Our school lunches are provided by our in-house catering team.
Our catering team is supervised by our cook, Mrs. Watkins, who has been with William Ford for over 14 years. The team work tirelessly to provide a varied and nutritious lunch menu, ensuring dietary needs and requirements are met for all students. We offer a 2-course lunch.
In May 2023, Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all pupils up to Year 6 (end of primary school) will receive universal free school meals for the academic year 2023-2024 and 2024-2025
*This has now been extended to 2025 - 2026*
You will be issued a ParentPay account for pre booking meals, after-school clubs and trips and activities.
The menu runs in 2-weekly cycles, providing daily Red (meat) and Green (Vegetarian) options and is inclusive of favourites suggested by the pupils through our Pupil Voice Surveys. It is important to us that we offer new experiences of food to our pupils, which we do through our themed days throughout the year.
Please note that we are a nut free, healthy eating school and DO NOT SERVE HALAL MEAT. We recommend you speak to the catering staff or school office if your child suffers with allergies or has dietary restrictions.
Pre booking Lunches
We are live with a new system for pre-ordering school lunches via ParentPay. This system will make it easier for families to manage lunch orders for their children to ensure they receive exactly what they have ordered as well as helping the school prepare the correct meals in advance which will support us financially and reduce food waste.
Important Information:
· Two-Week Pre-ordering: In order to help us with meal planning and ensure we meet your child’s dietary needs, all lunches must be ordered at least two weeks in advance. This will allow us to ensure that we have enough supplies and can prepare the best possible meals for your child. You will be able to pre-book up to the Easter holidays.
· How to Order: You can place your child’s lunch order through ParentPay. Simply log in to your ParentPay account, select the meals your child would like, and complete the ordering process. Please note that no late orders can be accepted after the two-week ordering deadline.
· Deadline for Orders: There is a two week lead on the ordering of lunches, If you do not pre order a lunch you must provide a home packed lunch.
Please note that if a lunch has not been pre-ordered for your child or a home packed lunch provided your child will be offered an emergency lunch.
We understand that this is a new system for some of our families, but we are confident that it will help streamline the process and ensure that every child receives a meal they will enjoy. Should you have any questions or need assistance with ParentPay, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.
Thank you to all of the parents that have been using this system to pre-book throughout the last half term and providing valuable feedback for us.
As you can see all menu items have a 'ND' number in the top corner, If you download the Nutri Data app from your app store you can access the ingredient list and nutritional information which can help when selecting meals for children with food allergies and pre existing medical conditions.
Packed Lunches
Should you wish your child to bring a packed lunch to school, please ensure it is suitably packed in a plastic container. No glass containers or glass filled thermos flasks are permitted for reasons of safety.
Please note, as part of our Healthy Eating bid, pupils should not bring chocolate snacks or sugary, fizzy drinks as part of their packed lunch.
We are a nut-free school so, therefore, kindly ask that no food items containing nuts are included in your child's packed lunch as we have staff and pupils with severe allergies.
Trips
If your child is attending an all-day school trip, you are required to provide them with a packed lunch.
Free School Meals
.Your child may be entitled to free meals at school. Applications can be made online via the LBBD website. If you require any support, please contact our Parent Liaison Officer, Mrs Kerry Noakes, on 0208 270 6582 or email office@williamfordschool.co.uk who will be very happy to assist you.
Due to the fluctuations in finances over the last year, we would encourage all parents to complete this form as you may not be aware of your entitlement.
If you have no recourse to public funds, you can now make an application for free school meals. Please contact the school office to request the application form. For further information, please visit www.nrpfnetwork.org.uk.
THE GOLDEN TABLE
At William Ford, the pupils pride themselves on calm, respectable behaviour across the school and whilst we appreciate that lunchtime is when our pupils can release their energy and reset ready for the afternoon, the behaviour expectations remain. Whilst pupils can earn house points for positive behaviour throughout the day, our catering team suggested an exciting initiative where our children can be nominated for a Golden Ticket for being helpful or having a positive attitude. They put them into the jar for their Year group and 12 names (3 from each year group) are invited to dine on the Golden Table every Monday.
The children receive an official invitation and are able to select from the day's hot lunch or the special golden table lunch.