School Meals

We are a NUT AWARE SCHOOL

Our School Meals

At Athelstan we have a three-week rolling menu for school dinners which you can view below. These menus were formulated by asking the children their opinions on the meals on offer and removing less popular meals and increasing the frequency of other more popular meals.

In addition to this, children also have the ability to order a sandwich or jacket potato each day. 

Children at Athelstan School can either choose to have a hot school meal or a packed lunch. The current cost of a school meal is £2.90 (£2.40 for nursery meals). Paid school meals should be ordered and paid for through the online Parent Pay website.

NYES Catering School Meals

School meals can provide a healthy and nutritionally balanced meal for your child every day.

Our NYES Catering service provides school meals to many of the schools in North Yorkshire, as well as many schools in the surrounding area, with the aim of bringing enjoyment to school lunchtimes with local, fresh, great quality food being at the heart of what we do.

We follow a healthy eating policy, with 75% of our food produced daily in a school kitchen. We provide:

• Red tractor approved fresh meat and poultry
• Free-range eggs and sustainably caught fish
• A menu that is fully compliant to the School Food Standards
• Fruit and vegetables sourced regionally where possible using local suppliers to promote local businesses and reduce our carbon footprint
• Products free from additives associated with health problems in young children
• A menu that is nutritionally analysed, as well as being checked by a registered nutritionist
• Information and menu guidance on any specific dietary requirements any staff or pupils may have
• Fats free from hydrogenated oils
• Menus that are nutritionally balanced.

You can view our school meals food policy here.

NYES Catering hold Food for Life accreditation which recognises that we are committed to serving fresh, healthy, and sustainable meals using local food producers.

NYES Catering are also the current holders of the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) award for Best Service Team. The APSE awards recognise the very best in public services, receiving nominations from across the UK.

Our primary school menus:

• Are changed twice a year to reflect the seasons
• Have a three-week menu cycle, allowing children to become familiar with the food served
• Are written using feedback from pupils, parents, carers, cooks and school staff.

We also offer jacket potatoes and sandwiches.

Our menus are also available in multiple additional languages: Arabic, Dari, Malay, Pashto, Romanian, Ukrainian. All menus can be downloaded from the North Yorkshire Council website here.

We host fun promotional event days throughout the year with special menus to add an extra “buzz” to school lunches. Recent examples include Build a Burger, Best of British and Street Food. These exciting one-off menus are shared with the school ahead of the day; please ask the school for more information.

If your child has an allergy to one of the 14 allergens, intolerance, or allergy to any food not included in the 14 allergens, or any other special dietary requirement, please talk to us and we will try to accommodate their requirements. Our cooks and catering managers are fully trained and updated in special dietary management. More information can be found on the North Yorkshire Council website here and we have a Special Diet Welcome Pack which can be downloaded from this page on the NYES Catering website. Please contact the headteacher in the first instance, stating the required diet and our team will be in touch.

Further down this page you will find information about Universal Free School Meals (for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) and Free School Meals (for children of any age whose families are in receipt of Universal credit).

For more information and answers to some frequently asked questions visit the North Yorkshire Council school meals webpage.

Ordering system for school meals

Athelstan uses Parent Pay Meal Selector  for familes to order school meals at home. The  process will allow you as a parent/carer to help choose and order the meals your child eats at school.

We are use this system because:

• Parents/Carers are able to partake in an activity with their child that encourages education around food, and the ability to help them make healthier, more informed choices.
• Less food waste in schools.
• A more efficient and more enjoyable lunchtime service.

Below are links to Parent Pay, where you will find the meal selector, and to our guide book on how to use the system, which will hopefully make the process of using Parent Pay Meal Selector to choose your child’s meals with them as simple for you as possible.

If you are having difficulties with parent Pay, please email Parent Pay’s helpline on parent-support@parentpay.com and they will be able to support and advise you.

 In addition to the main menu we also offer sandwich/panini option and a jacket potato option - these options can be found on your Parent Pay Meal Selector account. 

Universal Free School Meals

All children in Reception to Year 2 are entitled to receive a Universal Free School Meal. Funding for the meal is provided through the Universal Infant Free School Meal funding programme worth up to £400 per year per child

Free School Meals & Pupil Premium Funding

From September 2026, ALL children from households that receive Universal Credit will be eligible for Free School Meals, so long as they have applied for them - click here to apply (or contact the Early Years Office for a paper form if your child is attending nursery). Children should also be eligible for Free School Meals if their family receives Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or the Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit.

After applying, children from households which meet the criteria listed above AND have an annual household income of £7400 or less will be eligible for Targeted Free School Meals. These are linked to Pupil Premium Funding for schools and other education entitlements such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) and the 'extended rights' element of school travel assistance. If your child is eligible for this funding, we will offer support with the costs of after school clubs, school visits, music lessons and school uniform.

Even if you don’t want your child to have the school meals (e.g. if they prefer a packed lunch) they can continue as normal – as long as you qualify and are registered, the school still receives the Pupil Premium funding  and you can still access the additional support shown above.  Register now to make sure you don’t miss out. Please speak to the school office if you need any help.