Catering and canteen
Canteen
Our catering is provided by our Ipswich-based caterer eats (East Anglian Taste for Schools) and is primarily a "cafeteria" style. We work closely with them in providing a service and menu which aims to ensure healthy eating for all pupils regardless of means or background, ideally through the provision of a well balanced school lunch, served in a welcoming environment in a way that is convenient for the pupils' needs.
In conjunction with our students, we carried out a major interior refurbishment of our main canteen facilities in 2009, which included the introduction of modern colourful furniture, high 'bar' stools, large-screen TV's, and brand new toilet facilities.
We are now working closely with the Suffolk County Council to develop plans for a new canteen, which we are hoping to be able to devlop over the next 12-18 months.
We launched our new Summer menu from April 2012 which you can see here
(
PDF 248Kb - opens in a new window).
Our new menu features:
- Tasty new dishes & a new menu which is themed throughout each week. The menu will be further developed on an ongoing basis
- Selling prices that remain unchanged, providing excellent value for money.
- A great new range of drinks
- A ‘compleats’ two course meal of the day, price at £2.10 (the free school meal value).
- Repeats loyalty cards – buy 9 hot drinks or soup & get one free.
- Hotpots – piping hot pots of potato such as baked diced or lumberjack potato dusted with herbs or spice with optional sauces such as BBQ or chilli.
In addition to these developments five students will be selected to join an eats forum. Why? It will allow them to say what they and fellow students want to eat for lunch & how service can be improved.
Catering
In 2005 the Government set up the School Food Trust which is an independant organisation with the remit of transforming school food. The new Food & Nutrient Standards for School Food were introduced which meant as from September 2009 all high schools had to follow much more strict rules on the range of food and drinks which can be provided. The School Trust provide a leaflet for parents which give more information which you can download here (Adobe pdf doc 992KB).
As part of the aim to improve the health of our students and staff we also support the nationwide movement Change for Life which aims to help the uk to eat well, move more, and live longer. We have introduced new £2.10 meal deals, £2.10 home-made sub rolls and a brand new menu, all of which comply with the latest standards.
School Food Policy
As part of our work to achieve Healthy Schools Status we have worked with our students, parents and other stakeholders in developing a Whole School Food Policy, which has the aims:
- To ensure that all aspects of food and nutrition in school promote the health and wellbeing of pupils, staff and visitors to our school.
- To give our students the right information they need to make healthy choices
- To ensure we give consistent messages about food and health across the school day
- To ensure the food and drink available across the school day reinforces the healthy lifestyle message
You can read the full Whole School Food Policy, and our other school Policies via our Policy Section
Packed lunches
We encourage our students to use the canteen facilities if possible, but recognise that some prefer to bring in packed lunches. Packed lunches can be healthy and nutritious, but this can take some planning and thought.
Below are some ideas for packed lunches, which help to provide a well-balanced diet for growing children, and some advice to encourage teenagers to eat healthily.
|
Packed lunch ideas
|
Tips for teens
|
|---|---|
|
Gather nutritional information from lots of sources and focus on the special nutritional needs of growing teenagers
If your teen is using their money to buy food outside school work out how much they are spending weekly and monthly. You will all be surprised at how it adds up. Emphasise how much sooner they could buy that new iPod they've had their eye on if they stayed for school lunch (which is better value for money) or had a packed lunch. |
|
Teens just like adults are on the go - especially at school. They want to eat what they can get their hands on quickly and is easy to consume, so make lunches to eat whilst on the go.
Ask your teenager what she or he likes to eat. Respect personal food choices such as vegetarianism and taste. |
|
Look at magazines, newspapers, cookbooks and web sites for lunch ideas that meet your teenager's needs and preferences, as well as nutritional standards.
|
|
Consider "wraps", salads, pizzas and pizza-like foods, and rice bowls, which are both portable and proven teen pleasers.
|
|
Learn how to make easy international foods such as sushi, cous cous, and spring rolls, which can be novel and fun.
Smoothies and shakes are delicious, different, trendy and power-packed with nutrients. Variety should be a priority. Teens get tired of the same old thing every day. |
We would also recommend looking for other ideas ... try these for example:
