School meals here at Whitehall Park are provided by a specialist company called Caterlink.  They are an award winning food service provider catering for primary schools.  Caterlink have been able to develop a bespoke menu for Whitehall Park which is cooked in our own kitchen!

“We are passionate about providing your children with award winning Food for Life freshly prepared school lunches that are true to our fresh food heritage. We track down the best fresh produce and ensure it reaches each school kitchen as quickly as possible. Our chefs use RSPCA Freedom Food free range eggs, Marine Stewardship Council approved sustainable fish and Red Tractor approved fresh meat. The British countryside and its farmers need our support and we are more than happy to give it!” Caterlink

Free hot lunches for all.

At Whitehall Park School we recognise the importance of a healthy hot lunch, we believe that all children should be given the opportunity to have a free hot lunch.  Pupils learn not just to make healthy food choices, but to absorb other, less tangible goodies, such as table manners and the art of conversation.  The dining room becomes the symbolic hub of the school, binding pupils and teachers together with the invisible threads of ritual.  Funding is only available from Islington for children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.  We feel that all of our children, regardless of their background or age should have a free school meal and now they will!!  We have decided to make up the shortfall and make free school lunches available for all of our children from Reception to Year 6.

Free School Meals and Pupil Premium Grant

From September 2014 all children who are in reception, year 1 or year 2 in a state-funded school will be offered a free healthy school lunch.  Children in other school years will also be offered a free school lunch if their parent is receiving any of the welfare benefits listed below.   Registering could raise money for your child’s school.  Registering for free meals could raise an extra £1,300 for your child’s school, to fund valuable support like extra tuition, additional teaching staff or after school activities.      This additional money is available from central government for every child whose parent is receiving one of the welfare benefits listed in the form. It is therefore important to sign up for free school meals, even if your child is in reception, year 1 or year 2, so that your child’s school receives as much funding as possible.  All children, who are entitled to free school meals need to be identified by each individual school as the school will receive additional funding.  Therefore, please complete the following forms if you receive any of the benefits and entitlements listed below:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support from NASS (National Asylum Support Service) under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual income of no more than £16,190
• Working Tax Credit run-on
• Universal Credit.

If you receive Working Tax Credit you are not eligible to claim for free school meals unless:

• you have stopped working in the last four weeks; or
• you have reduced your hours to less than 16 hours a week (single parents) or 24 hours a week (couples) in the last four weeks

How the information in this form will be used:

• The information you provide in this form will be used to confirm receipt of one of the listed welfare benefits. Once this is confirmed, this helps to decide how much money your child’s school will receive each year.
• The information will also be used in relation to children in year 3 or above to decide whether they are eligible for free school meals.
• You only need to complete this form once and it will last for the duration of your child’s time at their current school.
• We are committed to ensuring that the personal and sensitive information that we hold about you is protected and kept safe and secure, and we have measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
• We will use the information you provide to assess entitlement to free school meals. Whitehall Park School may pass this information onto the relevant Local Authority to verify your entitlement to Pupil Premium. Whitehall Park School may require evidence of your entitlement and will request this directly from you if required.

Example dishes

All of the Caterlink menus are scrutinised by a dietitian who works very closely with them and the council.  Every menu item is analysed by us and checked by the dietician.  Below are a couple of examples of dish analysis.  The same type of analysis is undertaken on every menu item.

Bean and Vegetable Pasta Bake analysis

Beef Bolognaise analysis

If  your child has a food allergy, special dietary request or intolerance, please ask a member of our catering team for information. If you are a parent or guardian and your child has a school lunch and has a food allergy or intolerance you will be asked to complete a form to ensure we have the necessary information to cater for your child.  Please note that we no longer serve Halal meat at Whitehall Park School.  We do have wonderful vegetarian options available everyday.