School Meals

Ashby School provides healthy and appetising meal options for hundreds of students every day.

Affordable restaurant-style main meals, hot subs, filled bagels, jacket potatoes and homemade cakes all encourage students to eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Milkshakes, fruit juices and sparkling mineral water are served as popular alternatives to sugary and fizzy drinks.

Catering staff regularly canvas students’ views on the school’s food outlets.

Nicola Wright, Catering Manager, said: “We are constantly trying out new menu and recipe ideas, based on what the students are buying and what they are telling us they want to eat. We are also more mindful than ever that we need to keep costs down, at a time when many families are struggling with rising living costs.

“A lot of our ideas are based on good, old fashioned home cooking – things like roast dinner, bread pudding, and fruit cake.”

The school shows its commitment to animal welfare by using only free range eggs and free range mayonnaise. To safeguard the environment, all waste oil is sold back to the supplier for use as bio diesel.

The school works to a 21-point healthy eating plan, which includes a promise to:

• oven cook or grill, instead of frying;
• avoid artificial flavourings and colourings, wherever possible;
• use semi-skimmed milk;
• reduce fat, sugar and salt in homemade cakes and biscuits;
• offer fresh fruit, salads and vegetables, low fat milk drinks and yogurts every day;
• promote healthier snacks;
• provide free drinking water;
• stock fresh fruit juices, fruit milkshakes and mineral water ;
• serve rice and pasta regularly;
• offer a daily sandwich selection, with low calorie fillings;
• sell all healthy options at a reduced cost;
• omit salt from the cooking process.

No crisps, chocolate or fizzy drinks are sold on site, in line with government recommendations. The number of deep-fried items, such as chips, is limited to just one a week.

Hot meal availability
All students have a choice of two hot meal options, one of which is vegetarian.  These follow a four-week rolling menu.  Hot meals are available individually but can also be purchased as part of a meal deal with a drink and a cake for the price of a free school meal voucher.
All hot meals are served on plates with a tray and are eaten in dining areas.

Cold offer
All students have access to a range of cold options including wraps, sandwiches, salads and pasta salads.  This include vegetarian options and a vegan option.

Drinks
The drink offer is the same in both dining options on the Nottingham Road site.

Hot grab and go
Paninis are only be available from Café Express and are sold on a first come, first served basis to avoid waste.  However, we will respond to demand when estimating the amount we need to produce.
Jacket potatoes are available in the Key Stage 4 dining area where demand for these is highest.

Vegan availability
A jacket potato and a cold sandwich vegan offer will always be available.

Breakfast
The breakfast option is only available in the Key Stage 3 dining area.  This is priced by item and offered at cost because it is widely recognised that breakfast is important to support students’ learning experience.

Catering outlets

The Key Stage 3 dining area is only open to Year 7 students.  

Café Express is predominantly for use by students in Year 10, 11 and above.  Year 7 students are welcome in here.

The Courtyard Café  is open at break time only, selling cold grab and go items to Key Stage 4 students.

At Ashby School, all student catering will be charged in accordance with the published price lists in all catering outlets.  Meal deals are available to all students as part of our catering offer – this is priced to match free school meal allowances for those eligible students.

Recycling and reusables

In all catering areas, we now offer reusable crockery and cutlery for main meal services. Water is available at water fountains for students with their own water bottles.  If students request food items to takeaway from catering outlets (such as 'Grab & Go' items), they are offered takeaway containers which will be additionally charged at cost.  All takeaway containers and cutlery are biodegradable.

Ashby School uses Wisepay for deposits to its cashless catering system – all parents & carers will be provided with login details and all students are supplied with a card to use for payment in school.  Any Wisepay queries should be addressed to L-Jackson@ashbyschool.org.uk in the first instance.

Parents with questions or suggestions about any school catering issues are welcome to contact Nicola Wright on 01530 413748 x 222.

Copies of our four-week rolling menus can be found below.

There is more information available for people interested in nutritional issues at www.nutritionist-resource.org.uk

KS 3&4 Menu's Week 1-4:           

KS 5 Menu's Week 1-4: