School Catering - King Athelstan Primary School

King Athelstan Primary School is a LA maintained community primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 situated in Villiers Road, Kingston upon Thames. The school caters for a diverse community, 34% of pupils have English as an additional language with 43 different languages spoken. 28% of the pupils in the school are entitled to free school meals (30% Pupil Premium/Ever 6) and some come from challenging home circumstances. The Contractor will be required to supply midday meals during term time to pupils, staff and visitors in the school. The policy will be to supply a home-cooked nutritious meal with an emphasis on healthy eating (based on the balance of good health) that meets the National Nutritional Minimum Standards, using fresh ingredients as much as possible. However, the meals provided for some of the pupils will form their only hot meal of the day and therefore there must be an emphasis on ensuring that the meals are child friendly in terms of content and presentation. The Contractor should note that the school population could fluctuate over the course of the contract. They also may fluctuate because of the introduction or removal of government initiatives and guidelines including lockdowns because of COVID 19. Numbers may also fluctuate due to classes or 'bubbles' having to close or isolate for particular reasons e.g. due to COVID 19. These fluctuations shall be at the risk of the Contractor. At present, 117 pupils are entitled to free school meals. In general, daily numbers are between 210 and 225, which includes those entitled to Universal Infant Free School Meals. At the start of each school year, numbers are lower due to the staggered start of new Reception pupils. The school may also consider wrap around care or a flexible nursery provision in the future and therefore the capacity for nursery-aged children to have their meal in their setting in the future must be taken into consideration. The Contractor must also be aware that the kitchen area and facilities forming part of this contract must be available to third parties outside normal kitchen hours. Except where indicated, the users of the kitchen can prepare and if necessary, cook their own food using the kitchen equipment and utensils that are available to the Contractor. The users are expected to leave the kitchen in the same condition in which the Contractor left it. If the kitchens are not left in the same condition, the Contractor should speak to the School Office immediately. In addition, a number of activities take place outside normal school hours for which a catering service maybe required by the organisers of the activities. Tenderers are invited to indicate 2 whether and to what extent they are interested in providing meals and other refreshments for such activities. To ensure a fair and worthwhile tender, certain standards have been predetermined. It is not the school's intention to stifle or hamper the successful Tenderer after the appointment and to this end; the school would welcome any proposals for the improvement of the catering service.