HC3S menu's and food related topics

Our school caterers are award-winning caterers, managed by Hampshire County Council Education Catering, formerly known as HC3S. Visit the pages on their website for their menus and other information. News | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)You can also keep up-to-date, by following them on social media.

Facebook: @hc3seducation Twitter: @hc3s6

HC3S, Your Award-Winning School Caterer

With over 30 years of successful school catering experience, our ethos is to provide healthy, local, responsible sourced food that children love. Our tasty, freshly cooked, nutritious dishes help your children flourish and reach their potential. As part of a balanced diet, our lunches provide a third of a child’s daily calorie intake, to aid concentration levels and give them energy to focus and to play.

We know that providing award-winning meals isn’t enough and so at HC3S we go that step further, by helping schools and the wider community to encourage children, parents and carers to live healthy lifestyles and think sustainably.   

That’s why our ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and Cook, Eat, Educate programmes are fun, engaging and available in your area. We also offer healthy eating sessions at school in collaboration with Public Health England. Our added value ‘Food to Flourish Classroom’ resources help teachers educate your children in an innovative, food related fashion that cuts across the curriculum.

Where opportunity arises, and in a Covid-safe environment, we bring live cooking and food related workshops to the classrooms. Sometimes, through partnerships with our suppliers and other local food organisations, this maybe outside of the classroom, creating sensory-filled memorable experiences.

Celebrate with us throughout the academic year as we support, VegPower’s Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign encouraging children to eat more vegetables, Nutrition and Hydration Week and National School Meals Week; key events in the food and drink calendar which are lots of fun.

Want to know more about HC3S?

Click on this web link www.hants.gov.uk/hc3s

Follow and review us on Facebook

Follow and tweet us on Twitter

Does your child need a medical special diet to eat lunch at school?

If so, you need to create an account to register your child for a medical special diet.

Once you have created your account, we will be able to review your medical evidence with our NHS dietician in order to devise an adapted menu for your child's school lunch.

Living with allergies comes with its own set of rules so when it comes to food, as education caterers, we want to make this as easy as possible for you as a family. Our staff are trained in food safety and regularly update their skills on allergens. We never underestimate the dangers of food allergies and intolerances and that's why we work hard to get it right.

More details can be found Special diets | Hampshire County Council (hants.gov.uk)

Meal price increase from £2.80 to £3 from 5th June 2023

The current economic climate continues to be a challenge for all and HC3S is also facing significant increases in food and pay costs, with further escalation in food prices anticipated. 

HC3S is committed to pricing meals solely to cover costs, without making a profit. Despite efforts and negotiations with suppliers, food prices have exceeded budgeted levels, and reducing the nutritional content or portion sizes of meals is not considered an appropriate option.  

Consequently, HC3S must increase the school meal price by 20p, from £2.80 to £3, for all meal types from 5 June 2023. 

These are challenging times for everyone, and this decision was not made lightly. 

However, the service remains dedicated to providing high-quality meals that support the learning of Hampshire's young people, including those from low-income households who rely on our hot meals. Schools are encouraged to continue to signpost families to the free school meal eligibility checker online: www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/freeschoolmeals   

Our school milk scheme

Did you know our school has a school milk scheme?  By registering your child for our school milk scheme they will receive a 189ml (third of a pint) carton of semi-skimmed milk every day. This is delivered fresh and chilled to their classroom every day.

“How much does it cost?”
Thanks to government subsidies, school milk is free for all under-fives and is subsided at around £18 a term for children aged five or older.

“Why should I register my child?”
School milk provides your child with essential nutrients such as calcium and protein, for strong, healthy teeth and bones. It is also rehydrating and energy boosting, helping to bridge the long gap between breakfast and lunch so children stay focused.

“How do I register my child?”

If your child is under five-

1. Go to www.coolmilk.com/register.
2. Just register by a Tuesday for your child’s free milk to start the following week.

1. Free milk will continue until the Friday before your child’s fifth birthday. You will receive a payment request three weeks before this time- if you wish for your child to continue to receive school milk simply make a payment.

