Feeding children safely
We understand how important it is that children receive the right nutrition to get the most from every educational day. Eating well supports brain development, strengthens the immune system, and increases energy levels, helping pupils show up ready and wanting to learn.
Parents can rest assured that our expert team of nutritionists ensures our medical diets help thousands of medical diet pupils eat school dinners safely every day. In fact, they've won a few awards for their efforts, including the LACA Nan Berger Award in 2022 and the LACA + Natasha Allergy Research Foundation Award for Allergy Management in 2023.
Medical diet policy
Every pupil should be able to enjoy coming to school and feel safe eating with their friends, and parents should feel reassured that this is the case. That’s why we run a stringent medical diet process in all our schools.
This process is supported by robust policies, procedures and a wide range of medical diet menus replicating the school menu so children with food allergies and intolerances feel safe and included with their friends while eating school meals.
For a copy of the Chartwells Medical Diet Policy or to speak to a member of the medical diet team, please contact chartwells.medicaldiets@compass-group.co.uk.
Allergy aware
We start by asking parents or guardians to complete a Medical Diet Request Form for pupils with health-based diets, allergies or intolerances.
This form is then reviewed by one of our nutritionists or special diet coordinators, who checks for discrepancies and then decides which of our medical diet menus will suit the pupil.
We offer two medical diet menus: Allergen Aware and Bespoke.
Our Allergen Aware menu is free from the majority of the 14 legal allergens and aligned closely with the school’s main menu so the pupil doesn’t feel isolated at mealtimes.
If a pupil has allergies outside the 14 legal allergens, we’ll offer our Bespoke menu that’s tailored to their individual needs.
A parent's perspective
Watch this parent's perspective, whose son, despite his allergies, safely enjoys school meals with his friends.
We understand that you may feel anxious from time to time as a parent of a child with allergies and the need for a medical diet. That's why we have a robust and reassuring medical diet policy in place.
Watch our video to find out more.