Click on the below link to take you to the Spring Term menus.
Menus , both main and allergen aware, operate on a 3 week rolling basis. Click on the below link:
School Lunch Menu – Ashlands Primary School
Please be aware that we are not a Halaal site. Also that we are nut and seed free,
Hutchisons Catering, part of Impact Food Group
School meals at Ashlands are provided by Hutchisons Catering, who are part of Impact Food Group, providing:
• Freshly Prepared Meals: All food will be cooked from scratch on site daily, overseen by a dedicated chef manager.
• Seasonal Menus: A three-week rotating menu using British ingredients, sourced sustainably and locally wherever possible.
• Pupil-Approved Choices: At tastings, pupils particularly enjoyed the variety of options, including fresh crudités.
School Meal Prices
Reception and Key Stage 1: Children receive free meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meal scheme.
Free School Meals (FSM) on economic grounds receive a free school meal.
Key Stage 2: Meals cost £2.83 per day .
Nursery Meals: Meals cost £2.40 per day.
Ordering System:
SchoolGrid Ordering System
Hutchisons uses an online system called SchoolGrid, allowing parents/carers to pre-order meals and view nutritional information. Further details can be found below.
Parents at Ashlands Primary School use SchoolGrid for for the ordering and payment of school meals.
To sign up or for more information click here: ParentGrid - SchoolGrid
Ordering is simple and you can order on a daily, weekly, monthly or even termly basis. The system will allow you to place as many orders in advance as you like, up to the point the menu has been opened for. You can also make a same-day order up to 8:55am.
If you pay for your child’s meals you can do this by either making a card payment or setting up a Direct Debit. To place an order, you need to ensure you have the relevant credit on your account or a Direct Debit set up. If you do not have these, you will be unable to order and receive a reminder message to make payment.
With Direct Debit, SchoolGrid collects the payment on a monthly basis and it is collected in
arrears. Your Direct Debit amount can vary depending on the amount of meals taken within
the period so a statement will be sent to you two weeks prior to the collection, detailing the
exact date and the amount to be collected, as well as all the meals included.
Please remember to cancel your order if your child will not be having the meal at lunchtime, for example in the event of illness, otherwise you may still be charged. This also helps cut down on food wastage. You can do this up until 8.55am on the day.
Allergens and Food Intolerances
If your child has an allergy or food intolerance you must log onto their account and update this information. The nutrition team at Impact Catering will then review this and get in touch with you if required. Your child will then be allocated an allergen menu to order from.
The below letter explains this in detail.
You must complete and return this form as well as indicating any allergies on the school Admission Form.
We operate a nut and seed free kitchen.
Packed Lunches
Please remember that nuts / products containing nuts (including peanut butter and Nutella) and seeds, including seeded bread and hummus are not permitted in packed lunches.
You are able to choose which days your child has a school dinner and which days our child is able to bring a packed lunch.
We ask that children who do bring packed lunches do not bring hot food / drinks in vacuum flasks and we do not allow children to bring sweets.
Drinks should be sent in a non-breakable leak proof container.
Although we do not feel it is the school’s responsibility to ‘police’ lunch boxes, parents are asked to ensure that packed lunches are balanced, healthy and properly satisfying.
A team of Lunchtime Supervisors look after the children in the dining room and in the playground.
In the event of wet weather children are supervised in classrooms.
We make every effort to ensure that children are catered for with games and peer leaders.
Ashlands kitchen has a 5 Star Hygiene rating.
Universal Free School Meals
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive a free school meal via the Universal Free School Meals initiative.
Economic Free School Meals
Children in Years 3-6 and Nursery may be entitled to a free school meal on economic grounds.
From 1st September 2026 the below changes came into effect.
All children from households receiving Universal Credit are entitled to a free school meal, regardless of household income, as long as you apply.
