School Dinners
School Meals
The school kitchen is lead by Mrs Appleton and is supported by Miss Taylor and Mrs Boulding. A few years ago, Turton & Edgworth C.E. / Methodist Primary School won the prestigious LACA award for the Best Self Managed Kitchen in the UK.The school dinner menu runs on a 3-week rotation with the menus available below to view. Allergen information and/or special dietary requirements are catered for and is available from Mrs Appleton in the school kitchen.
Mrs Appleton and her team work very hard in the kitchen to provide healthy meals for the children everyday! She also works with the children during lessons and enters competitions with the children. We promote excellent table manners and so every Monday the children who display their best manners have the honour of eating their lunch at the kings and queens table.
Our school council regularly meet to discuss the menu. Throughout the year there are special evenings and breakfasts that parents and children can attend. These have included Burkina Faso breakfasts and Tudor, Viking or Egyptian banquets. Mrs Appleton also provides the Year 6 pupils with a hearty breakfast during the week of their SATS tests.
School Meals cost £2.75 per day and must be paid in advance using your child's Arbor app. Simply log on to your app and select School meals option. You do have the option of paying weekly, termly or even for the year. If you have not yet activated your app please speak to the school office who will be happy to help. Since 1st September 2014, the Government have commited to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 being eligible to receive a Universal Free School Meal. Children who have school meals will have school meals every day of the week, unfortunately we do not offer the option of a mixture of school meals and packed lunches from home.
We often have special lunch events including Chinese meals, American themed food, and Bonfire night lunch. At Easter and Christmas Mrs Appleton runs a hat competition and special menus.
During parents' evening the catering team also prepares a range of dishes for families to sample some of the meals from our menu!
Cooking in the Classroom
Mrs Appleton works with children during lessons and enters competitions. Cooking and baking forms a part of the curriculum throughout school and links with our ethos of supporting those less fortunate than us and also using the produce that is grown, on the school grounds, by our own children!
Free School Meals
We would like to inform you of some important changes to Free School Meals (FSM) and ask that all parents read this information carefully.
Important - action required
To ensure your child receives or continues to receive FSM from 1st September 2026, we strongly urge all parents, who believe they are or could be eligible, to apply for Free School Meals (FSM) using the link below:
Note: if you have multiple children, each will need to be inputted into the FSM checker:
This applies to:
- Parents who are now eligible to claim for FSM under the new expanded criteria (the expansion covers any element of universal credit)
- Parents who are currently eligible and have children in receipt of FSM
- Parents who are currently eligible and have children who opt not to eat their free school meal (school will receive additonal funding simply by you re-establishing your eligibility
What are the FSM changes?
From 1st September 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) is expanding FSM eligibility to all children from households receiving Universal Credit, regardless of household earnings.
This means many families may now become eligible for the first time under the expanded criteria.Some families have continued to receive FSM under 'transitional protection', even though they no longer qualify for this support. The government have advised that this protection will end on 31st August 2026.
Who is eligible for Freee School Meals (FSM)?
Free school meals are available to pupils whose parents are in receipt of one or more of the following:
- Universal Credit
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- Receive income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit
- Meet the criteria for families with no recourse to public funds
We are keen to support as many families as possible and ensure that all children receive the support to which they are entitled. However, eligibility can only be assessed when the online application has been completed. If a new application is not made, your child will lose their entitlement to free school meals from 1st September 2026, even if they were previously eligible.
Once you have submitted your application online, via the above link, we will contact those who have applied and are eligible for FSM under the new criteria. We will explain how the FSM process operates in school before the start of the new academic year.
Given the potential impact on pupil nutrition/wellbeing, it is highly likely that we will undertake further analysis to allow us to prompt families to recheck their eligibility.
If your circumstances change at any time in the school year and you think you may be eligible for FSM, you can use the link to evidence your eligibility and inform school immediately.