Food in School
We’re proud to share that our dedicated catering team are now employees of the Learning for Life Trust. This means our meal service is fully in-house, giving us even greater control over quality, nutrition and sustainability.
Our team freshly prepares healthy, balanced meals on site every day, using quality ingredients to support the wellbeing and learning of all our students. We’re committed to offering a variety of tasty and nutritious options that cater to all dietary needs, helping to create a positive lunchtime experience for everyone.
Cockermouth School has a ‘Healthy School’ ethos and we strongly believe in encouraging all young people to eat a balanced diet. Through our Food & Nutrition and PSHEE (PD) lessons, students are taught about the benefits to health of eating a wider range of foods containing less sugar and fat, and more proteins and starchy foods to provide energy and stamina. The school works closely with our catering company to meet the standards set by the Department for Education.
Lunch and break-time food and drinks fully comply with the aims to remove sugary and fizzy drinks, and foods high in fat and sugar. Therefore, confectionery products, including chocolate, are no longer sold in school. A wide choice of meals are available for students from sandwiches and salads to pastas, curries, traditional roast of the day and vegetarian options.
At break time, only students in Years 9 to 13 have access to the canteen service and students in Years 7 and 8 are advised to bring a snack of fruit or a sandwich to help them through the morning up to lunch at 12:50pm.
Students in each year group go into lunch on a weekly rota throughout the school year. If students wish to bring their own packed lunch, we ask parents to support our balanced eating policy by encouraging your child(ren) to eat more fruit and to omit crisps, chocolate products and fizzy drinks. Water dispensers are installed around the school building for students to fill water bottles (free of charge) throughout the day. Bottled water is also available for sale in the canteen. We encourage all students to drink water (only) in lessons when appropriate; it would be appreciated if students have a reusable, clear water bottle in their bag.
In order for our catering staff to provide the best possible service for our students, we are now required to collect information on food allergies. If your child does have a medically diagnosed allergy to any foodstuff, please complete the relevant section on the Data Collection form and/or Medical Information form and our catering manager will contact you in due course if required. Consent is sought from parents so that catering staff can display a Food Allergy Record and photo on the kitchen servery wall if applicable – every care will be taken to ensure that personal and sensitive data will not be displayed in public areas. Please see page 8 of the Welcome to Cockermouth School: Data collection, parental consent and order forms booklet.
The school operates a cashless till system for purchasing food. iPay is an online payment system, allowing parents/carers to top up their children’s accounts with a simple credit/debit card payment. This negates the need for students to bring cash into school. The iPay system also allows tracking of balances and offers reports on food purchases.
Details on setting up an iPay account will be sent to parents/carers as soon as possible prior to the start of the new school year.
Students who choose to have either a school lunch or a packed lunch can expect to go into lunch by form, going on a rota basis any time between 12:50 and 1:20pm. Students having a school lunch should have money already loaded onto their online account in order to pay for the food and/or drink they have selected. Most students will spend approximately £2.75 each day.
If your child currently receives free school meals, then you will receive a letter explaining how this can continue into secondary school. If you feel your child is entitled to free school meals, you should contact:
Free School Meals and Clothing Grants
PO BOX 415
Carlisle
CA1 9GU
Telephone: 0300 373 3730
Email: FSM.ClothingGrants@cumberland.gov.uk
Food Safety
We have stringent food safety systems in place and our kitchens are inspected annually by the European Safety Bureau, an independent food safety and Health & Safety consultancy. Cumbria County Council are signed up to the national hygiene rating scheme and conduct inspections to review the following:
- How hygienically the food is handled (safe food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling & storage)
- The condition of the structure of the premises (cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting & ventilation) * How food safety is managed and documented.
- Our current food hygiene rating is 5 - Very Good, the highest that is attainable.