Pupil Lunches

Children are able to help themselves to our salad bar daily.

Our cater at Gatehouse is Devon Norse, their food ethos has always been based on high quality ingredients prepared by well-trained catering teams.

As caterers based in the South West, they are blessed to have such a fantastic selection of local produce and suppliers.

Local produce, organic food and healthy eating are fundamental to them. This has helped them achieve Silver Food for Life status across all our schools.

Their meat and poultry is British, which is sourced from farms across Devon and Cornwall to high welfare standards.

They only use free range eggs and have held a Compassion in World Farming Good Egg Award since 2016.

All milk comes fresh from farms across Devon and they work closely with Total Produce to ensure they are always using the best local and seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables.

Their delicious ice cream is made by Langage Farm with milk from their Jersey cows just outside of Ivybridge, on the edge of Dartmoor.

Wykes Cheddar produces our cheese at its Somerset farm and over 50% of the fresh fruit and vegetables are grown on farms in Devon and Cornwall.

All our fish are also responsibly sourced and approved by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

As a Gold Food for Life caterer, they are committed to using local seasonal produce at every opportunity. Devon Norse take pride in serving children with nutritious, freshly prepared meals which they enjoy, helping them to develop a healthy relationship with food.

They support a number of Fairtrade suppliers.

Devon County Council’s Free School Meals holiday voucher scheme – February half-term 2022

 

About the scheme 

 

Devon County Council is supporting families of children who currently receive free school meals during term time with supermarket vouchers to help buy food during the February half-term.

 

You should receive £15 per child for the February break. These vouchers can be used at the following stores: Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrison’s, Asda, Aldi, M&S Food and Waitrose to purchase food over the Christmas Holidays to replace the meals your child would have received at school during the day.   Please note that Tesco/Morrisons/ALDI vouchers can only be used in-store.

 

If you have more than one child entitled to free school meals, you should receive a unique code for each child, as the holiday vouchers are issued separately.   

 

Please note that these codes expire on Monday 28^th April 2022. Once this date has passed, the scheme will expire, and we will not be backdating any payments.

 

Getting the vouchers 

 

Devon County Council has partnered with an organisation called Black Hawk Network to help us distribute these vouchers as quickly as possible via their ‘Select’ website because they have lots of experience managing voucher schemes like this and are working with several other local authorities too. 

 

• To get your vouchers you will need to visit a website called ‘Select’ (www.select-your-reward.co.uk) and input your unique code.  

 

• You will then be able to choose your preferred supermarket and add your vouchers to your basket.  

 

• Please then checkout of the ‘Select’ website by providing an email address for them to send you your chosen supermarket vouchers electronically. There is no option to receive physical vouchers by post.   

 

• Once you have received the vouchers to your email inbox, you can save them to your phone or tablet to use online (depending on the supermarket) or show at the checkout in store. Alternatively, you can print the vouchers off to give to the cashier.   

 

What if I need some help? 

 

If you are struggling to get your vouchers because you don’t have access to the internet or a mobile device to receive and store the vouchers on, and don’t have any friends or family to help, please contact Devon County Council’s education helpline on 0345 155 1019. 

      

Further information 

 

If your child has siblings attending school in a neighbouring authority (for example Plymouth or Torbay) who are also receiving free school meals, the local authority their school is located within will have arrangements to support them over the holidays.   

 

If you received a voucher code for the Christmas Break and haven’t used it to get your supermarket vouchers via Black Hawk’s ‘Select’ website yet, please do so by Thursday 24^th February 2022. Once this date has passed, the scheme will expire, and we will not be backdating any payments.

 

More detailed information about the free school meals holiday voucher scheme, including how to use them and what to do if there’s a problem, is available on Devon County Council’s website. Please visit devon.cc/holidayvouchers or  www.devon.gov.uk/coronavirus-advice-in-devon/document/free-school-meals-holiday-voucher-scheme. 

   

There are also some useful FAQs on the Select website along with contact details for any technical support if you have a problem using the codes and accessing your vouchers. Please visit www.select-your-reward.co.uk.  

 

If you’re experiencing severe financial hardship, support is available. Please visit devon.cc/support or  www.devon.gov.uk/coronavirus-advice-in-devon/document/support-for-people-and-families for information about how to access local financial support, where to find foodbanks and community larders and what to do if you’re on a low income and need to self-isolate.    

