School Dinners
Are school dinners are now provided by
Our new catering service is provided by Taylor Shaw, caterer of choice for thousands of primary pupils across the UK.
Our menu is appetising, nutritious, balanced, and designed to encourage children to enjoy food, learn, play, and grow. Lunch is an integral part of the school day and something all children should look forward to. Taylor Shaw’s dedicated catering team ensures the dining hall is a welcoming and happy place for your child.
Our menus meet the Government’s School Food Standards and the bronze Food for Life standards.
- All items on our menu are freshly cooked by our catering team in your school kitchens to ensure we’re always offering fresh and nutritious food whilst minimising salt and sugar in recipes.
- No undesirable additives or artificial trans fats are used
- Our menus provide for all dietary and cultural requirements
- Our suppliers adhere to all appropriate food safety standards
- Our catering team is supported with skills training in fresh produce
Taylor Shaw’s dedicated dietitians work with our Chef teams to ensure our menus are nutritionally sound, shaping recipes to ensure they meet the School Food Standards and standards set by Public Health England.
Weekly Menu
Taylor Shaw's diverse menus include a wide variety of options to suit all tastes and are based on feedback from pupils, staff, the catering team, parents and guardians. We run a three-week menu cycle that changes twice a year.
Menus are currently under review
Managing Allergies & Other Medical Diets
Your child's health and safety will always be of the utmost importance to us, and having accurate information about dietary needs and allergies is crucial for us to prepare and serve meals that meet their requirements
Taylor Shaw’s dietitians and catering team work together and follow a robust process, so you can feel reassured that whenever safely possible, an alternative menu will be provided. All the teams receive allergy training annually, and whenever there’s an update to allergen laws.
Our guide ‘Medical Diet Menus - A Guide for Parents, Guardians & Carers’ contains further information about the medical diet process and includes step by step instructions for you to record this information to ensure we are fully aware of any medical diet requirements.
Free School Meals
Parents do not have to pay for school lunches if they receive any of the following:
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Income Support
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income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
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income-related Employment and Support Allowance
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support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
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the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
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Child Tax Credit, provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenue & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190
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Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after their employment finishes or after they start to work less than 16 hours per week
Children who receive any of the qualifying benefits listed above in their own right are also eligible to receive free school meals.
If you feel that you may be entitled to free school meals please contact:
Customer Services
Level 4, Civic Centre
Oldham
OL1 1UH
Call: 0161 770 6688
Email: welfare.benefits@oldham.gov.uk
If your child is in KS1 (Years 1 & 2), and you think you would be entitled to free school meals under the above criteria, please apply even though your child is eligible for Universal Free School Meals. Schools receive additional funding for children entitled, and claiming, free school meals which has a significant impact on school budgets and therefore our ability to provide resources for your children.
Foundation Stage & KS1
All children in Foundation Stage and KS1 are provided with free milk and fruit each day.
Children are allowed to bring a drink of water in a clear bottle to drink during the day. Please do not send fruit juice/fizzy drinks.
About Our Food
Our menu is sourced responsibly and uses:
- Red Tractor-certified meat
- Marine Stewardship Council fish (MSC)
- Free-range eggs
- Local suppliers for bread, fruit & vegetables, and dairy products to reduce food miles
- Seasonal produce
Eat & Learn
We encourage pupils to learn about food through our food education program which includes fun-themed events, assemblies, and displays with messaging around health and wellbeing.
Eating a School Lunch is Better for Your Child
Did you know only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food? Here are five reasons school lunches are better:
- They can save time & money
- They’re nutritionally better than a packed lunch
- They promote a varied diet & encourage new tastes
- They support inclusivity, dining with friends
- They help academic attainment by being linked to improved concentration
Dinner Money
Dinner money is to be paid every Monday morning or the first day your child attends school if they are absent at the beginning of the week.
The price of school meals is £2.90 per day (£14.50 per week), if you wish you can pay half termly, in advance. The amount payable for each half term is on the school newsletter sent out just before we break for each holiday.
School dinner payments are to be made via the IPay. If you have any problems with the app and/or payments please pop to the office and we will be happy to help you.
We prefer children to only change from packed lunches to school dinners (or vice versa) at the beginning of a half term, but will allow changes at other times in exceptional circumstances. If your child does wish to change please notify the school office.
Simply Veg – A Resource for Parents and Guardians
Simply Veg brings together a range of expert contributors including chef’s, nutritionists, psychologists and children’s entertainers to combine their skills to improve UK families’ diets. Simply Veg helps parents with the real challenges they face every day around the different aspects of feeding their children.
Support and resources focus on creating a positive food environment within the home, how to gently engage kids, understand their natural taste and sensory preferences, effective role modelling and what to do when your children just say “no”. In addition, Simply Veg provides advice aimed specifically at families with neurodiverse children developed with support from a specialist dietitian.
A Resource for Parents and Guardians
To access the Simply Veg website click here
