School Lunches

Our school day includes lunchtime provision and every child at Hartford Infant School is entitled to a free school lunch, known as Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). For further information on UFISM click here.

We ask is that parents and children look carefully at the menu on the HCL website, to ensure they want to eat the meal being served on a particular day.

On Schoolgrid select the meal that you wish to eat [you can do this up to a term in advance] before 7.00am on the day. If the child does not like the choices available for the day then they may bring in their own healthy packed lunch for that day. Please see below for more information.

Once your child leaves Hartford Infant School they will not automatically receive Free School Meals. However, they may be eligible for free school meals if you receive any of the following benefits:- Income support, Income-based jobseekers’ allowance, Income-related employment and support allowance, Child tax credit, provided that you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of £16,190 or less, if you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, guarantee element of State Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start working fewer hours per week or Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7400 (from 1st April 2018).

If you are entitled to these please apply now regardless of the fact your child receives a free meal. If you are entitled to Free School Meals due to benefits or income, the School will also receive additional money to help support you and your child. Please visit our Pupil Premium page or more information.

To apply go to www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals

Our caterers

Our current catering company is Hertfordshire Catering Ltd [HCL].

HCL is an award-winning specialist caterer with a foundation in the education sector. They provide quality services to academies, colleges and schools. They are passionate about providing fresh, local and seasonal food to schools; improving the school meals service and making lunchtime an integral part of the whole school experience.

They endeavour to provide dishes that are not only popular with students but will also comply with healthy eating standards and guidelines.

Schoolgrid

Parents can place orders on Schoolgrid for up to a term at a time, selecting fillings for dishes where appropriate. This helps caterers ensure that children get the dish of their choice. 

If your child has food allergies or intolerances you MUST supply this information via:  specialmenu.hcl.co.uk

It is the responsibility of parents and carers to inform the caterers. but it must also be on medical evidence from a doctor or hospital.  

Please see their current menu in the side panel of this page.

Packed Lunch

If you decide to provide a packed lunch, please read our healthy eating guidance and packed lunch checklist, which are also available to download in the side panel. Research shows that eating a healthy school lunch can positively affect children’s behaviour in the classroom.

As you will be aware there is increasing concern about rising rates of obesity and health-related problems in children. As a school, it is part of our responsibility to help children learn how to eat healthily and, as such, we encourage you to follow to the healthy eating guidelines provided to help you make informed choices for your child’s packed lunch. If you include something that requires cutlery, for example a yoghurt, please also supply a spoon. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this.

There are a few rules we ask everyone to follow – no fizzy drinks, no hot food, no sweets and no chocolates. Because more and more children have nut allergies we also ask parents to avoid giving their children peanut butter or other food items containing nuts to help us keep a safe environment for all our children.

Water is always provided at the dining tables, so providing an additional healthy drink is optional.

All children eat in the school’s dining room and we believe it is an important social learning experience and one they will enjoy!

School Fruit and Vegetables

The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is part of the 5-A-DAY programme to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. All four to six-year-old children in Local Authority maintained infant, primary and special schools are entitled to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each school day. Produce currently used in the scheme are: apples, pears, easy peel citrus, bananas, carrots, cocktail tomatoes, sugar snap peas, strawberries, and mini cucumbers. All of our children benefit from this scheme and parents/carers have commented that their children are happier to eat fruit at home as a result.

Parent lunches

We have regularly invited parents/carers into school to have a meal with their child in the past.  However, with COVID-19 restrictions this is not a safe option for us. We will notify you when it is safe for us to invite you in.

Bringing out the Best in Everyone