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CATERING

Run By The School - For The SchoolIGS_MG_7830 (Custom)

Ilkley Grammar School’s in-house catering service provides meals for approximately 2,000 students and staff every day. We receive daily deliveries of fresh ingredients allowing us to the provide healthy food choices to fuel active minds and bodies all day long. Our catering service is run by the school for the school supporting the students in their learning and activities. 

What is important to us:

  • Food that looks good and tastes delicious;
  • To serve the food in a pleasant environment where students can eat with their friends;
  • To talk to students about what is on offer and recommend dishes;
  • Limiting waste from leftover food and packaging.

The school menu provides a range of foods across the week. Variety is the key ingredient - whether is it different fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, plant-based options, gluten-free choices or types of meat and fish. We are working towards increasing our choices of menu options and the information available at point of sale in response to our student and parent requests. Our aim is to create an eating experience that supports students' and parents' efforts to eat heathily, based around flexible menus and options. Fresh fruit and salad is available with all main meal purchases.

Changes to catering in September 2024

Price Increase Notice

Due to factors beyond our control we have made the difficult decision to increase pricing for some of our products. Knowing the impact this could have on some families we have only increased pricing by 5p rather than following the current inflation rate of 19%.

For any further information on inflation please click HERE for the Office for National Statistics.

IGS Catering (2)  IGS Catering (3)  IGS Catering (4)  IGS Catering (1)

Catering Outlets & Lunch Menus

B Hall Years 7,8 and 9 B Hall menu
Armitage Cafe Years 10 and 11 Armitage Cafe menu
Courtyard Cafe Years 7, 8 and 9 Courtyard Cafe menu
Post-16 Cafe

Post 16 students

Access throughout the day to a more informal cafe style service.

Post-16 Cafe menu

B Hall/CYC Breaktime items B Hall/CYC Drinks menu  Armitage Breaktime Items

Timings

10:25 10:45 BREAK 20 mins All years Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri
11:35 12:20 LUNCH 45 mins Year 12 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri
12:30 13:15 LUNCH 45 mins Years 7 - 11 & 13 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri
10:50 11:10 BREAK 20 mins All years Weds
12:00 12:45 LUNCH 45 mins Year 12 Weds
12:55 13:40 LUNCH 45 mins Years 7 - 11 & 13 Weds

Packed lunch rooms are also available.

Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 are not allowed off the site at lunchtimes. 

20210621_120639  IGS Catering (7)  IGS Catering (5)  IGS Catering (6)

Cashless Catering System

We use individual student cards which can be swiped onto a card reader, or a biometric thumbprint, at the catering till to purchase food and drinks. Consent is required for the use of the biometric thumbprint which is obtained when students start at IGS. For those students who started during the period of Covid-19 restrictions, an option to consent to biometric data will be sent to you. 

Parents can pay for meals via the Parentpay website and the credit will be held on the student account. When using a card, it is very important that care is taken of the student card and that it is kept securely. The system also allows you to track your child's daily diet and support their healthy eating.

Any amount of money can be paid into a student account and any money spent on food and drink will be deducted on a daily basis. A daily 'spend limit' is programmed into the system to prevent students from overspending. This can be increased or decreased for an individual student by making a written request to the Catering Team at catering.team@igs.mlt.co.uk

If a student loses their card, it should be reported immediately to their Key Stage Hub so that a ‘STOP’ can be put onto the card. There will be a charge of £5 for replacement cards if these are lost or damaged beyond use as they are expensive to buy and re-print.

Year 12 cards and 13 cards incorporate both an access facility for lunchtimes, as well as the catering payment system.

Can I change the daily ‘Spend Limit’?

Yes – The daily ‘Spend Limit’ has a default of £5.00 but this may be changed by written request to catering.team@igs.mlt.co.uk.

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Parentpay

Parentpay is the cashless system we use to manage payments for visits, school meals and music lessons. Each student is provided with unique logon details which enable the parent/carer to add funds online via the Parentpay website. 

How do we top up our ParentPay account?

If you log into your personal ParentPay account you can top up by paying with either a debit or credit card.

If you haven't set up your ParentPay account please email joy.heyworth@igs.mlt.co.uk and she will send you details with a personal username and password to enable you to activate your account.

How can I get money refunded from an account?

  1. Once an account has been credited monies can be withdrawn or refunded from the service it has been allocated to by an email request to joy.heyworth@igs.mlt.co.uk
  2. The amount will be refunded to your ‘Parent Account’ within ParentPay.
  3. From here you can then request a refund back to your personal bank account following ParentPay’s withdrawal process.

