St Joseph's Catholic Primary School

The Catering Department was set up by the school in 1995 by the previous Headteacher Mrs King. This was in response to the number of children taking school meals being at an all time low of less than 75 meals. At this time the catering was provided by an outside catering company. As the result of parental requests, financial implications and general dissatisfaction with the quality of the food, the school decided to take over responsibility of the school catering. At a time when most schools were abandoning the idea of serving a hot meal, we decided to develop and offer an alternative to packed lunches. Mrs Hunt arrived and things began to change!

Mr Borowka is our school chef and he is assisted in the kitchen by Mrs Blasiak, Mrs Renon Perez and Mrs Westwood. In addition to providing hot lunches they provide the food for Breakfast Club.  Mr Borowka also provides for our in house catering for in service days, celebrations, guest visits and snacks for Tea Time Club. At Breakfast Club our catering team is joined by Mrs Lowe and Miss Jones who provide supervision under our OFSTED registration.

The menus are created using guidelines set out by the government. These dictate what you are and what you are not allowed to serve. These guidelines dictate the amount of salt, sugar and fat that are contained in the meals. A full explanation of the standards are available from: www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk

The menus obviously have to adhere to the guidelines. Mrs Hunt prepares three sets of menus for the school year.(1 for each term) Each set of menus is on a three week rota and these are available on the parents’ notice board outside reception and on display in the hot lunch hall. (St. Joseph’s building) When we change from one menu to the next we provide parents with that information. The menus are viewed regularly so that they are updated and changed. Menus are sent out via parent mail and are available on our school web site.

All our food is cooked by Mrs Hunt and the catering team on the premises freshly each day. Jugs of drinking water are available on the children’s tables and bread is available with every meal. There is a choice of two main meals and desserts every day including fresh fruit and salad. Our fresh meat is sourced locally from Turners, our fruit and vegetables are supplied by Rawnsley Wholesale with the remaining being supplied by 3663. We serve fair trade tea, coffee and hot chocolate. The standards in the kitchen are regularly inspected by Rushmoor Borough Council’s environmental agency and results are available on their web site. During our most recent inspection July 2011, the catering department were described as having “excellent food hygiene standards”.

St. Joseph’s Catering Department—Government Funding We receive money from the local education authority to cover the costs of providing free school meals for those who qualify. In the last academic year we served approximately, 35000 meals. There is no direct money to improve the kitchen itself or for the purchase of any additional equipment, other than our basic maintenance budget.

Packed lunches are served in St. Mary’s Hall. Pupils are called in from the playground and eat their packed lunch at either one of the tables or on the benches. Normally the older children use the benches as they are sometimes more eager to get back onto the playground.

Hot meals are served in St. Joseph’s Hall. Pupils are called in from the playground in their year groups on a rota basis and enjoy their meals at the table. During the summer term the children have take away desserts that they may eat outside on the grass.

We currently have a team of lunchtime supervisors (16) split into 4 teams of 4. Each team has a team leader. The lunchtime supervisors work on a half termly rota and so get to know all the children both in the infant and junior department covering both hall and both playgrounds. A number of the staff are qualified in First Aid and it is their responsibility to treat and look after the children.

All our snacks are healthy, we promote fresh fruit and packets of dried fruit as well as fruit juices and milkshakes. Snacks are available for children to purchase in both lunch halls.

If a child has a special dietary requirement then we will do our best to meet those needs. Mrs Hunt is available and can provide parents with the information they require as well as to discuss various options that may be available.

Mrs Hunt and the team provide a number of special events throughout the year to celebrate a whole range of events. These are both for Breakfast Club and lunchtime.

As a school we are aware of the seriousness of nut allergies & do our best to ensure the safety of nut allergy sufferers. Unfortunately the majority of catering suppliers now have nut warnings on most of their product labels, even though the products do not actually contain nuts (presumably to protect themselves).

As a result this means that we can no longer guarantee that our food is completely nut free even though we would never knowingly use nuts or nut extracts in our meals.

Updated September 2022.