If your child is over five-

1. Go to www.coolmilk.com/register.
2. Pay Cool Milk online, over the phone or at a local PayPoint.
3. Just pay by a Tuesday for your child’s milk to start the following week.

“How do I find out more?”
Visit www.coolmilk.com or contact Cool Milk directly on 0800 321 3248.

HC3S Food and Recipes that is used in our kitchens

The cost-of-living crisis is impacting families in many ways including food shopping with 49% of families on lower household incomes buying fewer fresh vegetables recently. To support families during these challenging times, Veg Power has launched a new campaign ‘Simply Veg’ which aims to make it as easy as possible to navigate the cost-of-living crisis by serving affordable as well as sustainable and healthy veg-packed meals that families will love.

More information at www.simplyveg.org.uk 

For more information about the campaign : Visit vegpower.org.uk or

Email hello@vegpower.org.uk

It is the intention of this section of our website to enable all those involved with Chawton Primary to develop and maintain a shared philosophy on all aspects of food and drink within the school. We seek to develop healthy eating and drinking activities at Chawton Primary that benefit all pupils, staff, parents, caterers and others associated with Chawton Primary community.

We believe that all members of the Chawton Primary community (i.e. pupils, teachers, other staff, parents, external sport and other services providers and volunteers) are both aware and help with the implementation of the following at Chawton Primary:-

• that there is an important connection between a healthy, balanced diet and a child’s ability to learn effectively and achieve high standards in school;

• that pupils should be, and are, well nourished at Chawton Primary and that every pupil has easy direct access to safe, tasty, nutritious food;

• that all pupils have access to a safe and clean water supply during the school day and beyond for any events that are sanctioned by the Headteacher to occur both before and after the offical school day;

• that all members of the Chawton Primary community  are able to make informed choices about the importance of food and its production and as a result, which foods are appropriate at any event(s);

• that through  Chawton Primary’s  curriculum, all school staff can bring together all elements of the school day to create an environment which supports a healthy lifestyle;

• that, beyond the hours of the normal school day, all members of the Chawton Primary community are aware of and, in so far as is possible, strive to support and strengthen these aims, goals and objectives;

• that all members of the Chawton Primary community are committed to providing a welcoming eating environment that encourages the positive social interaction of pupils and teachers;

• that all members of the Chawton Primary community recognise that sharing food is a fundamental experience for all people and an excellent bridge for building friendships and intergenerational bonds;

• that we are committed to ensuring that food provision in Chawton Primary reflects the ethical and medical requirements of staff and pupils (e.g. religious, ethnic, vegetarian, medical and allergenic needs);

• that we involve pupils, staff and parents in guiding food policy and practice within Chawton Primary, in the hope that it will help enable them to contribute to healthy eating practices beyond the immediate school environment; 

At Chawton Primary, we regularly update our medical records of all children to identify those with food allergies. This process occurs at least annual at the start of the school year. We ask all parents however to note that it is the responsibility of parents to advise of any changes in their children’s dietary requirements. Any such information received will be promptly communicated to the HC3S and all relevant pupils, staff, caterers and anyone associated with food production visiting Chawton Primary, thus ensuring all affected children are not unknowingly exposed to food allergens.

At Chawton Primary we aim to be a "NUT AND FISH FREE SCHOOL"  this means we ask all parents not to send their children in with nuts and/or fish and we do not give out nuts or fish products as snacks. This is to minimise the risks for any pupils with allergies.

Break time snack

All pupils are welcome to bring a healthy snack from home for the morning break time. This may include fruit or vegetables. Water may be drunk and access to fresh water is always available.

Water

Plentiful drinking of water by school children has been recognised in improving behaviour and concentration. Therefore, all children are encouraged to bring a plastic water bottle for which they are responsible. Regular opportunities to drink water are given throughout the school day. Children are regularly reminded to drink water at break times.

Packed Lunches

The Food Standards Agency survey of packed lunchboxes showed that in general children’s lunchboxes contained too much sugar, salt and fat and little fruit and vegetables. We encourage parents to provide healthy lunchboxes.