If you allocated money to the wrong service and wish the money to be transferred to the correct service this can be done within the school finance department by emailing joy.heyworth@igs.mlt.co.uk with the details.

How can I check the credit on an account?

This can be checked via ParentPay or any student can request their balance from a member of the catering team at any till point.

What happens if my child’s account is not in credit?

The school has a policy of not refusing any child a meal at lunchtime. They will be offered a main meal only

The cashless system allows a member of the catering team to administer a ‘Lend’ at the till point. This means that a single meal can be taken. This will not include any drinks or desserts. This will create a negative balance on the account which will need to be cleared next time payment is made.

Steps taken when a student’s account is in arrears:

  1. An email requesting parents to ‘top up’ is sent out. These are sent out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
  2. If a student’s account goes over a negative balance of more than £2.00 a ‘Debt’ letter is emailed on a Monday.  
  3. If the account is still in arrears after the 3rd ‘Debt Letter’ the child will no longer be served and parents/carers will have to organise a packed lunch for their child with the exception of those eligible for Free School Meals.  
  4. Once the debt is cleared the student will then be able to access school meals again.

If you have any other queries regarding ParentPay please send an email to joy.heyworth@igs.mlt.co.uk


Free School Meals (FSM)

Parents eligible for free school meals should apply for these to Bradford Metropolitan District Council. (Please search ‘Bradford Free School Meals’ for more information). 

All students eligible for entitlement may have one serving of the following every lunchtime:

  • Any main meal
  • Any pudding
  • A drink 

Please note, the FSM allowance can only be off set against a meal at lunchtime. All other services i.e. mid-morning break, will need to be purchased by funds which have been added to the students account via ParentPay.

How do ‘free school meal’ entitlements work on the cashless system?

The details of all students entitled to a free school meal (FSM) will be entered on to the system prior to the ‘Live’ day. The cashless catering system automatically allocates the FSM value to each account ahead of the lunchtime service. The system preserves the anonymity of all FSM students as all account types are accessed in exactly the same manner. Any balance remaining from the daily FSM allowance will not be carried over to the next day.


Dietary Requirements & Allergen Menu Notice

We cater for all dietary requirements, including Vegan, Halal and Gluten Free dishes. If you can’t see a suitable dish on the menu please ask, in most cases we will be able to adapt a dish to meet your needs. 

From the 1st of November 2022 allergen codes will be visible on all menus in line with the 14 allergens recognised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Please use these codes to inform you meal choices and ask staff for further information if unsure. 

Various vegetarian options are also provided every day that would be suitable for a Halal diet. Our Catering Team are trained in Allergy Awareness and work hard to ensure allergenic or dietary specific ingredients are prepared separately to eliminate any cross contamination. Please note we are a “nut free” kitchen. 

We are able to provide full nutritional data on request, any pre-packaged goods will be labelled with this information as standard, in line with Natasha’s Law. 

If you have informed the school of an allergy, intolerance or dietary choice, our cashiers will be prompted at point of sale, to enable us to check their meal choice is suitable. 

Parents with any concerns or questions may contact our catering team at catering.team@igs.mlt.co.uk


Reducing Waste, Sustainability and Using Eco-friendly Packaging

We are pleased that from September 2023 our waste collection contractor will be Biffa who will enable us to increase our recycling and have a strong Education sector programme. 

On an ongoing basis we are working with students to improve our waste management and recycling and gain more student feedback and ideas about our catering operation.

The majority of our meals are served on and in Vegware products. A range of eco friendly packaging and catering disposables which are environmentally safe and completely compostable.

There will be no vending machines on site from September 2022. This will reduce our plastic usage and waste. We are looking to put in additional water fountains where possible and there are already a number of water stations around school. Please encourage your child to bring in their own water container for re-use.

Water Station Locations:

  1. Main Entrance Foyer

  2. D Floor (near Biology corridor)

  3. P Floor (opposite KS3 Hub)

  4. M Floor (Humanities)

  5. L Bock Entrance Foyer

  6. Post-16 Centre

  7. Outside of Armitage Cafe

Post 16 Catering Team Opportunities

We provide the opportunity for a number of Post 16 students to earn and gain work experience, whilst supporting our catering team as a Till Operative. These positions are advertised directly with the post 16 staff and students at the end of the academic year to commence in the following September.


Further Information

Catering Team Vacancies

Food Safety Policy Statement

School Day Timings

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