At Kew Riverside your child can have freshly-cooked school dinners or bring a packed lunch.

It’s a busy time, not only for eating lunch and playing outside, but also for the children who perform junior roles in the school (such as helping out in the lunchroom, office and nursery), for meetings of the JLT and House Captains, as well as the all-important task of taking care of our school pets, our school guinea pigs, Toffee and Fudge.

Packed Lunches

We pride ourselves on being a healthy school and this extends to our lunchtime provision. If your child prefers a packed lunch, we do not allow:

• Sweets and Chocolate (due to the high sugar content)
• Crisps (due to the high salt high and fat content.  'Baked' crisps are allowed)
• Nuts (all types)

Although not banned, you may also consider not including the following 

• Packaged fruit juice, high sugar squash and poppers( high in sugar)
• Pre-packaged muesli bars (high in sugar) 
• Savoury crackers (high in salt)
• Flavoured milk (high in sugar)
• Snack packs (high in salt and sugar)
• Packaged dried fruit straps (high in sugar)
• Packaged chocolate spread (high in sugar)
• Processed meat (high in salt)

Here are some tips and guidelines on how to make their lunch balanced and nutritious.

Packed Lunch Guidelines 

School Dinners

From September 2014, all children in Giraffe, Zebra & Elephant class (EYFS & KS1) are entitled to a free school meal.   

• All school meals are cooked from fresh every day by ISS Catering, using locally sourced and responsibly farmed products. Jackie and her team in the kitchen, are passionate about food and are driven by a genuine desire to teach children the importance of eating well
• There is a choice of three main meals per day – including a vegetarian option
• A selection of fresh vegetables, fruit and crudites are provided with every meal
• The desserts are fabulous!
• School meals cost £2.20 per day
• If your child has a school lunch, ISS will give them a packed lunch to take with the
• During Summer 2, on a Wednesday packed lunches will be provided to take to the school field (weather permitting)
• Menus are available from the school office
• Sometimes, children may feel there is nothing on the menu that they like.  We encourage them to tell us rather than refuse to eat.  We would also ask that you communicate with the office so we can work with the kitchen to arrange an alternative where possible.

If you have concerns about any aspect of school lunch provision, please contact ISS directly at feedinghungryminds.co.uk

Drinks 

As part of our healthy living policy we encourage children to drink water freely throughout the school day to ensure their brains are kept hydrated.  At lunchtime water is always available or children can bring a carton of fresh juice or low sugar squash from home in their packed lunches.  If you are finding it difficult to get your child to drink water, please note that soem squash that reads 'no added sugar' is not the same as low sugar.  For safety, please read the labels and dilute as much as possible! 

Free School Meals

Free school meals are available to those children whose parents receive benefits. Please ask at the school office if you would like details of how to apply or visit the Richmond Council website.

The Lunchtime Lottery

We also like to reward good behaviour at lunchtime! We leave this task in the capable hands of some of our Year 5s and 6s, who reward children who follow the golden rules with a lottery ticket for the lunch-time lottery and a chance to win a prize, the draw for which happens every Friday.

A Large Helping of Fresh Air

Getting some fresh air and the chance to run around and play games is also a big part of the lunch break at Kew Riverside. Children can take advantage of the playground play zones created by the JLT to maximise enjoyment at playtime.