Healthy Eating
School dinners
School Meals are provided daily by Lacon Childe School. All the meals meet the government standards and are nutritionally balanced. Dinner money must be booked and paid in advance, via our on-line system Arbor, on the day that your child has a meal as we do not permit any arrears for dinner money.
Please speak to a member of the Catering team if you have any concerns about allergies/ ingredients or the contents of our dishes. Parents can contact catering manager at Lacon tina.jones@laconchildeschool.co.uk. Fruit of the day (depending on availability) or yoghurt is available as and alternative to dessert. In certain circumstances there may be a need to substitute meal options at short notice due to ingredient shortages. If this occurs your primary school will notify as soon as possible of the alternative available.
Currently, school dinners are £2.50 per meal. However, we have been asked to give notice that prices will increase from after October half term to £2.60 per meal.
Free School Meals are available to certain families: please apply online at: www.shropshire.gov.uk you can discuss this in confidence with the School Administrator.
Catering Menus for Autumn 2023
Health packed lunches
You may alternatively provide your child with a packed lunch and a non-fizzy drink in an unbreakable, sealed container.
KS1 children are entitled to one piece of fruit at the mid-morning break. This is provided free by the National School Fruit Scheme. KS2 children should bring in either fruit or vegetables for their snack at morning break or they may buy a slice of toast from the KS2 Tuck Shop. Click on the links below for healthy lunchbox ideas and our food and drink policy.
FOOD AND DRINK POLICY
Vegtastic Lunchbox hacks
Healthy drinks
Milk is available to all children at a cost, payable in advance. Children under five years old are entitled to free milk. Milk is administered by Cool Milk. www.coolmilk.com
Chilled and ambient water is available to all children from the water cooler.
Promoting a healthy diet
The school takes part in the annual ‘Eat them to defeat them’ programme.
https://eatthemtodefeatthem.com/
The multi-award-winning Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign and associated schools’ programme has been a huge success, with the 2022 campaign reaching over 1 million children in 3,850 primary and special schools. 57% of participating parents say their children ate more vegetables, including over a third of those fussy eaters who rarely eat any vegetables at all.
Eat them to defeat them Assembly 2023 and resources for families– click here
Eat them to defeat them PDF
Healthy recipes from ‘Eat them to defeat them’
Pasta Power Play
Pizza Hunt
Rebel roasts
Soupa doupa noodle
Healthy cooking at Clee Hill Community Academy
Cooking falls into our Design and Technology scheme of work, where healthy Eating is at the forefront.
Design and Technology Long term planning
Fussy Eaters – NHS advice for parents
It's natural to worry whether your child is getting enough food if they refuse to eat sometimes. But it's perfectly normal for toddlers to refuse to eat or even taste new foods. Do not worry about what your child eats in a day or if they do not eat everything at mealtimes. It's more helpful to think about what they eat over a week.
If your child is active and gaining weight, and they seem well, then they're getting enough to eat. As long as your child eats some food from the 4 main food groups (fruit and vegetables; potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; dairy or dairy alternatives; and beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins) you do not need to worry. Find out more about what to feed young children.
Gradually introduce other foods and keep going back to the foods your child did not like before. Children's tastes change. One day they'll hate something, but a month later they may love it. Keep offering a variety of foods – it may take lots of attempts before your child accepts some foods.
Tips for parents of fussy eaters
- Give your child the same food as the rest of the family, but remember not to add salt to your child's food. Check the label of any food product you use to make family meals.
- The best way for your child to learn to eat and enjoy new foods is to copy you. Try to eat with them as often as you can.
- Give small portions and praise your child for eating, even if they only eat a little.
- If your child rejects the food, do not force them to eat it. Just take the food away without saying anything. Try to stay calm, even if it's very frustrating. Try the food again another time.
- Do not leave meals until your child is too hungry or tired to eat.
- Your child may be a slow eater, so be patient.
- Do not give your child too many snacks between meals – 2 healthy snacks a day is plenty.
- Do not to use food as a reward. Your child may start to think of sweets as nice and vegetables as nasty. Instead, reward them with a trip to the park or promise to play a game with them.
- Make mealtimes enjoyable and not just about eating. Sit down and chat about other things.
- If you know any other children of the same age who are good eaters, ask them round for tea. But do not talk too much about how good the other children are.
- Ask an adult that your child likes and looks up to to eat with you. Sometimes a child will eat for someone else, such as a grandparent, without any fuss.
- Changing how you serve a food may make it more appealing. For example, your child might refuse cooked carrots but enjoy raw grated carrot.
