Special Menu Thursday 21st May 2026

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School Meal Menu

Important Information Regarding Food, Allergens and Birthday Celebrations

The team at Citywide are working hard with our network of suppliers to ensure that we maintain all of our food supplies. However, there may be occasions when we have to provide your child with an alternative meal to the published menu due to the availability or shortage of certain ingredients.

Allergy Safety in Schools – Benedict’s Law

The safety and wellbeing of every child is extremely important to us.

Following the introduction of Benedict’s Law and the new statutory allergy safety requirements for schools in England, schools and their catering providers have strengthened the way allergies are identified, managed and communicated.

The Department for Education's statutory guidance requires schools to have an allergy safety policy, provide allergy-safety training for staff, identify pupils who require Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs), and record and learn from serious incidents and near misses. The guidance applies in England and forms part of the strengthened arrangements for supporting children with allergies. 

Here at Mesne Lea, we are working closely with Citywide to provide catering services to, ensuring that our food service procedures support these requirements and that allergy information is managed as safely and effectively as possible.

Allergen Information

Food businesses have legal responsibilities to provide information about allergens in food.

There are 14 allergens which are required to be declared under food law:

• Celery

• Cereals containing gluten
• Crustaceans
• Eggs
• Fish
• Lupin
• Milk
• Molluscs
• Mustard
• Peanuts
• Sesame
• Soya
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
• Tree nuts

Citywide staff involved in food preparation and service receive appropriate allergen training, and our procedures are regularly reviewed to support safe food preparation and service.

Parents and carers are asked to ensure that the school is informed of any allergy or change to a child's allergy requirements so that the appropriate information can be recorded and communicated.

Pre-Packed for Direct Sale (PPDS)

Food prepared and packaged before being offered or selected for sale may be classed as Pre-Packed for Direct Sale (PPDS).

Existing PPDS requirements, commonly referred to as Natasha's Law, require PPDS food to have:

• The name of the food.

• A full ingredients list.
• Allergenic ingredients clearly emphasised within the ingredients list.

These requirements have been in place since 1 October 2021 and remain an important part of food allergen safety. GGOV.UK+1

For food provided within schools, this can apply to products such as sandwiches or other items which are prepared and packaged on the premises before being selected or ordered by a pupil. GGOV.UK

Citywide will continue to follow all applicable food labelling and allergen requirements.

Food Preparation and Service

As part of our procedures, food prepared by Citywide will not be wrapped in cling film, foil or any other method on a service counter where doing so could result in the food becoming PPDS without the appropriate labelling.

Where food is packaged, our procedures will ensure that the appropriate information is available and that food is handled safely.

Salad Bars

All salad bars operated by Citywide have been made allergen-free, wherever practicable, to help make them suitable for all pupils.

However, pupils with known allergies should continue to follow their school's individual allergy arrangements. Describing a salad bar as allergen-free should not replace the school's individual allergy management procedures or appropriate checks.

Pre-Order Systems

To support allergy safety, accurate meal planning and the reduction of food waste, the following procedures apply to schools using a pre-order meal selector system.

School Trips

For school trips, the packed lunch menu should be added to the pre-order system wherever possible, and pupils should order their lunch through the system.

This can be completed by parents/carers at home or by the classroom.

Mesne Lea school ensure that Citywide is made aware of all school trips in advance, so that we can allocate the appropriate packed lunch menu and take account of any dietary or allergy requirements.

Allergy Information

For schools using School Grid, Cypad or similar systems, pupils who have allergies must have their allergy information recorded on their account.

Depending on the system being used, this may be completed by the school or by the parent/carer.

Where the Evolve system is used, parents/carers should ensure that all relevant allergy information is added once an account has been created.

Keeping this information accurate and up to date is extremely important in helping us provide meals safely.

Pupils Who Have Not Pre-Ordered

Any pupil who has not ordered a school lunch will be provided with a suitable default sandwich meal.

This approach helps ensure that pupils receive a meal while also supporting allergen management, accurate meal planning and the reduction of food waste.

Main Meal and Dessert

Where a pre-order system is in place, pupils should order both their main meal and dessert through the system.

This allows the catering team to prepare accurately and identify dietary and allergy requirements before food is served.

Birthday Cakes and Sweets

As part of our commitment to strengthening allergy safety and creating an inclusive environment for every child, we are changing the way birthdays are celebrated in school.

From the implementation of this policy, birthday cakes and sweets brought into school from home will no longer be permitted.

We understand that bringing in a birthday cake or sweets has traditionally been a lovely way for children to celebrate their special day with their friends. However, food brought into school from home can create additional challenges around ingredients, allergens, cross-contact and ensuring that all children can participate safely.

Our aim is to make birthday celebrations safe, inclusive and enjoyable for every child, including those living with food allergies.

A Special Alternative – Birthday Library Books

We would like to offer parents and carers a positive alternative.

If you wish to celebrate your child's birthday in a special way, you can donate a book to the school library in your child's name.

A small message can be placed inside the book, for example:

“Donated to the school library by [Child's Name] to celebrate their birthday.”

The book will then become part of the school library for all children to enjoy and share.

On your child's birthday, if you wish, the book can be shared with the class at the end of the school day and the children can sing “Happy Birthday” to celebrate.

This means that instead of bringing in food which may contain allergens, your child's birthday can leave a lasting gift for the whole school community.

There is no obligation for parents/carers to donate a book. This is simply an optional way of celebrating your child's special day while supporting our commitment to allergy safety and encouraging a love of reading.

We hope families will enjoy this new approach and that children will take pride in seeing their birthday book become part of the school library for other pupils to discover and enjoy.

Working Together to Keep Children Safe

Allergy safety is a shared responsibility, and we ask parents/carers, schools, pupils and Citywide staff to work together to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to allergens.

Please ensure that:

• The school is informed of any new allergy or change to an existing allergy.

• Allergy and dietary information is kept up to date.
• Pupils understand that they should not share food with other children.
• Parents/carers follow the school's requirements regarding food brought into school.
• Citywide is informed of school trips and other events where catering is required.
• Pre-order systems are kept up to date with the correct allergy and dietary information.

Citywide will continue to work closely with schools to provide safe, nutritious and inclusive meals, while complying with applicable food safety, allergen and food-labelling requirements.

We appreciate that some of these changes may be different from what families have been used to. However, our priority is to ensure that every child can enjoy their time at school safely and confidently, including children living with potentially life-threatening allergies.

Thank you to all parents, carers, pupils and school staff for your understanding, cooperation and continued support.

Further information

The Department for Education's current statutory guidance on allergy safety in schools can be found on GOV.UK. GOV.UK

GOV.UK – Allergy safety in schools

The Food Standards Agency's guidance provides further information about PPDS food and allergen labelling requirements. GOV.UK

Food Standards Agency – PPDS allergen labelling

 

Please click the link below for GDPR information connected with the use of CyPad.

Cypad