Dinner Money,  School Menu and Free School Meals

Please click here for sample School Menu

Haslam Park Primary School is responsible for the collection and reconciliation of all school dinner money.

Parents are responsible for providing a lunch for their child (ren); this may take the form of a paid school meal, application for free school meal entitlement or a packed lunch from home.

School meals should be paid for IN ADVANCE unless there is a current free school meal entitlement in force. Enquiries regarding free school meals should be directed to the One Stop Shop on Bolton    01204 331590.

School meals and snacks are paid for using the ParentPay cashless system.  All parents and carers are able to log onto the site to pay for school meals and snacks for all their children.  Money should be added to the ParentPay account before Friday evening of the previous week to ensure the money is in the account in time for orders.  If meals and snacks have not been paid for then the parent/carer will be advised to bring a packed lunch/healthy snack to school for the child/children.

School meals are £12.35 per week.

Snack money is £ 1 per week.

Reminders will be sent to parents who have not paid for school meals that week by way of a text message on Tuesday. If payment is still not received after the first text message a telephone call will be made to the parent advising that the money should be forwarded  or a packed lunch should be sent into school.  This is to protect the parent from building up a larger debt.

School reserves the right to request assistance from the Local Authority in re-imbursing any outstanding dinner money.

If your child is absent from school and meals have been paid for, these will be carried forward as credits and the following week’s payments adjusted accordingly.

If your child would like to change from having a school meal to bringing a packed lunch, school should be given two weeks notice as the kitchen orders food in advance.

Infant free school meals in England (Universal Free School Meals)

Your child will be able to get Universal Free School Meals at the moment if they are in:

Reception class
Year 1
Year 2
This is a Government run scheme to ensure that all younger children receive a school meal every day but this scheme will end when they move into Year 3.

Benefit related Free School Meals

If you are entitled to benefit related free school meals you should apply for this, school gets extra money for each child who claims and is entitled.  Please inform the school office if you are in receipt of any of the below mentioned qualifying benefits or would like the school to check if you are entitled. The school will receive extra funding if you do qualify and your child will  continue to receive a free school meal if the Universal Free School Meal Government funding finishes and when they move up to the junior classes. 

At the moment food vouchers are issued to all children in receipt of benefit related free school meals at school holiday times.

Qualifying Benefits

*Income Support
*Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
*Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
*Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
*The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
*Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
*Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
*Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be
less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
*Children, who get paid these benefits directly, instead of through a parent or guardian, can also get
free school meals.
*Your child may also get free school meals if you get any of these benefits and your child is both:  younger than the compulsory age for starting school in full-time education

If your child is eligible for free school meals, they will remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling or until the Government inform us of changes to be made.

If there are any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask at the school office.