We are proud to work with Chartwells Schools for your children’s school dinners. Chartwells believe that the key to fuelling young minds comes from understanding both what they need and what they enjoy, which is why they develop nutritious and delicious food that pupils love, alongside helping to ensure a healthy body and mind. Their passionate chefs work closely with us to ensure every child receives a nutritionally balanced meal at school, perfectly suited to meet their needs and dietary requirements.
They create menus that are delicious, seasonal and healthy, using carefully selected ingredients, helping to reduce waste and build a more sustainable world for our future generations.
Chartwells Schools dedicates time and resources to education surrounding mental and physical wellbeing, including nutrition and food habits, to encourage our pupils to engage with, learn, and enjoy food while developing crucial social skills. Chartwells’ Food Super Heroes make food education fun, whatever the age, and their tasty theme days encourage children to make the most of their school meal.
To find out more about Chartwells, visit their website or contact the school catering team.
Medical Diets
We know that feeding children with food allergies or intolerance can cause a lot of anxiety for both parents and schools. That’s why Chartwells have implemented a market-leading allergens process, and make sure every step is taken to ensure that our students can enjoy school meals safely with their friends.
More information on their medical diet process can be found here.
(Email address is chartwells.medicaldiets@compass-group.co.uk.)
School meals are to be paid for, via ParentPay, for children in Key Stage 2, unless your child is entitled to Free School Meals. From April 2024 the price of a school meal will increase to £2.81 (£14.05 per week) in line with other schools in Durham County Council.
Payment for school meals
- Payment needs to made in advance. Parents are expected to pay on Monday each week or may pay for a half-term in advance if more convenient (except for children in receipt of free school meals or Reception, Y1 and Y2 pupils who receive a Universal Infant Free School Meal).
- We are not be able to accept cash as payment for school meals. Parents may pay by ParentPay, either online with a debit or credit card, or with cash at a PayPoint using a Paypoint card. (If you require a Paypoint Card, please contact the school office). A Paypoint card will be provided free of charge. £3.50 will be charged for any subsequent replacement cards requested.
- If children are absent their dinner money is credited forward to the following week.
- Children are able to switch between school meals and packed lunches on a daily basis.
- If a child forgets their packed lunch and is given a school meal, parents must pay for the meal on that day or following morning at the latest (except for children in receipt of free school meals or Reception, Y1 and Y2 pupils who receive a Universal Infant Free School Meal).
- If your child is collected for an appointment before lunch and you have not informed the school to cancel lunch that day, you will still be expected to pay for the lunch which has been ordered.
Free School Meals
Parents or carers who are in receipt of certain benefits may be entitled to free school meals. To find out if you qualify for Free School Meals please complete a ‘free school meals eligibility check’ form which we will submit to the local authority. As receipt of Pupil Premium Funding is based on eligibility for free school meals, all parents/carers are asked to complete this form which will allow the school to check their eligibility for free school meals on an annual basis. The ‘free school meals eligibility’ form is included in the application pack given to all new entrants to the school. Please be aware that all applications for free school meals are treated with the strictest confidence, in line with GDPR regulations.
Universal Infant Free School Meals
From September 2014, all pupils in Reception, Year 1 & 2 are entitled to a free of charge school meal, in line with the DfE initiative. Pupils in Years 3 to 6, unless entitled to free school meals, will need to pay for dinners.
Please remember to complete the appropriate form if you wish to change to a different lunch arrangement in future.
Free School Meals Application Form
Further copies can be found obtained from the School Office.
Howletch Lane Primary School is a cashless school, and accepts electronic payments (via ParentPay) for trips, visits, music fees and dinner money. With ParentPay you can make payments whenever and wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, safe in the knowledge that the technology uses the highest internet security available.
You have a secure online account, activated using a unique set of activation codes and you can change the password after you first log in. You can also merge accounts if you have 2 or more children at Howletch Lane Primary School.
Making payments is simple. ParentPay holds an electronic record of your payments, so you can view these at any time. Once you’ve activated your account, you can make online payments immediately.
If you have not set up your ParentPay account please contact the School Office to receive an activation letter.
Please click here to access the ParentPay website
