Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing with some exciting news! I am delighted to inform you that we will be moving to a new catering provider for our lunchtime food provision after half term.

Our current school lunch provider, Education Catering, formerly known as HC3S, has experienced significant financial pressure in recent years due to the combined impacts of rising food and staff costs. This has resulted in a loss of business and so they can no longer continue providing an in-house service in the long term without making a loss.

As a school, we have seen other local schools change their providers and have been quite envious of the choice and quality of food available to their children. As a result of this and Hampshire Catering informing us of their decision to cease trading, we decided to go out to tender along with 10 other local schools. Following a successful tendering process, we have secured a contract with Aspens (along with 8 out of the 10 tendering schools). Aspens will be providing Wellstead’s school lunches from Monday ​2nd June.

Aspens are a nationwide catering contractor that specialises in school food. Throughout the tendering process, we were impressed by their food offer, their values and strong management approach. We want to be able to offer our children the best food and service every day and we believe that Aspens will provide the quality, variety, portion sizes and good value that we are looking for.

In the short term, the ordering process will stay the same – lunch orders will be taken in class and added to Scopay. The children will have more choice and can choose from either a red (meat) or green (vegetarian) meal or they can order a jacket potato with a choice of toppings or a tomato and cheese pasta. There will also be a ‘grab and go’ option which is a hot deli style sandwich. In addition, every day there will be a salad bar for the children to choose from including fresh fruit, bread that is freshly baked on site and a choice of 2 puddings. All food is fresh, locally sourced and menus are all cooked​ from scratch on site. We are very happy that our brilliant kitchen team will continue to work at the school ​a​nd will be transferred over as part of the TUPE process to Aspens. This will help to ensure that the transition is a smooth one as they already know your children really well. In September, we will be looking to move to an online ordering service where you can order and pay for your child’s lunch online.

We have negotiated a really good price for a school lunch and are happy to let you know that despite the increase in choice and quality, the price of a school meal will reduce to £2.85 a meal – a reduction of 35p. Children who are eligible for free school meals and those in Reception, Years 1 & 2 will continue to receive their free meals as before.

Aspen’s standard menus are completely nut free but for those children with a food allergy, Aspens have a standard Allergy Menu that is safe for all 14 allergens. Although we have current up to date information regarding allergies, we will be contacting parents with children who have an allergy and will need you to complete a form so that Aspens have a record of your child on their system. We will send you the allergy menu at the same time. For those with complex allergies, we will put you in contact with Aspens who have a dietician and they will develop a specific menu that meets your child’s dietary needs. If we do not have a record of your child’s allergy or they have a new allergy, please let us know.

Free School Meals Eligibility

Remember that all children in Years R, 1 and 2 are entitled to the Universal Infant Free School Meal.  Registration is not required for UIFSM.

But schools get government funding for all children who meet the standard free meal criteria. The funding is called the Pupil Premium. To let schools get the funding for as many pupils as possible, we encourage parents of children who meet the standard free meal criteria to register. This includes parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

Your child may be able to get free school meals if you get any of the following:

• 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)

Please check your eligibility for free school meals by using the online service below.