   

Finally, if you have received this message in error, please let us know by calling 0345 155 1019 or emailing freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk so we can make sure this vital support gets to the right family.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear parents and carers

 

Morning snack and toast tickets will be available from Tuesday 8th February. These are payable on ParentPay for all years 1 - 6, please ensure payment is made in advance.

 

Many thanks 
School Office

Nasal Flu Immunisations.

Did your child miss the Flu Immunisation Clinic? The Immunisation Team are currently sourcing a location for one final clinic.

If you would like further information, or to add your child's name to the waiting list, please contact the Immunisation Team directly:

0300 247 0082 (Monday – Friday, 9am - 4.30pm)

Dear parents/carers

 

Due to the continued number of high cases of Covid 19 across the school, after school clubs will be cancelled for the remainder of this week and for the whole of next week, starting from tomorrow (Thursday 27th). We will review this again at the end of next week. Tutoring will still take place after school. 

 

Thank you for your continued support.

 

Best wishes

 

Leila Naldrett

Head of School

Free School Meals Families

If your child is isolating and requires a food parcel please let our office team know.

Gatehouse

Covid 19 Update for Parents/ Carers

 

Dear parents/ carers

 

We were all aware at the beginning of January that we were likely to have a bumpy half of term with Covid 19, as a school we had been largely unaffected by Covid 19 with just a small steady flow in the second half of the Autumn term and very few cases before this. 

 

We are now in a challenging position where we have a highly transmissible variant but most measures that were in place in schools are no longer deemed necessary. Please be assured that the school is in regular contact with the DfE, PHE and the FFT to ensure that we mitigate as much risk as possible in the school environment.  

 

Some classes have been heavily impacted by Omicron so far this term, whilst others have had very few cases, classes that have been affected are currently having a staggered start and end to the day, please can all others classes arrive as normal in the mornings from 8.40am.

 

However, unlike in other terms, this term, we have had several staff testing positive, but again to reassure you, the school is still very much operational. If this is to change, we will of course, let you know, it is the DfE's ambition that home learning should be the last resort whilst we are at this stage of the pandemic. 

 

Please can we ask that any siblings of those that have tested positive for Covid 19 take a daily LFT and where possible please can we suggest that LFT's are taken before attending big events outside of school. 

 

Please stay safe everyone.

 

Best wishes

 

Leila Naldrett

Head of School

Reminder:

Thursday 20th January is our school census day when the government collect data about our school. This information impacts our next year’s funding.

We are holding a special lunch for children to enjoy. The menu is attached.

All children in Reception, KS1 and children eligible for free school meals will have a school dinner prepared for them and the expectation is for your child to try it.

Our KS2 children are most welcome to enjoy the school dinner too, please pay via Parentpay, at a cost of £2.40 per child.

If your child is in EYFS, Year 1 Year 2, or otherwise eligible for Free School Meals, and you would prefer to opt out of this and provide your child with a packed lunch, please contact the school office.

If you think you may be eligible for free school meals please apply online for an instant decision: https://www.devon.gov.uk/.../services.../free-school-meals

PTA Meeting - reminder - 20/1/2022

Dear parents and carers

The PTA are holding a meeting via Zoom at 8pm Thursday 20th January.

They are looking out for new members, in particular a secretary. If you would like to get involved, please get in touch via their Facebook page or the school office.

Many thanks
School Office

Dear parents/ carers

 

This is a quick update message regarding the changes to the self isolation period for a positive Covid case. 

 

Changes to the self-isolation period for those who test positive for COVID-19

From Monday 17 January, people who are self-isolating with COVID-19 will have the option to reduce their isolation period after 5 full days if they test negative with a lateral flow device (LFD) test on both day 5 and day 6 and they do not have a temperature. For example, if they test negative on the morning of day 5 and the morning of day 6, they can return to their education or childcare setting immediately on day 6.

The first test must be taken no earlier than day 5 of the self-isolation period, and the second must be taken the following day. All test results should be reported to NHS Test and Trace.

If the result of either of their tests is positive, they should continue to self-isolate until they get negative results from two LFD tests on consecutive days or until they have completed 10 full days of self-isolation, whichever is earliest.

Anyone who is unable to take LFD tests or anyone who continues to have a temperature will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation.

Have a lovely weekend!

Leila Naldrett

Head of School