School Meals

School meals cost £2.50 per day or £12.50 per week.
Dinner money must be paid onto Greenbank's payment System, through Arbor.
All parents should be registered for this, please ask at the office if you experience problems.

At Greenbank we have our own school kitchen and dining room which are separate from the main school building.
Our dedicated catering team prepare a range of fresh healthy meals on site every day.
There is a wide variety of food available which is all Halal and also includes vegetarian dishes.
All children are supervised by lunchtime organisers and teaching assistants inside the dining room and outside on the playground.

Where Children are out on a school trip they will be provided with a packed lunch prepared by the catering team

Menus

Please see our menus that are rotated weekly.
All food is halal and there is a vegetarian option available everyday.
If you have declared a dietary requirement then this will be catered for.

Menus

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Packed Lunches

If you choose, children may bring a packed lunch to eat instead of a school dinner (however, please note that this needs to be a healthy packed lunch and not include warm food that has been allowed to go cold, sweets or fizzy drinks). The teaching assistants do check children's packed lunches on a regular basis and will feedback to individual parents if the lunch is deemed to be unsuitable.

For a Healthy Lunchbox guide from the NHS; click here

Please do not send nuts into school or products containing nuts, this includes chocolate spread!

Parents are asked to commit to a FULL HALF TERM ON EITHER SCHOOL DINNERS OR PACKED LUNCHES FROM HOME.

Trips

Any child out on at trip over the lunchtime will always be given a school meal that is made to take away.
This includes children that usually have packed lunches.
If your child usually receives a free meal then there will be no charge.
If you are not entitled to free Meals the cost will be £2.50
This is our policy to ensure all children are catered for and prevents any last minute delays or issues arising from forgotten or unsuitable packed lunches.

Free School Meals

Important changes from September 2026

From September 2026, there will be changes to who can receive free school meals.

  • Temporary protections that allowed children to continue to receive free school meals without rechecking eligibility will stop at the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
  • Any family who receives Universal Credit at any level, will now qualify for free school meals.

If you're currently receiving free school meals, you don't need to do anything, we'll check your entitlement in July 2026 and let you know if you can no longer apply.

Children whose parents qualify under the appropriate regulations are provided with a free school dinner, if you think you may be eligible for free school meals, please follow this link to complete a Free School Meals application
We recommend that even if you plan to have a packed lunch you still apply for free school meals as each child entitled to free school meals secures extra funding for the school.

Universal Infant Free School Meals

Universal Infant Free School Meals are government funded, this is different to Free School Meals.
All children in years Reception , Year One and Year Two automatically receive free school meal under this scheme.

 

**Upcoming Changes to Free School Meals (FSM) and Universal Credit Eligibility**

The UK Government has confirmed that, from September 2026, all children in England whose households receive Universal Credit will be entitled to Free School Meals, regardless of their overall household income.

Under current rules, families must earn below £7,400 per year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals. From September 2026, this earnings threshold will no longer apply — any family receiving Universal Credit will be eligible. This change is expected to support over half a million additional pupils across England.

• No income cap: If your household receives Universal Credit, your child will be eligible.

• Financial savings: Families could save up to £500 per child per year on school lunches. 

• Support for wellbeing: Access to a nutritious daily meal has been shown to improve children’s health, concentration, and learning outcomes.

The new entitlement will begin at the start of the school year in September 2026. Schools nationwide are preparing now to accommodate the increased number of children who will receive meals. 

Yes. Although eligibility will cover all families on Universal Credit, parents will still need to apply for free school meals so the school can process and confirm entitlement.

Applications are expected to open before the start of the 2026 school year, typically requiring your National Insurance Number and Universal Credit Reference Number.

We are awaiting an update from Rochdale Borough Council regarding how to apply.

This expansion aims to:

• Reduce child poverty — estimates suggest around 100,000 children will be lifted out of poverty. 

• Ease living costs for families during a period of rising expenses.

• Ensure fair access to healthy school meals for all children on Universal Credit.