Lunchtime & School Meals
What Happens At Lunchtime?
At Uphill Village Academy we have a team of Lunchtime Supervisors to help ensure that the children have a positive lunchtime experience and feel happy and safe. At lunchtimes all children and adults are valued and respected.
The Dining Hall
In the dining hall we supervise the children eating their lunch and encourage good manners and healthy eating. Within the sittings children having packed lunches and children having hot dinners sit and eat together. The children are encouraged to eat well, help each other and chat together. They are encouraged to clear and clean their tables before leaving the hall at the end of the sittings. House points can be issued throughout the lunchtime by Lunchtime Supervisors for politeness, helpfulness and good behaviour.
Children are expected to;
- Line up quietly
- Sensibly walk to their table
- Stay in their seats until their class is dismissed
- Talk quietly
- Keep their food in their lunchboxes
- Only touch their own food
- Take all their rubbish home
- Clear their plate, cutlery and cup
- Be kind and polite
Dining Hall Rules
Always be polite. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’
Use good table manners when we are eating
Use quiet voices and listen to each other
Leave the dining hall clean and tidy
Positive Play
We promote ‘Positive Play’ in the playground and encourage our year 6 Prefects to play with the younger children, teaching them traditional games as well as circus skills, parachute games, football, basketball, skittles and much more.
During the colder months, we offer a quiet space in our Community Room where all children are welcome to sit quietly and enjoy reading or colouring.
Playground Rules
- All children and adults are valued and respected
- Always look after our outside play equipment
- We have kind words, kind hands and kind feet
- We always share with our friends
School Meals
At Uphill Village Academy, our school meals are provided by Innovate and they offer a varied, healthy hot meal option every day. A copy of the menu can be found at the bottom of this page.
Universal Infant Free School Meals
We receive Government funding to provide all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 with free school meals every day. Parents will not be charged for their child having a hot school meal at school each day.
KS2 meals (Years 3-6)
Parents of children in KS2 (Years 3-6) will need to pay for their child(ren)’s school meals via MyChildAtSchool (MCAS). We do not accept cash or cheques for school meals. Meals must be paid for in advance, please ensure your MCAS account has sufficient credit to cover your child’s meals.
Free School Meals
Your child may be eligible for free school meals and other financial support during their time at school. There are two categories of Free School Meals:
Your child will qualify for Targeted Free School Meals if you are in receipt of any of the following:
- Universal Credit, provided annual net earned income does not exceed £7,400 (£616.67 per month)
- Income support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-based Employment & Support Allowance
- Support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and annual gross income is £16,190 or less)
- Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for WTC)
Your child will qualify for Expanded Free School Meals if you are in receipt of Universal Credit but your annual earnings are above £7,400.
Free School Meals Application Process
Parents are able to apply online, at home or in school, using the link at the bottom of this page.
The system provides an instant result to parents and the school. Please note that siblings do not automatically qualify; you need to apply separately for each child. If your child is eligible, they will receive free school meals from the date of your application; this cannot be backdated and you will be responsible for any meal charges prior to your application.
If you think your child may be eligible for free school meals because of your income or circumstances, it is essential you apply for this before your child starts school or as soon as your circumstances change. This is important, even for children who are already eligible for Universal Infant Free School Meals, as if you qualify for Targeted Free School Meals, it also provides additional financial support from the school to help cover the costs of school trips, milk, school jumpers/cardigans and KS2 music lessons. In addition, the number of children eligible for free school meals impacts the level of funding received by the school.
Pupil Premium
The school receives extra funding (Pupil Premium) for all children who:
- are currently eligible for Targeted free school meals or have been eligible during the past 6 years
- are from a service family
- have previously been looked-after by the Local Authority
This money is used in a variety of ways to help support these individual pupils and the whole school community. Children for whom we receive Pupil Premium funding may be eligible for additional financial support, e.g. for trips, KS2 music lessons, uniform.
Our Pastoral Lead, Mrs de Scossa, has further details on the benefits available for eligible pupils.
