School Lunch

We emphaise to our children the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. On Fridays we serve fish and vegetables in accordance with our Faith.

Our healthy and nutritious lunches are provided by ISS Facility Services. Meals are cooked using fresh ingredients on our school site by our experienced Catering Team. There is always a choice of main course (including vegetarian), vegetables, salads and a dessert.

The catering company have created a YouTube video to show safety steps they have made within their kitchens please see link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0jA0DJq8rY&feature=youtu.be

Please let us know if your child has a special diet for medical reasons or any allergies. 

Due to Mayor of London's new initiative, from September 2023 all children are entitled to a free school meal.

If you think your child qualifies for benefitted related free school, it is still important that you complete the application form for this, as your child may be eligible for extra funding for the school. Please contact the school office via office@blesseddominic.barnetmail.net for further information.

PACKED LUNCH

Parents need to bring in a healthy packed lunch for their child. Some healthy choices we suggest are:

• A good portion of starchy food, e.g. wholegrain roll, savoury roll, sandwich, tortilla wrap,   chapatti, pitta bread, crackers, pasta or rice salad
• A portion of lean meat, fish or alternative, e.g. chicken, ham, beef, tuna, egg, beans or hummus
• Plenty of fruit and vegetables, e.g. an apple, banana, Satsuma, handful of cherry tomatoes or carrot sticks, or a small tub of fruit salad or grapes but to be cut up please
• A portion of dairy food, e.g. cheese strings/triangles, Babybels, yoghurt or fromage frais
• A drink, e.g. milk, fruit juice (not fruit shoots), yoghurt drink or bottle of water (no fizzy drinks) 
•  

As we are a healthy eating school we have never allowed pupils to bring in crisps, chocolate bars, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereal bars or sweets.  Unfortunately, we are seeing these items being brought into school.

We have children who have nut allergies and, therefore, products such as CHOCOLATE SPREAD/NUTELLA or PEANUT BUTTER are prohibited as these products contain nuts.

We will be monitoring children’s packed lunches. 

Like you, we at Blessed Dominic want our children to establish healthy eating choices from a young age and therefore appreciate your support in fully implementing this policy. 

School Snack Guidelines

Most children require a snack at morning break to keep them going through the day.

We encourage children to bring in healthy snacks full of vitamins and minerals containing no added salt, fat or sugar. Many of these will help contribute to their 5 daily portions of fruit and vegetables, keep them alert and help them concentrate. It can be hard during the week to think of suitable items for them to bring in to school, but we are aiming, with the help of the children, to not only support them in making healthy choices regarding snacks, but to also reduce food packaging and waste. 

Providing snacks in a small, named, recyclable container is ideal. Children in EYFS and KS1 have a daily snack of fruit or veg provided for free by the government, so additional snacks are not required.

If you are intending to send in healthy snacks with your child please limit them to the list below. 

• Vegetable sticks – such as celery, cucumber, peppers or carrot, a range of colour ensures different vitamins and minerals. 
• A piece of cheddar cheese or babybel 
• A piece of fresh or dried fruit, high in soluble fibre and vitamins would also be a great snack– pineapple, mango, kiwi, plain raisins, apricots, blueberries, banana slices. 
• Bread sticks, banana bread, malt loaf, oat/rice cakes and small pitta breads are also good snacks, providing children with carbohydrate to sustain them in-between meals. 

We are aiming for a common-sense approach, with the key being to keep it healthy and no chocolate, sweets or crisps.

We need the children to stay hydrated and so please ensure they bring a named water bottle into school daily. Squash and fruit juice are not permitted. We hope that with your help, we can encourage the children to develop healthy eating habits that become a normal part of everyday life. By keeping high calorie snacks to a minimum and establishing healthy eating habits early on, improvements can be made for a child’s quality of life both in the short and long term.

If your child has any specific dietary requirements, please let a member of staff know.