children, parents and staff
• we encourage the children who eat packed lunches to switch to nutritious school lunches
• we teach high quality cookery lessons
• we generate a passion for good food

School Lunches

Our school kitchen team, led by our Head Chef, Jakeline Londono, serves fantastic food every day which has been cooked on the premises from fresh ingredients.

Each day our menu comprises a main course, a side dish, salad and a dessert, with freshly baked bread and home-made soup available too. All diets are catered for, including alternatives for vegetarians and children with allergies or intolerances.

School meals are provided free of charge for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 (Universal Free School Meals), with the expectation that all children partake. Once children are in Year 3, school meals are available at a cost of £2.95 a day.

Encouraging your child to have a school meal is a really good way to support the school. Currently 72% of our children take a school meal. Increasing this to 80% would mean the school meal service would not have to be subsidised by our school budget.

Packed lunch
Some children in Key Stage 2 currently elect to bring in a packed lunch. Where a child elects to take a packed lunch, the school asks parents to ensure that it is in line with our Healthy Eating Policy and does not include sweets, fizzy drinks, crisps or other snacks high in fat. Please note that the school has the right to withdraw certain items, which will be returned to parents at the end of the day.

It might interest you to know that less than 2% of packed lunches nationally comply with the National Food Standards – read article.

Should you wish to move from school meals to packed lunches, half a term’s notice is required. In exceptional circumstances, two weeks’ notice would be considered, however the school would still have to charge for this period.

Fruit

The school provides fresh fruit for children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 classes, whilst children in KS2 are encouraged to bring in fruit or vegetables that can be eaten during morning play. Please note that only fresh fruit or vegetables can be brought in, i.e. not packaged fruit snacks, cereal bars or crisps.

Birthdays and Special occasions

The school acknowledges that it is customary for children to eat cakes on special occasions however we have recently reviewed our policies on promoting healthy eating and also allergy management within school and are no longer allowing children to bring cakes or sweets into school to celebrate their birthdays. We acknowledge the significance of marking children’s birthdays and we will continue to do so in a way that is every bit as meaningful. Our suggestion is to send in a birthday book that can be shared with the class at the end of the day and donated to the class library.

Free School Meals

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are eligible for Free Universal School meals paid for by the government. However if your child is in any year group and you claim certain benefits,  your child might be eligible for Free School Meals, please complete the form below and return it to the office, or speak to the office in confidence.

Free School Meal Form

Our Allotment & Kitchen Garden

We are very proud of our allotment which is just a two minute walk from the school. The children love eating their own produce they have planted, nurtured and harvested.

Feedback

We would love to hear your thoughts about the school lunches, the allotment or anything related to food at school. Please use the feedback box in reception or email: communications@highgate-pri.haringey.sch.uk