Dear Parents / Carers
Re: Change in lunch provider
We are writing to inform you of the exciting news that Devonshire Hill have recently appointed a new catering provider for the school.
Following an extensive selection process, including our very own group of Year 6 children, we interviewed and taste tested two catering companies. The choice was unanimous to appoint Olive Dining to look after the school’s catering needs from April 2022 – March 2025.
The governors and staff have reviewed all of the documentation and are very excited for new menu options and a new look to the school’s dining area to help to improve the children’s dining experience.
Further, we need to inform you that there will be an increase in the cost of a school dinner. This is due to increases in National Insurance contributions and rising food and energy rates. Unfortunately, the school is no longer able to subsidise the meal costs to our children in Year 3 – 6.
Should your child be in receipt of the Free School Meals Grant your meal will continue to be covered by the Department of Education funding.
| Year Group | Current Cost | Cost from 19 April 2022 |
| Reception – Year 2 | Free under Universal Infant Free School Meals grant | Free under Universal Infant Free School Meals grant |
| Year 3 – Year 6 | £2.30 | £2.65 |
| Children with Free School Meal Grant | Free under FSM Grant Funding | Free under FSM Grant Funding |
Please see a link below to complete a survey from Olive Dining to help them better understand our families and an attached letter from Olive Dining introducing themselves.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DevonshireHillParentSurvey
We are really excited about our move to Olive Dining and look forward to a positive and healthy food journey with all of our families and our new catering provider.
Yours sincerely
Julie D’Abreu
Headteacher
Olive Dining is a privately-owned catering company. We have a passion and a reputation built on delivering excellent standards both in service and food. Providing healthy nutritious and delicious meals is at the heart of what we do.
Our ethos is focused on delivering innovative, exciting, freshly prepared menus. We offer a bespoke service dedicated to education. Our clients continually tell us our refreshing approach has created a significant impact within their business, measured by attainment in the classroom, uptake and the financials we achieve.
Our menu style is tailored specifically for each client, producing a nutritionally balanced lunch. Our values however are consistent throughout; we never compromise on our commitment to fresh produce.
In our kitchens, everything is handmade daily from fresh raw ingredients without the use of preservatives or additives. Inspiration and ideas are drawn from different cultures, upmarket restaurants, innovative retailers and of course each other. The key to our success is the significant amount of craft training undertaken by our management team every single day.
Our team of skilled, enthusiastic and committed individuals allows our business to flourish. Our people are highly motivated, they can see what a difference they make to Olive Dining and our clients; they enjoy what they do, have clearly defined objectives/goals and are well rewarded.
We already work with many secondary schools across London and the Home Counties, where our staff offer catering to everybody’s tastes and dietary needs. Not only is our priority to ensure that young people will appreciate our food but that we can make healthy eating enjoyable and educational.
We constantly look for team-oriented, food focused, ambitious people who share our vision to help build and develop our business. Our business approach with our clients and staff involves communicating on a formal and regular basis, creating a better working environment and a strong sense of well-being.
Olive Dining endeavour to provide great quality food, an efficient service to our customers and clients, this generates an atmosphere of fun and achievement throughout the business.
Stephanie J. Spratt
Founder & Managing Director
