Elm Park Primary School

Please see message below from Havering Catering Services

You may be aware that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is funding the provision of free school
meals to pupils in Key Stage 2 who would not normally be eligible for free school meals. This special
scheme is referred to as ‘Mayor’s Meal’. We wanted to provide you with as much information as we
have about scheme.

What is ‘Mayor’s Meals’?
To help families with the spiraling cost of living, during the 2023-24 school year, the Mayor of
London is providing funding which will ensure that every primary school pupil in London in KS2 will
receive free school meals. This one-off provision has been put in place to ensure that healthy free
school meals are universally available to all primary school pupils for one year from September 2023.
This funding will help up to 270,000 primary school children in state schools who do not normally
benefit from the government’s free school meal offer and could save families around £440 across
the year per child.

How is the school going to provide meals to all pupils from September 2023?
Our school caterer, HES Catering, provides school meals across the borough and operate under the ‘Delish’ brand in school. Pupils will recognise this branding used at stations where school meals, snacks and
drinks are sold.
Delish meals are made using only the highest quality, locally-sourced, fresh produce so that every
meal is as healthy, fresh, vibrant and tasty as the last. Therefore, you can be confident that your
child will get a healthy, balanced meal every day with different options to suit every dietary need.
As a parent or guardian, you will be able to view menus in advance as well as nutritional and allergen
information using the Kafoodle App/weblink.

What are the benefits of school dinners?
Only 1% of packed lunches have the required nutritional values for children (source: The School Food
Plan) so Mayor’s Meals gives your child an opportunity to experience hot daytime meals and all of its
benefits.
Studies have shown that eating a hot meal at lunchtime helps children to concentrate and learn
throughout the day, helping children to make the most of their education.
Being able to enjoy carefully planned and prepared school meals offers children the opportunity to
try new foods, develop social skills, learn about new cultures through food and expand their
horizons. These are valuable outside of the classroom learning that benefit children both at school
and beyond.

What happens next?
You will shortly receive some information directly from the Greater London Authority about Mayor’s
Meals. As a school, we will continue to update you should there be any important information you
need to know.
We fully recommend that parents and guardians take full advantage of the Mayor’s Meals scheme
and hope you will enjoy seeing the benefits of a hot meal for your child.