Due to the current climate and the reduced availability of fresh fruit & vegetables, there may be possible amendments to school menus on a day to day basis.
The Council’s Facilities Management Service operates Breakfast Clubs and lunch service across our schools and also provides lunches, morning and afternoon snacks in Early Years establishments. Our in-house teams prepare meals and snacks on-site in the majority of our premises using fresh provisions, where at all possible. Where it is not possible to cook onsite, we export meals, which have been freshly prepared and cooked on the same day as they are being served, from one site to another.
Our experienced Catering staff prepare around 1 million meals per annum in line with the relevant Scottish Government and NHS standards. Our snack and meal provision has recently been increasing to support the expansion of Early Years provision and it is estimated that this will add an extra 250,000 lunches to our service. All Nursery children and pupils in Primaries 1 - 5 are entitled to a free school meal.
All of our school meal menus are compliant with the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (as updated in 2021). Our school meals service provides lunches which are healthy, tasty and nutritious and which include a daily selection of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Pupils can choose to have a soup and main course or a main course and a dessert when available and fresh fruit salad is available daily . Our menus rotate on a 4 weekly cycle and are published on the Council’s website. If there is a requirement to amend a recipe or make a substitutions, we will let you know. A school meal costs £2.65 daily except for all pupils in Early Years establishments and Primaries 1-5 who are currently entitled to a free school lunch.
We are proud to use Scottish produce where we can. Meals are freshly prepared and use seasonal ingredients where possible. Menus are published on our website and they highlight any seasonal ingredients. Full recipes are available by clicking on each dish.
Our products include:
Menus are free from GM ingredients and undesirable additives and Allergens are clearly identified.
A Food and Nutrition Co-ordinator is employed as part of the Catering team. Menu design requires to meet strict nutritional standards set by Scottish Government (for schools) and NHS (for Early Years) however menu planning involves consultation with pupils and parents/guardians. The consultation gathers information on views regarding the current food served, meal ideas and the dining experience. The children's views and ideas are an important factor when developing menus.
Generally, pupil participation is strong - pupils make a valuable contribution to school improvement by influencing decisions, particularly in relation to school meals. Our aim is to create a healthy and nutritious menu which meets the legislative standards, which meets pupil expectations and to also make lunch time in the dining hall a positive experience.
Catering staff are also involved in menu development as they understand the challenges of meeting the required nutritional standards whilst ensuring that the meals provided meet the requirements and expectations of their young customers.
The benefits of having a Primary school lunch:
We support a healthier diet with:
In addition to the main course we offer:
We welcome any feedback you may have - if you have any suggestions or require any information, please email to: Facilities Management
Our catering service in Primary and Nursery have all achieved the Soil Associations ‘Food for Life Served Here’ Bronze Award. We are proud of our catering provision and continually strive to provide an excellent quality service in line with national standards and guidelines - the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (updated 2021).