Changes from 01.09.26
There are be two types of Free School Meal eligibility:
Targeted
This is the same as now and children are eligible for free school meals if their parents or guardians are in receipt of:
Universal Credit - your net earned income must be less than £7,400
Income Support
Job Seeker's Allowance (income based)
Employment and Support Allowance
Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit
Support payments under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
As well as Free School Meals, these pupils will still bring pupil premium and other disadvantage funding to their school. Children that fall into this group will continue to receive help with:
help with school trips
help with school uniforms
support with music lessons
Expanded
This is a new category and is for pupils whose households receive Universal Credit removing the £7,400 cap. These pupils will be entitled to Free School Meals only but it is estimated that this could save a family up to £495 per year, more if you have multiple children.
How to find out if you are eligible for targeted or expanded free school meals
You can apply online using this link: https://fsm.lgfl.net/
This is the same link for both targeted and expanded
You will be asked a few basic details about yourself and your child
If you qualify, you will be told straight away & school will be send a confirmation email as well
If you have multiple children in school then this only needs to be done once.
Information for children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 – Universal Free School Meals Programme
All children in these year groups get a free school meal under the Universal Free School Meals Programme as now, this is unchanged.
If you believe you are also eligible for free school meals under the targeted bracket, because you receive a qualifying benefit, you should make an application because this might trigger extra support with:
help with school trips
help with school uniforms
support with music lessons
If you think you qualify for free school meals under these new rules, either targeted or expanded, we would urge you to make an application.
If you need help making the application or do not have access to make an online application, please speak to the school office who will be happy to guide you through this.
If you have any questions, please contact the school office.
School Milk
Milk is available for pupils all pupils. This is free to Nursery and Reception children.
Ashlands uses Cool Milk for their pupil milk. Cool Milk are widely used across primary schools for pupil milk.
If you wish for your child to have milk in school, you must register them on the Cool Milk portal. This applies to all children from nursery through to Year 6, for those under 5 there will be no charge, for those over 5 there will be a subsided charge.
See further details below:
General
- All children at Ashlands are entitled to milk at break time.
- Under 5’s are free, parents still need to register their child with Cool Milk so they know quantities to deliver.
- There is a charge for over 5’s if you choose to have milk.
- School receives class a list of children who are registered so we know who to give it to.
- Under the Cool Milk system you can register / deregister your child through the year so if you don’t sign up initially in September then don’t worry.
- Water will continue to be available for all children in school. In nursery and reception, we have a snack table that the children can access. For children in Year 1 – Year 6 we ask that they have a named water bottle in school that they can fill up through the school day.
If your child has a dietary requirement and cannot drink cow’s milk, please contact the school office.
Information for parents of children in nursery and reception under 5’s.
- Milk is free for children 5 and under.
- You will still need to register on Cool Milk so that they know to delivery milk for your child (This includes nursery children).
- If your child is in nursery then you need to indicate which days they attend. Milk is available through the day so don’t worry if they only attend ½ days on certain days.
- Once your child turns 5, Cool Milk will contact you to ask whether you want to continue and to arrange payment
Information for parents of children over 5.
- Parents / guardians of children over 5 are required to pay for milk if your child wants it. For September you need to do this via the Cool Milk portal and not Arbor.
- All payments are direct to Cool Milk and not to school.
Free School Meal pupil information.
- If your child is over the age of 5 and eligible for free school meals they are entitled to free school milk.
- Parents should register on the Cool Milk portal and Cool Milk will confirm with school eligibility
Please find below useful information:
Please note that parents share information regarding their child when they register for milk, school will not share information regarding pupils on roll who do not take milk.
Day Times Snacks
Children in Key Stage 1 are provided with a fruit or vegetable snack at morning break. This is through the National Fruit and Vegetable Scheme and there is no charge.
Children in Key Stage 2 may bring fruit snack/vegetable snack if they wish. Sweets, chocolate, biscuits or crisps are not allowed. Snacks should be marked with the child’s name.
Children are encouraged to bring in bottled water and bottles can be filled at the fountains around school. Other drinks are not allowed. Please ensure that your child has a named bottle.
Children in nursery and reception do not need a water bottle as water is available through the day at the snack table.