School Lunches
Do you want to save £10 a week?
Your child might be eligible for a free school meal!
Taking up free school meals has benefits for everyone:
Children can benefit from a healthy free nutritious meal
Families entitled to free school meals could save more than £400 per child per year by claiming free school meals
It’s anonymous for young people - so nobody knows that it’s a free school meal
Schools can benefit directly by receiving money from the government. The government pays schools £430 for every child who registers for free school meals. Your school could benefit from hundreds of thousands of pounds
How can I apply?
Registering for Free School Meals can raise an extra £1,320 for your child’s primary school and an extra £935 for your child’s secondary school, paid by the government, which the Council can use to fund additional teaching staff, extra tuition and after school activities.
Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state funded schools in England are eligible for Free School Meals.
By registering for Free School meals for any child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, you can ensure your child’s school receives the additional funding for the pupil premium.
Children in Year 3 and above
Children in Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 may be eligible for Free School Meals if their parents or carers are in receipt of the following benefits:
Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (earnings after tax and not including any benefits you get)
You may also qualify for free school meals for your child if:
you are an asylum seeker;
you live outside Barking and Dagenham but meet the previous criteria and your child is attending a school in the borough;
your only or main income is one of the benefits listed.
To apply. please complete and submit the form online:
https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/benefits-and-support/free-school-meals-pupil-premium
Alternatively, you can ask for an application form at the school reception. This can then be completed and handed back to the school or handed in it at the One Stop Shop at Dagenham Heathway Library. School staff are on hand to help, if you experience any difficulty completing the form.
NEW Autumn and Winter Lunch Menu
Theme Day Lunch Calendar 2022-2023
Healthy Packed Lunch Guidance
Christmas dinner - December 2021
Our summer Christmas dinner - July 2021!
Reception really enjoyed their first dinner in the dining hall!
Christmas Lunch 2019
Lunch time
Spring has sprung!
Christmas dinner 2016
We now have Year 2 Dining Hall Helpers too!
The midday supervisors have been working really hard to make the lunchtime experience for all children even better...
Quotes from the children who ate Christmas dinner...
Fisa "Today I liked the Christmas dinner, we also had crackers and chocolates with it!"
Sharon "I liked today's dinner because it represented the way that we celebrate Christmas in different parts of the world."
Meda "I liked my Christmas dinner and the crackers!"
Elle "I think the ladies have done a wonderful job, I come here every year for Christmas dinner and this is the best one!"
Qamar "The Christmas dinner is really good and I wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"
Makafui "The food is good and I like how it's presented and the tables look incredible! Thank you Eileen and everybody in the kitchen. You food is the best in Dagenham!"
Anthony "Christmas dinner was better than Jamie Oliver's! Thank you!"
Arnas "The staff made it a really fantastic Christmas dinner. Thank you!"
Rain "This was the most delicious school dinner I have ever had!"
Precious "My dinner is delicious and it's the best in the whole world!"
Ishrat "This is our last Christmas dinner at Marsh Green and even though we'll be leaving we will always still remember it."
Paul M "When I saw the Christmas dinner I felt exquisite and I took a bite and I felt a tingle in my belly and my belly growled at me and told me to take another bite! I want to thank Eileen and Debbie and all the cooking squad for making this a very special day for all the children."
Kehinde "The Christmas dinner was spectacular and I loved the turkey"
Our delicious Christmas Dinner 2015!
