Catering at King’s Lynn Academy
We are very proud of the standard of catering at KLA and believe it is important way to support health, wellbeing and learning. We employ our own team of cooks, under the guidance of a canteen manager. As we are not driven by a profit motive, we can produce higher quality, nutritious, generously portioned and delicious meals for pupils, staff and visitors.
What do we sell in the canteen?
Lunches are freshly cooked, generously portioned, balanced and nutritious. There is always a daily choice of at least two main dishes + potato/rice + fresh vegetables/beans + fresh bread. We charge just £2.50 for this meal. Cooled water is free of charge.
Menus change weekly but a typical menu for the week might include choices from: chicken curry, steak slice, tomato and herb pasta, BBQ pulled pork, chicken fajitas, macaroni cheese, roast chicken, sausages, tomato pasta, chicken chorizo paella, lasagna, fish and home-made pie. Chips are sold on Fridays. If your child does not want to eat a whole meal, they can order specific elements at a pro-rata price. For example, a full meal might include a baked potato, chilli, beans or vegetables and garlic bread. Your child might just want, say, a potato with beans and they will only be charged for these items.
In addition, we also sell a variety of sandwiches, filled rolls, wraps, warm foods such as paninis & pizzas, cakes, pastries, cookies and flavoured drinks. Although these are not intended to be a substitute for the main school meal, and are not subsidised in the same way, there is more than enough variety to cater for even the fussiest of eaters.
When do we sell food?
We offer breakfast from the Café Bar before school, sandwiches, warm foods, pastries and snacks during breaks and the main meals (and snacks if preferred) are sold at lunchtime.
What about allergens?
All staff have had allergen training and take annual refresher courses. Our tills will alert staff if a child tries to buy an item which contains an ingredient that they are allergic to. An allergen matrix is also displayed behind each serving point. Allergen information is initially collected on the admissions form, but this can be updated at any time via the Arbor parent portal, or by emailing data@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk
How high are our hygiene standards?
The canteen is subject to regular internal and external audits. It has consistently been awarded the highest five-star hygiene rating by the Food Standards Agency during their no-notice inspections.
How do families pay for meals?
We use ParentPay, which is an online cashless catering system. Funds are added in advance, and a biometric recognition system (a fingerprint scanner) is used to access each account to pay. Funds can be added either online or using cash via one of the cash loading machines situated at KLA. You have full control over how much money you add, you can also access an online report to see how much money your child has spent, and what they have bought. To help pupils budget for the week, spending is capped at a daily £5.00 limit by default. Please contact us at data@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk if you wish to adjust the daily limit up or down or if you have any other queries about ParentPay.
Free School Meals
Free school meals are provided for the children of families in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits. Families with British National (Overseas) status and families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) are also entitled to apply for free school meals. If you qualify for free school meals, you will also receive Cost of Living Vouchers to provide support during the school holidays. If you believe that you are, or even just may be eligible for free school meals, we strongly recommend that you apply.
You can see if you are eligible and make an application via the Norfolk County Council website (https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals). If you are having difficulty accessing this form, contact us at data@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk, and we will be very pleased to help.
Being in receipt of a free school meal is completely confidential, and your child will use the cashless catering system in the same way as other pupils. For qualifying accounts, funds will be added daily at 10.00am to the value of a main meal, currently £2.50 per day. At the end of each day, the balance is reset to zero. You can add further funds if you wish, these can be used at any time of day, and they remain on the account until they are spent. When paying for food, the free school element is used first and only once this has been fully depleted would the additional parental contributions be used.
Contacts
Canteen Manager: wendyaldridge@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk
ParentPay and Free School Meal queries: data@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk
Operations Manager: robert.mclean@kla.eastern-mat.co.uk
Free School Meals
Your child can only receive free school meals if you receive one of the benefits listed below:
- Universal Credit - with an annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the four weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
- Child Tax Credit (with no Working Tax Credit) with an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
You must apply for these free school meals here.