The catering company, which provides school meals for children across Warwickshire, Birmingham, Coventry, Leicestershire and Oxfordshire, made the move ‘to help parents feel at ease about the school meals process and reassure them that school lunches are healthy, nutritious and delicious’. Educaterers serve up over 120,000 nutritious meals a week in over 200 schools and colleges.
Caroline Alexander, managing director of Educaterers, said: “If you child is preparing to start life at primary school, we want to reassure parents that their school meals will meet all health and nutrition guidelines and that there are lots of menu options available, with something for every taste bud.
“It’s an exciting time for young children and our fully trained school kitchen staff will do everything possible to make sure new pupils feel comfortable and welcome. Our staff cater for the needs of thousands of pupils at all types of schools and run themed days with special menus throughout the year to make school lunchtimes fun!
“We are also launching new dishes throughout the year that are based around the growing popularity of plant-based menus.”
The advice includes a reminder that children from Reception to Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal, and she encouraged parents to check whether their child was entitled to make sure they did not miss out.
Educaterers, which has 700 fully trained staff, also shared information about the school menus and the range of options that are available for pupils, including daily vegetarian and vegan choices.
Alexander added: “Starting school can be a nervous time for children – and their parents – and Educaterers want to reassure parents that if their child has a medically recognised allergy or intolerance, they can receive school meals specific to their diet.
“As well as reminding parents that the youngest children are entitled to free school meals, we will also be reassuring Key Stage 2 parents that do need to pay for their children’s school meals that online payment processes, such as ParentPay, are easy to set up, simple to use and convenient.”