School Meals, Sandwiches & Allergy Information
At lunchtime, children can have either a meal provided by our kitchen staff or bring a packed lunch from home.
Unless your child is in receipt of free school meals, you need to pay for their dinners.
- Hot meals (including jacket potatoes) are £3.20 each.
- A roll/sandwich are also £3.20 each.
Dinners need to be ordered and paid for in advance through Arbor. They include dessert, which the children can choose themselves on the day.
At lunchtime, the children are allowed to go out onto the playground by themselves – adults will be waiting for them outside. If your child is starting in Year R, their class teachers will take them out and will be on duty during lunchtime for their first term at school, until they are settled in.
We have some fantastic play provision for children during lunchtime, including various adult-led groups as well as child-led groups. At the end of lunchtime, the children will line up to go back into class. Please do encourage your child to go to the toilet during playtime and lunchtime.
Our food is prepared on-site by The Gateway Kitchen, as part of The Gateway Trust, for further information , please click here.
If your child has any food allergies, please do speak to us regarding specific menus.
School Meals
Our current menu is available to view and download at the end of this page.
Autumn 1 term:
Week A - w/c 31st August, 21st September, 12th October.
Week B - w/c 7th September, 28th September, 19th October.
Week C - w/c 14th September, 5th October.
A selection of vegetable crudités and desserts are freshly prepared each day to complement the menu.
Please click here to see our Menus
Packed Lunches
Children may bring in a packed lunch from home (nut-free please). We don't have refrigerated facilities to store lunchboxes, so we recommend that you provide a cool bag depending on the nature of food that you provide for your child.
Please also provide your child with any cutlery or drinks that they will require with their packed lunch. All packaging and any food not eaten will be returned to you each day, so that you can monitor the amount that your child eats.
Please note that in order to promote healthy lifestyles, children should have healthy lunch boxes Monday - Thursday, with Friday being a treat day ... everything in moderation! If you need some ideas, click here ... https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes#lunchbox-recipes
Children are discouraged from bringing sweets and confectionary (such as chocolate bars) or fizzy drinks in their packed lunch.
The children are supervised during the lunch break, both in the hall whilst eating and in the playground.
Snack Time
All Reception and KS1 children are provided with a free piece of fruit daily. KS2 children are invited to bring fruit, vegetables or cheese as a snack for break time. We do not promote crisps, biscuits or chocolate as a snack or for lunch unless it is a 'treat day' (on Fridays).
Drinks
Milk is available to all pupils and free for pupils under 5 or entitled to free school meals. For more information, please contact the school office.
Please send in your child with a bottle of water each day (not fruit squash please). We encourage all children to keep hydrated throughout the day and ensure that there is fresh water available at appropriate times.
If there is a medical reason for an alternative drink to be brought in to school, please contact the office.
Allergy Aware Guidance
Oakfield Academy is an allergy aware school. We ask all parents and carers to help keep children safe by avoiding nuts and nut products in packed lunches.
We ask that the following items are not brought into school:
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- Packs of nuts
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- Peanut butter or Nutella sandwiches
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- Fruit and cereal bars that contain nuts
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- Chocolate bars or sweets that contain nuts or hazelnut spread
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- Sesame seed rolls and breads containing sesame seeds (children allergic to nuts may also have a severe reaction to sesame)
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- Cakes made with nuts
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- Any home-cooked meals for packed lunches that are made with nuts
We do not use nuts in any food prepared on site, and our suppliers provide us with nut-free products for school meals. However, we cannot guarantee that any food, whether provided by the school or brought in from home, is completely free from nut traces. We ask all families to support our allergy aware practices so that, together, we can reduce risk as much as possible.
What types of food are nuts?
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- Almonds
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- Cashew nuts
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- Hazelnuts
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- Pistachios
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- Walnuts
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- Brazil nuts
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- Nut oils
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- Peanuts
Parents and carers must notify staff of any known or suspected allergy to nuts and provide all relevant medical information. This will be added to your child's care plan and, if necessary, a meeting will be arranged with the school first aid lead and the catering team.
All children are regularly reminded about good hygiene practice, including washing hands before and after eating, which helps reduce the risk of secondary contamination. Children are also reminded, and carefully supervised, to minimise food sharing with friends.
Thank you for your help in keeping our school safe for all children.
Online Free School Meals Application - Southampton City Council
Lunchbox ideas and recipes – Healthier Families - NHS
Staff supervision
Our staff supervise at lunch times as we know they know our children the best! They help children by playing games, rotating equipment and having fun with them.
