School Dinners

The cost of school dinners from September 2026 is £16.00 per week (£3.20 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.

Trafford's Education Catering Services provide catering to our school and their aim is to "ensure that children receive a balanced, filling and nutritious meal, which supports them in optimising their achievement and attainment levels".

The children are offered a "choice menu". The menu choices run on a 3 week rotation, please see below to view the planned menus. (Occasionally, these options may change due to school events/stock variations).

Healthier Packed Lunches

Children may bring a packed lunch. We advise that this contains only one "treat", (for example, a typical lunch box might contain a chocolate biscuit or a packet of crisps, but not both). Please do not allow children to bring fizzy drinks (these spill easily and make a mess as well as being full of sugar), or breakable containers.

Children on packed lunches will be required to bring any food waste/rubbish home with them in their lunch boxes. This is to comply with commercial food waste legislation, and it allows parent/carers to see what their child has eaten that day and allows the school to keep our food waste charges to a minimum.

A healthy packed lunch is a balanced meal providing a variety of nutrients to be found in four food groups:

Starchy Foods: base each meal on a starchy food, such as bread, potato, rice, pasta, yam. Starchy foods give energy, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Meat and Alternatives: Add some protein, for example meat, fish, eggs, beans or pulses. Protein foods build muscles and provide minerals.

Milk and Dairy Foods: Include a dairy product or dairy alternative such as yoghurt, fromage frais, tzatziki or home-made milk shake. These foods provide calcium necessary for strong bones and teeth, as well as providing protein and vitamins. 

Fruit and Vegetables: Don't forget to include fruit and vegetables. You can use fresh, frozen, tinned or dried fruit. Fruit and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre necessary for the body to function properly and to keep you strong and healthy.

TOP TIPS!

• Replace sweets/chocolate with plain biscuits, dried fruit or fruit salad.
• Replace cakes and pastries with fruit bread or malt loaf.
• Replace salted savoury items with rice cakes, bread sticks or cheese and crackers.

Free School Meals (FSM)

Free School Meals from September 2026

From September 2026, free school meal eligibility is expanding. All children in households receiving Universal Credit may be entitled to free school meals (FSM).

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

Applying is quick and easy via the Online FSM Application (OFSM). You need to add each of your children separately on the form. Our school is Victoria Park Junior School, postcode M32 0XZ.

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 – even if your income has increased, your child may now qualify.

New FSM Categories from September 2026

 Two types of benefit-based free school meals will be introduced:

• Targeted Free School Meals
  Your child may qualify if your household receives Universal Credit and has an annual earned income of £7,400 or less (after tax, excluding benefits).
• Expanded Free School Meals (Only from September 2026)
  Your child may qualify if your household receives Universal Credit.

Please see Mrs. Dyson in the school office or contact her on 0161 711 1509 if you have any queries regarding applying for Free School Meals.