School Meal Menus
We encourage children to have a school meal and enjoy a healthy, nutritious lunch with their friends. Our meals are freshly prepared on site each day by our catering team from Accent Catering.
Accent’s menus provide children with varied, nutritionally balanced meals, combining familiar favourites with opportunities to try different foods and flavours. You can read more about Accent further down the page.
You can view our current menus below:
Fresh drinking water is always available.
Special Diets and Allergies
We can cater for a range of allergies, intolerances, and medical dietary requirements.
If your child has a food allergy, intolerance, or requires a special diet for medical reasons, please make sure that the school has up-to-date information about their needs. This allows us to work with our catering team to make sure the appropriate arrangements are in place for your child at lunchtime.
Please contact the school office if your child has a new diagnosis, if their dietary requirements change, or if you would like to discuss their needs with us.
For further information about medical conditions, healthcare plans and medication in school, please visit our Medical Needs page.
Free School Meals
All children from Reception to Year 6 currently receive a free school meal at Coleridge.
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free school meals through the Government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme. Currently, children in Years 3 to 6 also receive free school meals through the Mayor of London’s Universal Free School Meals programme. The universal offer does not include Nursery children.
Even though school meals are currently free for all primary-aged children, it is still important that families check if they are eligible for extra funding from the government through the Free School Meals scheme. Eligibility can attract additional Pupil Premium funding for the school, which we use to support children’s education.
You can check your eligibility using the Free School Meals Eligibility Checker.
Our Catering Provider
Our school meals are provided by Accent Catering. The School Council and staff team work closely with Accent to review our school meals and ensure that menus offer children nutritious, varied and appealing choices.
Sophie Crosswaite RNutr, Head of Nutrition at Accent Catering, explains that Accent wants every child to have access to “healthy, sustainable and nutritious food options every day”. Accent’s menus are developed by its team of chefs and reviewed by its nutrition team to ensure they are nutritionally balanced and meet the government’s School Food Standards.
Meals are prepared from scratch wherever possible using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Accent also focuses on increasing the amount of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains in its menus while reducing sugar, salt and saturated fat. Healthy cooking methods are used wherever possible, including steaming, poaching and oven baking.
Accent’s Beyond the Plate programme helps children learn more about food and nutrition through fun and interactive activities. The programme encourages children to explore different foods, understand healthy choices and develop positive eating habits. Accent also runs themed menus, seasonal events and food education activities throughout the year.
Accent have received a number of awards and recognitions for its food, employment practices and approach to sustainability.
- Since 2012, Accent has received recognition through Best Employers in Food Service and Happiest Places to Work.
- The Soil Association recognised that 98.3% of Accent’s food was prepared from fresh ingredients.
- In 2019, Accent was named as one of the London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.
- In 2024, Accent worked in partnership with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust on a garden which received a Silver Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
- In 2025, Accent received recognition as one of the UK’s most successful small to medium-sized businesses.
Packed Lunches
Children may bring their own packed lunch from home, which should be brought in a suitable container and should not include chocolate bars, sweets or canned drinks.
At Coleridge, we are aware that there are a number of children who suffer from allergies and we seek to ensure that all members of the school community are aware of the risks associated with some allergies and that steps are taken to avoid those risks. We ask parents not to give their children sandwiches or anything else in their packed lunch that contain nuts.
If you would like your child to change from school meals to packed lunches, or from packed lunches to school meals, please email the school office at admin@coleridgeprimary.net.
School Milk
School milk is provided for free to all children under the age of 5 years. Subsidised milk is available for all children up to the age of 11 years, and can be ordered through our school milk provider, Cool Milk. For more information view the school milk flyer below, and to order for children 5+, visit www.coolmilk.com.