We actively discourage some foods from being consumed at school such as: crisps, sweets, (including sweetened fruit products such as Winders), chocolate and confectionary containing chocolate, nuts and cereal bars containing nuts. ‘Squash’ or added-sugar and/or sweetened drinks should not be included in packed lunches or brought into school by other means and at other times.

Food not eaten in a packed lunch will be taken home by the child to ensure that parents know what their child has or has not eaten. We encourage parents to include in lunchboxes those foods which will provide a balanced meal and are known to have a positive impact on the child’s development.

In accordance with the British Nutrition Foundation guidelines a child’s packed lunch should include only the following:

• A portion of starchy food, preferably wholegrain;
• Fresh fruit and vegetables;
• A portion of milk or dairy food;
• Small portion of lean meat, fish or alternative; and
• A drink – fruit juice (not fizzy or diluted squash), water, milk

Lunchtime staff will look for opportunities to engage with children and chat to them about what they are eating.

The Dining Environment

Chawton Primary is committed to providing a welcoming eating environment that encourages the positive social interaction of pupils and teachers. It is recognised that the physical constraints of the main hall mean that there are two lunch ‘sittings’, placing limits on the length of time available for serving and eating school dinners and eating packed lunches. Despite this constraint, we do aim to provide a calm, ordered environment conducive to good behaviour.

Chawton Primary is also committed to the following:

• Active help for all children who find the physical process of school dinners or packed lunch difficult (for example, carrying trays, opening tubs or packets) whilst also encouraging and supporting independence;

• Encouraging all children to eat the food they have been provided with;

• Equal treatment of children having school dinners and packed lunches, in terms of provision and supervision;

• Provision of water jugs, containing clean water and cups on every table;

• In the event of any issues causing concern occuring consistently, such as inappropraite items in pack lunches or children not finishing their lunch while still being hungry or children commenting they are still hungry after finishing their lunch, to promptly sensitively raise and discuss such issues both the relevant child and parents/carer; and

• Encouraging all children to wash their hands before eating.

Celebrations & Festivals

Chawton Primary also recognises that food plays an important role in celebration of culture, and religious festivals. As part of its religious education programme and topic work throughout Chawton Primary, children will have the opportunity to experience foods significant to different countries and to different religious beliefs.

Food in the curriculum

Food represents many things to us all: energy, nutrition, commodity, livelihood, communal activity and pleasure, to name but a few. Its significance in our lives means that it can and should be used to enrich Chawton Primary’s curriculum. This curriculum can in turn be used to enrich pupils’ experience of food and healthy eating. Schemes of work currently within this curriculum include a range will reflect the whole-school emphasis on healthy eating.

Curriculum content will focus on:

• The importance of food groups and the role they play in promoting growth.
• The development of strong healthy bodies;
• What constitutes a balanced diet;
• An understanding of cultural diversity;
• The development of respect and understanding towards the beliefs and attitudes of others; and
• How food is produced.

Food beyond the curriculum

The link between cultivation and consumption is often difficult to make for children who are used to picking products off a shelf and never enquiring about their origins. Chawton Primary’s Gardening Club encourages children to grow their own vegetables and fruits. To complete the cycle, we do remind children to use the compost bins, to compost their fruit and vegetable waste, the products of which will then be used in the tubs and pots around Chawton Primary.

At Chawton Primary we also try to take full advantage of our setting by having school trips to local farms on a regular basis.

Children are able to select their meal choices in the morning.  There is, therefore, no need to book lunches further in advance.

Any further advice and or information with regards to our school meals and catering can be found by visiting Hampshire County Council Catering Services .

Payment For Meals

Each meal costs £2.80 although children in Years R, 1 & 2 receive a free school meal.

Ideally meals should be paid for in advance monthly but we can accept payments on a daily or weekly basis. Payments can be made by cash or cheque (made payable to Chawton Primary School) via the school office or by using our online payment system.  If you register on Tucasi as a first time user, you will need an unique online line code which you can request  from the school office.