Delicious and Nutritious School Meals at Hillside
At Hillside, we believe that lunchtime should be a happy, safe, and healthy part of the school day. Our dedicated in-house catering team prepares all meals freshly on the premises, ensuring a fantastic meal experience for every child. They have even been awarded the top 5-star rating for food hygiene by the Food Standards Agency!
Our culinary experts create a tasty and healthy menu, changing on a three-week rolling programme, which gives children a wide variety of flavours, colours, and textures. You’ll find traditional English favourites alongside exciting tastes from around the world. We ensure our menus meet the latest UK school food standards.
Focus on Quality and Sustainability
We put a great emphasis on the quality and source of our ingredients:
- We use farm assured meat, free-range eggs, and fish sourced from sustainable stocks.
- We source food as locally produced as possible to support the local economy.
- We are committed to using environmentally sustainable and ethically sourced foods.
Lunchtime Service and Choice
Our highly skilled and passionate catering and lunchtime supervisory staff make dinnertime a fun and enjoyable experience in a safe and hygienic environment.
- Choice for Children: Children in Key Stages 1 and 2 (Years 1-6) use a self-service system and get a choice of main course, side dish, dessert, and drink. A fresh salad bar is always available as an alternative to the cooked vegetables on offer.
- Nursery and Reception: Children in our youngest classes have a ‘family service’ for their school lunch, encouraging a social and supportive dining experience.
- Dietary Needs: We cater for all children with special dietary requirements and allergies. Please make sure the school office is notified of any allergies your child has.
Important: Peanut and Nut Allergies
We have children and staff with severe allergies to peanuts and nuts. To help us prevent serious allergic reactions, we kindly ask that you do not send any products containing peanuts or nuts to school with your child in their lunchboxes or at any other time. Your cooperation is essential for the safety of our whole school community.
School Meals and Packed Lunches
Your child may have a school meal or bring a packed lunch (excluding Nursery children).
School Meal Payment
- The current cost of a school meal is £15.00 per week (£3.00 per day).
- Payment is made weekly, in advance, on the first morning of the week.
- We operate a cashless environment using an online payment system called Arbor. Details for registration will be provided on your child’s first day of school. You can access the Arbor site here: https://login.arbor.sc/
- We kindly ask that the meal option your child chooses on a Monday remains the same for the rest of the week. This helps our kitchen team plan, order ingredients, and prepare meals efficiently while also reducing food waste.
Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM)
Thanks to a government initiative, all children in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal.
Free School Meals (FSM)
The Local Authority have a ‘Free School Meal Eligibility Checker’ online application form. You can check your eligibility online here via the following link: Https://www.stoke.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals
The system will give applicants an outcome of their application within a few minutes. Even if you have a previously unsuccessful claim, you can still reapply.
If your child is entitled to a Universal Free School Meal please still check your FSM entitlement, if you are eligible the school will receive additional funding.
Packed Lunches
- As a health promoting school, we ask that all packed lunches and break time snacks contain only healthy food.
- Lunches should be in a clearly named, secure container, and drinks should be in an unbreakable container.
- Hot or fizzy drinks are not allowed. We encourage children to drink fresh water daily; water coolers are located throughout the school.
- we kindly ask that you do not send any products containing peanuts or nuts to school with your child in their lunchboxes or at any other time.