From Wednesday 6 January 2022, all Primary 5 pupils will be able to receive a universal school meal and it won’t cost parents a penny.
P5s will join P1, P2, P3 and P4 in receiving a universal school meal as part of the Scottish Government’s expansion of healthy meals to all primary pupils.
New school meal menus will also go live in January, providing children with some of the food they love while still keeping within the new food and drink in schools legislation.
Thanks to parents and pupil feedback, some favourites returning will be:
• Chicken poppers
• Sandwich options
• Hot dogs
• Vegetarian sausage rolls
Vegan and vegetarian options will be available, and we will continue to provide medical diets as required.
School meals still need to be balanced to ensure they meet the new food regulations, but children will get their favourites as part of the new menu, just not all the time.
Elizabeth Moore, our school menu and nutrition coordinator, says ensuring that the new school meal menus find the balance between foods that children love while also providing health benefits is important.
“It’s clear that children and parents missed some of their favourites when we launched our new school meal menus in August. As a team, we have worked hard to ensure that children can still get something they like while also ensuring that they are eating balanced meals.
“When you introduce something that is classed as less healthy in the regulations, it means we need to review other things we provide in our menus so there is that balance. We also look at other ways of providing the same meal, like using healthier alternatives.
“The new menus will give children more of what they love while also being healthy overall, and I hope they enjoy it.”
The new school meal menus will go live on our website by Thursday 23 December (once schools close). Search ‘school meals’ on our website for more details.
