Lunches, Fruit and Milk

Lunches 

As a health-conscious school, children can either bring a healthy packed lunch or enjoy a freshly cooked school meal. All children are entitled to Universal Free School Meals, meaning that all children at Hampton Infant School will have the option of taking a free daily hot meal. If you wish to switch your child's lunch arrangement, please email the school office as we will require one week's notice. 

Fruit

A piece of fruit is provided each day for every child at Hampton Infant School & Nursery. Fruit choices include carrots, apples, bananas, baby cucumbers, tomatoes and sugar snaps.

Hot school meals

Following the introduction of Universal Free School Meals for infant children, we strongly encourage you to continue school meals for your child. It is widely accepted that a balanced nutritious meal at lunchtime helps children concentrate properly and learn effectively.  This helps their behaviour, learning and achievement during the school day.

The hot school meal menu is carefully put together and monitored to ensure children have access to a balanced, nutritious meal. The school meals are cooked freshly every day and include a two-course hot meal and access to the salad and fruit bar. The meals are good quality, made from fresh ingredients and we have worked with our chef to ensure the portion size is appropriate.  Sometimes they include items which your child may be unfamiliar with, but they are encouraged to try everything e.g. Beetroot and peppers.

If your child has any special dietary requirements or allergies, please email the school office. 

 

Healthy Packed Lunch

If you decide to send your child with a packed lunch they will need a named lunch box; no carrier bags please. Lunch boxes are placed on a trolley in the morning and need to be collected and taken home every day.

A balanced and nutritious lunch should contain four elements:

1.  Starchy foods: bread, rice, potatoes or pasta
2.  Protein foods: meat, fish, eggs or beans
3.  A diary item: cheese or a yoghurt
4.  Vegetables or salad, and a portion of fruit.

Please do not include sweets, fast food, fizzy drinks or any nut products in your child’s lunch. Please click on the link below to view our healthy packed lunch suggestions.

Play

During lunchtime, staff promote play and understand the benefits of it. Play time is an important time for children, it is time for them to develop a sense of wellbeing by being allowed to experience who they are or might be. Through play, children can question themselves, learn to speak for themselves and form identities. This helps children define who they are and to develop their sense of wellbeing.

The staff that work with the children at lunchtime try to encourage the children’s creativity to make up their own games and explore relationships with their peers. Play also develops the creative process and growth of problem-solving skills, which ultimately help children to achieve.

The different types of play are all encouraged.  We have dressing up clothes, den making, toys, skipping ropes as well as all the old favourites and lots of loose parts to help the children explore, plus climbing frames, football, cricket or tennis or just reading in the quiet area.

School Milk

Milk is available for parents to purchase. Children entitled to Free School Meals are also entitled to free milk. To register for school milk, please click on the link below.  If you pay for milk, payments are made directly to Cool Milk. 

 Birthday Celebrations

Please do not bring in sweets or cakes to celebrate birthdays.  Many children in the school have allergies, which makes this difficult.  If you would like to bring in gifts, we would suggest some pencils or rubbers or perhaps a book for the teacher to read to the children.