School Meals and Packed Lunches
Dolce Catering is the lunchtime provider for Vigo Primary School. The menu is nut free and consists of a daily meat option, vegetarian option or jacket potato. Parents are required to pre-order lunches for children. The current meal price at Vigo Primary is £3.06 per meal.
You can contact Dolce Catering directly should you wish to discuss your child's special dietary requirements by using the contact form on their website: https://www.dolce.co.uk/parents/ or by calling them on 01942 707709.
Payment for school meals must be made directly to Dolce Catering using a pre-order system called SchoolGrid (please click on the icon at the top of the page to access SchoolGrid).
Once your child is enroled at Vigo Primary School, you will receive an email from SchoolGrid to set up your parent ordering/payment account, this will link directly to your child. If you do not receive the link, please contact the school office who will be more than happy to generate a new link-up code. If your child is transferring as an in-year pupil, please provide your child with a packed lunch on their first day at school, this will enable the school to send the SchoolGrid link to you via email.
All meal orders must be selected and paid for in advance of the school day, using the SchoolGrid ordering system. Ideally, orders should be made at least one week in advance. This helps the kitchen team ensure efficiency with food orders and helps to mitigate food waste. Orders will be checked in class to help support your transition to pre-ordering school meals in this way. Any pre-orders must be made in advance and up to 8:45am in the morning of any given day. Any orders submitted after 8:45am will not be picked up by the kitchen team, therefore you will be required to provide your child with a packed lunch for that day.
All school meals must be ordered using SchoolGrid. This is applicable whether your child is eligible for universal free school meals, KS2 free school meals or paid meals.
We are trying to work towards becoming more environmentally friendly by cutting down on food waste. To help mitigate waste, please try to place dinner orders with your children, so they can choose the meal options they prefer. From time to time, we can see a lot of food waste if the meal has been chosen on the child's behalf.
Please be reminded that when your child moves from KS1 to KS2 (years 3 – 6), unless you are registered for free school meals, you will be required to pay for your child’s school meals.
Hampshire County Council - Free School Meal On-line Application Link
Children in KS1 (years R,1,2) automatically qualify for Universal Free School Meals; a current, government-funded scheme. Therefore, you will not be required to pay for school meals, but applying for free school meals for your KS1 child will help increase the funding sent to the school by the government.
If you are eligible and your child is in KS2 (years 3, 4, 5, 6) you will be required to apply for free school meals using the Free School Meal Application form.
Please click on the link above to complete the form, alternatively you can pop into the school office and member of the team will be more than happy to help you with the application.
Important changes to Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility which will come into effect from September 2026.
The government is expanding eligibility so that all children from households receiving Universal Credit may qualify for free school meals. Eligibility will be divided into two groups:
- Targeted Free School Meals
For households receiving Universal Credit with an annual income below £7,400 - Expanded Free School Meals
For households receiving Universal Credit with an annual income above £7,400
What this means for you:
- If you receive Universal Credit and have not yet applied, we strongly encourage you to submit an application as soon as possible via the Hampshire portal. If you are unsure whether you qualify, it is always worth applying. Applying for FSM can also provide additional funding for the school to support your child’s learning.
- If your child already receives Free School Meals and you have applied through the Hampshire portal, you do not need to do anything.
- Children eligible under the expanded criteria will only begin to receive Free School Meals from September 2026.
Things to bear in mind:
- Current protections (effective from 1 April 2018 under the benefits-based criteria), for children already receiving FSM will end in July 2026, and from September 2026 all households must meet the new FSM eligibility criteria to continue receiving free meals.
- All applications (including existing ones) will be re-checked ahead of September 2026, and any applications not in place or not re-checked before the new term starts will not attract FSM funding for the school and parents/carers will be required to pay for school meals.
How to apply:
Applications can be made online via Hampshire County Council:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/educationandlearning/freeschoolmeals
Are you giving your child a healthy packed lunch? Please click on the attached document to view healthy lunchbox ideas. Please be advised we are a nut-free school, any items containing nuts or nut products will be immediately confiscated.
Useful Lunchbox Ideas - Web Links
NHS - Healthier Lunchbox Recipes
Tesco - Lunchbox Ideas for Kids
BBC Food - Lunchbox Recipes and Ideas
goodFood - School Lunchbox Recipes