School Meals & Menu
Our catering services are proudly provided by Innovate, part of the Impact Food Group (IFG), a highly experienced and trusted school caterer, working in partnership with the Harris Federation.
Innovate delivers a varied and nutritious menu designed to appeal to all students, with a special bistro-style café offer available exclusively for our Sixth Form. Both menus are prepared using fresh, seasonal ingredients that are responsibly sourced, ensuring meals are healthy, balanced, and full of flavour. All non-pork meat products served are certified Halal.
To keep things exciting, students can also enjoy a range of themed menu days, such as Harvest Week, Chinese New Year, Love British Food Fortnight, and World Cultural Diversity Day, offering opportunities to explore a wide variety of tastes and cultures.
All food and drink purchases are managed through our cashless catering system, making transactions quick and easy for students.
For more information on healthy eating and balanced diets, you can visit the Eatwell Guide from Public Health England.
An example of the lunchtime menu available in our mainstream academy for yrs 7-11 can be found below. This runs on a three-weekly cycle.
An example of the lunchtime menu for Sixth Form is shown below. This runs on a three-weekly cycle.
Innovate operate a loyalty card scheme where sixth form students can get a free drink. Please click HERE to find out more.
Any students with a Free School Meal allowance are invited to select items up to their daily allowance of £2.76, from a choice of either a hot main meal, hot wrap, baguette, or other snack, plus dessert and squash. The Blue Dot Meal Deal is also available to students with a FSM allowance.
Your child may be entitled to free school meals or a premium to assist with their education.
Even if your child does not wish to eat free school meals but is entitled to, the Academy could receive funding to help your child with tuition, resources, coaching and any other relevant extra assistance. To find out if your child is entitled, please click the following link: Free School Meals.
Who is eligible
Your child may be eligible for free school meals if you receive either:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit – provided you're not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit – provided your total household income is less than £7,400 per year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
If you think your child is eligible, please click the following link to apply: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/harrisfederation
We welcome the government’s intent to improve School Food Standards ensuring children have access to more nutritious food and that school meals continue to play a positive role in their health, wellbeing and daily school experience.
What This Means for Schools and Families
The consultation is now open, and we strongly encourage parents and carers to review the proposals and share their views. This is particularly important as new expectations are being introduced including:
- Greater oversight of School Food Standards
- A lead governor for school food in every school
- Increased visibility of menus and food policies
- Consideration of how packed lunch policies support healthier choices throughout the school day
While most changes are expected from September 2027, this consultation is a valuable opportunity to help shape future provision. You can read more and respond to the consultation via the government website. Alternatively, if there are specific points you would like us to raise as part of a wider response please do get in touch.
How Innovate Is Preparing
Our catering providers, Innovate; are confident in the progress already made across our menus and the direction we continue to take. Their statement can be found HERE for your information.
Many of the proposed principles are already embedded in their offer:
- Daily fruit options as alternatives to traditional desserts
- Increased plant-rich dishes
- Reduced sugar, fat and salt across menus
- A focus on baked rather than deep-fried items
- Dishes prepared without added fat where possible
- Greater emphasis on fibre and balanced nutrition
Innovate have improved menu transparency by clearly naming and describing dishes to highlight ingredients and promote understanding of healthier, plant-forward options such as lentils in bolognaise and chickpeas in curries. This supports informed choices around allergens and dietary needs, while encouraging students to explore new foods.
The innovate teams are also receiving ongoing training to ensure they can confidently support schools through the upcoming changes.