Student Dining
At St James School, we believe that every student should have access to delicious, nutritious meals that fuel their learning and well-being. We know that students perform at their best when they have access to balanced, healthy meals and we are committed to providing food that supports their growth and academic success.
Our menus have been carefully designed in partnership with our catering supplier, Educatering, and our student body and will continue to evolve based on their feedback.
What’s on the Menu?
Breakfast
A well-nourished child who starts the day with breakfast is more likely to be at school, a better learner and willing to participate in the classroom.
Free breakfast consisting of toast and preserves or a piece of fruit is provided to all students at St James in the dining hall daily.
Lunch
Food available includes a choice of hot meals each day (including a vegetarian option), deli items, sandwiches, wraps & baguettes as well as drinks and snacks.
We operate on a three-week menu cycle, ensuring variety while maintaining student favourites. You can view and download the latest lunch menu PDF below or pick up a copy from the school reception.
Students are welcome to bring a packed lunch if they prefer. Packed lunches can be enjoyed in the canteen or outside in designated areas for each Year Group.
FAQs & Payment Information
To help our families navigate our school lunch system, we’ve compiled answers to common questions, including meal costs, payment options and dietary requirements.
Menu Changes from the 1st April 2025
The breakfast and lunchtime menu will change from 1st April but will continue to offer a range of nutritious and balanced meals, snacks and drinks in line the Governments food standards for schools. The new menu will be designed to help our children develop healthy eating habits and ensure that they have the energy and nutrition they need to get the most from their whole school day.
We want all our students to enjoy the meals we offer and that is why hearing from our students directly on our menu has been important for us. Select students participated in reviewing the dishes from the new menu and their feedback is currently being considered by the new catering company, Educatering.
Will the costs of the food and drink remain the same price?
We are committed to making the food and drink we offer is as affordable as possible for our students. The price for meals and food items will be between 50p - £2.58 for a main meal and dessert. We are pleased that this means for some items on our menu, they will be cheaper than current prices.
Free School Meals
If your child is eligible for Free School Meals it means they can enjoy delicious, healthy meals without the bills and the fuss of making packed lunches. Many children at our school are already eating free school meals, and your child may be able to have them too. School meals will give your child a real appetite for learning and help them to achieve their full potential.
Students claiming Free School Meals receive a daily allowance to spend on food and drink, and thanks to the cashless catering system at St James School, a child claiming Free School Meals is treated the same as other students and cannot be identified. Their allowance gets added to their account each morning and any unspent allowance is removed after lunch. The current Free School Meal allowance is £2.58 and can be used for break and lunch.
Applications for Free School Meals can be made through the Devon Citizen’s Portal.
What should I do if my child has dietary requirements or allergies?
We are committed to providing nutritious and enjoyable meals for all children including by accommodating medical and cultural requirements. For students whose allergies have already been reported to school, this information will be shared with our new catering team and you do not need to take any action. If there are any changes to your child’s allergies, please inform the school as soon as possible.
If a child alerts the team to an allergy of which we do not have a record, we will temporarily provide them with a jacket potato to make sure they are still fuelled for the day, until records are confirmed and updated.
Will there be any changes to portion sizes?
Portion sizes will continue to be led by the Governments food standards for schools which specify portion size by primary and secondary ages, helping us to deliver a range of nutritious and balanced meals.
Will there be changes to how students pay for food at school?
As part of welcoming our new catering provider, we will be making changes to the type of payments accepted at the canteen. We have carefully considered the use of cash and we will no longer be accepting cash as a form of payment, either at the tills or through the Reval machines to top up accounts.
We understand that cash is currently used by a small number of our students and families but the cost of the management and collection of cash is expensive, taking away money which can be spent on delivering nutritious lunches for our students. This change will allow us to invest more money in serving high quality nutritious lunches for our students and better supporting free school meals for those who need them.
By embracing cashless payments, we will also increase the security and safety of payments for our pupils.
We are committed to supporting all our families with this change. None of our students will ever be turned away from accessing food and we have processes in place to support our children should they not have the correct form of payment.
Will there be changes to how parents top up their child’s lunch account?
To help make the transition as smooth as possible, we encourage families to avoid topping up accounts during Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th March. This option is still available for those who need it, but reducing the number of top up transactions will assist with a smooth transition.
Once the new system comes into effect on Tuesday 1st April, families will be able to top up their child’s lunch account via the usual system on MCAS.
Who are Educatering?
