School Meals

Sample Menus:

We operate a cashless system.

ParentPay allows parents to pay for school meals online and track what meals are being purchased

Click here for more information on school cashless payments.

To find out, please visit the Manchester City Council website, Free School Meals Section and complete the application form (link below). This will generate a reply email to you, the parent/carer and to the school:

Manchester City Council Free School Meals

Should you need assistance completing the application form or access to a computer please contact our Finance Team on:

Tel – 0161 445 8053
Email – finance@thebarlowrchigh.co.uk

The Benefits Service ensures that state schools provide free school meals for families who have qualifying incomes and live in
Manchester. If you live outside Manchester and your child goes to The Barlow, you should contact your local council. You can claim free school meals for a child who lives with you and who you are responsible for (for example, you receive Child Benefit for them) as long as you get one of these qualifying incomes:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credit (CTC) – as long as you are not getting an amount for childcare paid with your CTC or receiving Working Tax Credit. HM Revenue & Customs must also have worked out your household income as £16,190 a year or less. This
income limit will be used until April 2013 but may go up in future years
Working Tax Credit ‘run-on’ payment for four weeks after stopping work or reducing working hours to under 16 hours a week
You can also claim if you are an asylum seeker

Our Cashless School Meals System:

When they start school, each of our pupils has their fingerprint registered. When they want to buy food in our dining hall, pupils simply place their finger on a scanner at the point of sale; a display shows the server the pupil’s name, class and current cash balance held within the system. Fingerprints are used to recognise each individual pupil, hold cash balances, record cash spent and cash received, record where money is spent, on what food, on what date and at what time of day.

Requesting ParentPay login details:

If you have misplaced your unique Parent Pay Account activation details, these can be requested by contacting the school:

admin@thebarlowrchigh.co.ukFind out how parents add money to the system and the benefits of ‘Fingerprint Food’

About our school meals:

Fresh fruit, salad and vegetables are available every day
All meals are prepared daily in our kitchens using fresh ingredients
Our menus are screened by a Nutritionist to ensure that they meet nutritional standards
A selection of fruit juice and bottled water is available every day
Breakfast is available each day

Here’s a taste of some of the foods available on our menus:

Freshly made sandwiches with baguettes and speciality breads
Pasta, stir-fry and curry dishes
Jacket potatoes with various fillings
Wide range of traditional main meals
Selection of homemade desserts
Fruit boxes

Healthy School

The Barlow RC High School works in close partnership with Manchester Healthy Schools to help tackle health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

We have successfully completed the annual health check and secured the Silver Award for 2023 - 2024.

As part of our Healthy Schools drive we encourage all pupils to be mindful of following healthy routines with regard to food & drink consumption, sleep hygiene and screen time.

As part of our daily bag checks on the school gate, staff check that pupils are adhering to school policy. Pupils must not bring in to school more than one of each of the following items: chocolate bar, packet of crisps, packet of sweets. Pupils found to have an excess of this limit will have the goods confiscated. Those with a significant number of inappropriate items in their possession may be deemed to have them for the purpose of selling and will be sanctioned in accordance with the school behaviour policy.

Healthy School Policy – Energy Drinks

The consumption of energy drinks (Lucozade, Red Bull, Powerade etc.) on school premises is banned, a measure which is in-line with the majority of schools nationally. A variety of studies have been published recently which highlight the fact that the stimulants (e.g. caffeine and high levels of sugar) that are contained within energy drinks can cause loss of concentration, anxiety and irritability amongst pupils.

Furthermore, as our school has ‘Healthy Schools Award’ status, the Governors and staff believe that allowing energy drinks is contradictory to the aims and objectives of our policy. We are extremely conscious that some of our pupils have become part of a culture where energy drinks are consumed as part of their everyday diet. To combat this issue, we ask that pupils only consume the following healthy drink options in school: water, flavoured water, fruit juice or milk. Please note that water is freely available to all pupils at break and lunchtimes. Fizzy drinks are also prohibited in school.

Any pupil found in possession of energy or fizzy drinks will face sanctions in-line with the School’s Behaviour Policy. Governors and Staff appreciate the support of parents/carers in enforcing this ban for the health and wellbeing of our pupils.