Queries about School Meals

Please fill in the contact form below if you have a query about school meals. If your request is urgent, please ring the school office 0161 928 8907 Please include your child's name and their class in your message.

Weekly school menus are on a rotation of four weeks. 

Trafford provide a suggested menu and our wonderful Kitchen Supervisor makes some adaptations for our children, based on feedback from school council. 

Menus are reviewed each term and may be affected by supplies not being available, but every effort is made to give suitable alternatives. The kitchen staff work very hard to provide tasty, healthy meals that children enjoy.  Please inform the school office of any diagnosed allergies or food intolerances.

If you would like to change your child's lunch choice from school dinner to packed lunch or vice versa, please send an email to schoolmeals@bowdoncs.org

Changes are made on Mondays and the office will need a minimum of a week's notice.

Universal Infant Free School Meals

All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are eligible for universal infant free school meals.  Although your child will automatically receive free meals, please register with the local authority if you are eligible under the criteria for older pupils.  This registration brings funding into school called Pupil Premium.  Each child in receipt of Pupil Premium will be able to receive assistance towards the costs of school trips and activities.

Pupil Premium and Free School Meals

If your child is eligible for ‘free school meals’ and you register them for this, we’ll receive extra funding called ‘pupil premium’. We use this extra money to improve the educational provision and resources at the school. 

What is pupil premium funding?

Pupil premium funding from the government is given to schools to help pupils reach their full potential, regardless of their background or financial situation. It’s provided for pupils who:

• Are registered for free school meals
• Have been registered for free school meals at any point in the past 6 years
• Are, or have been, in care
• Have parents in the armed forces

Your child may qualify for free school meals if you have any of these incomes:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• the guaranteed part of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (as long as your annual gross income is £16,190 or less and you don’t get Working Tax Credit)
• Working Tax Credit run-off after you come off Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit that you applied for on, or after, 1 April 2018. As long as your household income is less than £7,400 a year after tax, not including any benefits

If you are a Trafford resident please follow this link www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/schools/trafford-catering/free-school-meals.aspx 

We use Arbor for the payment of school meals. The Parent Portal and Parent App allow parents to manage their child's school activities, including registration for clubs, payments, and monitoring attendance and progress. Access is available only for schools using the Arbor Management Information System. Parents can download the app, enable notifications, and log in using their email and password. 

Pay under Meals for school lunches and if paying for multiple children ensure you make separate payments as money can't be transferred between the accounts. 

General queries about Arbor should be directed to the school office.

Enquiries about school meals should be sent to schoolmeals@bowdoncs.org

Enquiries about school visits or after school clubs and activities should be sent to clubsandtrips@bowdoncs.org

• Parent-Portal-and-App-Getting-started-and-logging-in 
  Please check here first before contacting school about general issues