School Meals

School Meals

We believe that lunchtime is a valuable part of the school day, offering a wonderful opportunity for all our children to come together, enjoy a healthy and tasty meal, and develop their social skills. Our school is proud to provide nutritious, balanced meals that support children’s growth, learning, and wellbeing. Meals are freshly prepared and cooked on site each day by our catering team, using local and regional produce to create a varied and appealing menu that encourages children to try new foods. Specific dietary requirements, whether for medical or religious reasons, are carefully catered for, and a vegetarian option is always available.

Children may bring a packed lunch into school if they prefer. We ask that packed lunches meet the school’s expectations for a healthy, balanced meal and that your child’s name is clearly labelled on their lunch box.

Children may move between packed lunches and school meals, however we ask that you remain with your preferred choice for the term to support consistency for both children and the catering team. If you wish to make a change for a new term, please provide written notice by emailing admin@stvincents.trafford.sch.uk.

The cost of school dinners from September 2026 is £16.75 per week (£3.35 per meal).

Please note, all dinners are to be paid for in advance and sufficient funds must be on your ParentPay account prior to meals being served. Please see Parent Pay tips below for guidance on automating top ups.

Free School Meals

If you are eligible, your child gets a nutritious and balanced meal that supports healthy growth, wellbeing and concentration.

Changes to Free School Meals from September 2026

Recent updates have been introduced to expand eligibility criteria, so that more families may qualify for support. From September 2026, all children in households receiving Universal Credit may be entitled to free school meals (FSM), regardless of earnings. Going forward, there will be two types of eligibility:

• Targeted Free School Meals
  For households in receipt of Universal Credit, earning £7,400 or less (after tax, excluding benefits). Support includes free school meals and additional support such as Pupil Premium.
• Expanded Free School Meals (Only from September 2026)
  For households in receipt of Universal Credit, earning above £7,400. Support includes free school meals only.

All parents/carers will need to reapply to check if they are or remain eligible for the next academic year, 2026–2027.

Applying is quick, easy and confidential via the Online FSM Application (OFSM). You need to add each of your children separately on the form. As part of the application, you will need to provide your name, date of birth, contact details, National Insurance Number, enter each child’s information and select the establishment as St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School.

Temporary protections, which allowed children to continue receiving FSM without rechecking eligibility every year, will end at the close of the 2025–2026 academic year. Therefore, eligibility will need to be re-checked every year.

From September 2026, all families will need to meet the new current eligibility criteria to continue receiving free school meals. We strongly encourage all families in receipt of Universal Credit to apply.

Universal Infant Free School Meals

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will receive a free school meal. This is a nationwide initiative and is irrespective of Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility. The school does encourages all families to check eligibility for FSM using the Online FSM Application (OFSM) link. The school may receive additional funding for all eligible pupils throughout their primary phase. This funding is used to improve the educational provision and resources at the school, therefore it is essential parents who are eligible for FSM register for them, even if you opt for a packed lunch instead of school meal.

Please contact the school office, should you have any queries relating to free school meals.

ParentPay

ParentPay’s Auto Top-Up

Keeping your child's account topped up has never been easier. With ParentPay's Auto Top-Up feature, you can set up automatic payments on a weekly or monthly schedule, or when the account balance falls below a minimum level, chosen by you, that works for your household budget. Once set up, your chosen amount will be added automatically, helping to ensure your child always has funds available for school meals.

That means no last-minute top-ups, no unexpected low-balance surprises, and confidence that your child can access school meals daily.

To set up Auto Top-Up in ParentPay:

1. Log in to your ParentPay account.
2. Ensure you have Bank Transfer (Direct Debit) set up and authorised on your account first. Auto Top-Up relies on this payment method.
3. Once Bank Transfer is active:
• Go to the meal account or relevant payment account for your child.
• Select the Auto Top-Up option.

Set up Auto Top-Up in 3 simple steps:

1. Choose when to top up - select a weekly or monthly schedule or choose to top up when your balance falls below a set amount.
2. Choose your top-up amount - decide how much you'd like ParentPay to add to your child's account each time.
3. Relax – your account will be topped up automatically, helping to ensure funds are available for meals when they're needed.

Manual Top-Up Per Week

From September 2026 the cost of a school meal will be £3.35 per day, meaning a week's worth of meals will be £16.75. Please ensure your child’s account is topped up weekly (by Monday) prior to your child taking the weekly meals. 

Manual Top-Up Half Termly

Top-up payments can also be made for a full half term, with payment being made on or before the first day of term. The breakdown below will guide you on the amount you are required to top-up and when to top-up. Topping up for the whole academic year is also possible.

Please take time to read ParentPay® documentation for more details.

LUNCH MENUS

The current school lunchtime menus for 2025/26 can be found below. Menus are rotated on a three-weekly basis. Please note that menus can be subject to change: