At Greenmount Primary School, we recognise the importance of ensuring every child has access to a healthy and well-balanced diet; this being one of the key areas for them to lead a healthy lifestyle. We also recognise the link between a healthy diet and children’s ability to learn. We are proud to be a healthy school where our healthy eating ethos is based on key principals from the Eatwell Guide, the School Food Standards and more broadly, the School Food Plan. The staff at our school are committed in achieving a good food culture by providing an environment that promotes healthy eating and enables our children to make informed choices about the food they eat.

At Greenmount Primary School, our aim is to continually improve the health and wellbeing of children, families and the whole school community by committing to the following:

• All staff at our school have a consistent message about the principles of food and healthy eating throughout the school day whilst maximising opportunities to promote a healthy diet.
• Our breakfast club offers a comprehensive range of healthy breakfasts to suit the needs of our pupils.
• We ensure that all food (including a bagel bar each morning) and drink served throughout the school day is in line with the Government’s mandatory standards for food in school and to make the provision and consumption of food an enjoyable and safe experience.
• Staff are passionate about educating our children about the benefits of healthy eating and through our curriculum and effective lesson planning, we aim for all children to develop lifelong skills to support them in preparing healthy meals now and in the future.
• As part of our commitment to healthy eating, a whole school approach is taken, and all staff are committed in achieving a good food culture by ensuring that healthy eating messages are embedded in the school’s ethos and are consistent across all food provision and classroom activities.
• The school meals service provides a well-balanced meal on a daily basis and cater for the dietary requirements of all our children and allow them a great choice of menu.
• School meals cost £2.55 per day for children in KS2 and Nursery. Meals are free from Reception to Year 2.

This procedure outlines the approach taken to recover debt that arises when parents/carers fail to pay for school dinners.

School dinners must be paid for in advance via School Money. It is accepted that on occasions, arrears may arise for a variety of reasons. However, if debts are incurred, then the school budget has to cover these costs. This means that money which should be spent on pupils’ education is used to pay for debts incurred by parents/carers.

Procedure for collection of arrears

A text will be sent out to remind parents/carers who have a low or negative balance to bring their accounts up to date.

In collecting any outstanding monies, school will follow a step-by-step process;

Stage 1. Actions to be taken by School;

• If a family’s total debt exceeds £24.00, a member of the office team will call the parent/carer. We will ask the parent/carer to top up their School Money account with the relevant monies, so that the account is in credit.
• A deadline will be agreed for payment, based on the individual family’s circumstances.
• If the total debt exceeds £24.00 then the parent/carer will be asked to send their child/ren to school with a packed lunch.
• If the parent/carer has not signed up to School Money an activation text will be sent by the school office and, if required, support will be given to the parent/carer.
• The option for parents/carers to pay in instalments will be discussed and a payment plan will be agreed.

Stage 2. Action to be taken if a parent/carer fails to bring their account into credit by the agreed deadline in stage 1;

• A member of the office team will call the parent/carer to discuss the outstanding debt.
• A letter will then be sent to the parent/carer outlining the actions of the discussion with the school office.

Stage 3. Action to be taken if the debt has not been cleared by the deadline stipulated in the stage 2 or a payment plan is not in place;

• A letter will be sent to the parent/carer’s email address and will also be posted requesting that the parent/carer makes an appointment with the School Business Manager to discuss the debt.

Stage 4. Action to be taken for parents/carers who still have an outstanding debt after stages 1-3;

• A letter will be sent from the Head Teacher stating that the outstanding debt will be referred to Leeds City Council Debtor.