Food
We are very proud of the quality of the food available to pupils during the school day. We manage our own catering operations and as much fresh, locally produced food as we can, including making much of our own bread on site.
The quality of our food is recognised externally and by staff and pupils. We have been awarded the highest level of food hygiene rating in the last four Food Standards Agency inspections. Take up of school meals is significantly above the average for most secondary schools and pupils are actively encouraged to eat school-produced food, which is both appetising and healthy.
We have two food outlets open at morning break and lunchtime: the Main Hall and the Atrium, both of which offer hot food, sandwiches, baguettes, cakes, snacks, fresh fruit and cold drinks. The Main Hall is currently (September 2021) for pupils in Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) and the Atrium for those in Key Stage 4 (Year 10-11).
Menus
Please note that menus may be subject to change at short notice depending on deliveries etc. A typical day’s menu might include the following:
At Morning Break
Pizza slices, sausage rolls, sweet waffles, bread rolls, fresh fruit and cold drinks.
At Lunchtime
Dish of the Day, for example Meat/Vegetarian Lasagne and Fruit Crumble. Also available every day are sandwiches, baguettes, fresh fruit, yoghurts, cakes, and cold drinks.
Packed Lunches
Parents can order a Deer Park Packed Lunch for their child with their choice of a variety of cold food items. There is a range of healthy food and drinks which will be prepared to order and packaged in a paper bag for collection by pupils either at morning break or lunchtime.
Smart Cards
Every pupil is issued with a 'smart card' when they join us. This card can be charged with monetary value by parents and then used in both of the catering outlets in school. This makes buying food quicker and easier for the pupils and is very secure – cards are personalised to prevent their use by another child and can be stopped if they are lost or mislaid, to prevent anyone else using them. Parents can be confident that the value placed on the card can only be spent in school and not on the way to school. Our preferred method of putting value onto the smart card is WisePay.
Free School Meals
Entitlement of our pupils to free school meals is handled by Gloucestershire County Council.
Allergen Information
From October 2021, new labelling regulations mean that food businesses, including schools, need to label 'pre-packed for direct sale' (PPDS) food - for example, sandwiches, baguettes, pasta pots - with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with any of the allergenic ingredients emphasised within the list.
This legislation, aka Natasha's Law, has been introduced to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.
Parents who have questions about our school food ingredients can email our Catering Manager.
The NHS website has advice about food allergies.