School Catering Service

School Meals at Canonium Learning Trust

Freshly cooked. Safely delivered. The best for our children.

At Canonium Learning Trust, we want every child in every one of our schools to enjoy fresh, nutritious and high-quality school meals every day.
This page explains how our catering partnership works, how meals are prepared and delivered, and what this means for your child’s school.

Our Catering Partnership

From January 2026, Canonium Learning Trust’s school meals are provided by Edwards & Ward, a highly respected school catering specialist with many years of experience serving primary schools across the UK.

Edwards & Ward focus on:

Fresh, home-style meals cooked from scratch each day
Menus designed by chefs and nutrition experts, fully aligned with School Food Standards
Excellent allergen management and special diets support
Friendly, well-trained catering teams who enjoy working with children

Find out more: https://edwardsandward.co.uk

How the Hub Kitchen Model Works

Many of our schools are small rural primaries. Running a full on-site kitchen in these settings can be financially and operationally challenging, especially where fewer than around 100 meals are served daily.

To ensure every Canonium school receives a sustainable, high-quality meal service, we operate a hub kitchen model:

Meals are freshly cooked every morning in a fully equipped kitchen at a nearby Canonium school.
Food is packed into insulated, temperature-controlled containers immediately after cooking.
Meals are delivered safely by experienced specialist delivery partners arranged by Edwards and Ward (Sheridan Myers)
On arrival at the receiving school, temperatures are checked and recorded, and meals are served straight away by familiar school staff.

This model is widely used across the UK in both local authority and academy schools. It ensures small schools receive the same professional catering quality as larger schools, without placing additional financial strain on their budgets and workload on staff.

Fresh, Safe and Compliant

The safety, freshness and nutritional quality of school meals is extremely important to us.

Across our hub kitchens and deliveries:

Meals are cooked fresh each day using high-quality ingredients
All menus meet the Department for Education’s School Food Standards
Allergen and dietary needs are managed consistently and safely
Sheridan Myers use specialist food-safe transport and temperature-controlled equipment
Temperatures are checked before meals leave the hub kitchen and on arrival at each school
Kitchens maintain 5-star hygiene ratings and are regularly audited

For children, the lunchtime experience remains familiar:

the same dining space, the same friendly serving staff, and a choice of nutritious hot meals every day.

Which Schools Are Hub Kitchens?

Within Canonium Learning Trust, some schools operate as hub kitchens where meals are cooked, and others operate as dining centres, where meals are delivered and served.

Kelvedon St Mary's CofE Primary Academy (Hub)

Tolleshunt D’Arcy St Nicholas CofE Primary Academy
Stisted CofE Primary Academy
Finchingfield St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy

St Andrew’s CofE Primary Academy, Marks Tey (Hub)

Ardleigh St Mary’s CofE Primary Academy
Langham Primary Academy

From St Michael’s CofE Primary Academy, Ramsey (Hub)

Stourview CofE Primary Academy

From East Hanningfield CofE Primary Academy (Hub)

St Peter’s CofE Primary Academy, West Hanningfield
Woodham Walter CofE Primary Academy

This structure ensures that every school, regardless of size or location, benefits from the same high standards of food quality, safety and compliance.

How This Supports Our Trust Purpose and Principles

At Canonium Learning Trust, everything we do is driven by our purpose: to provide the very best education possible.

We believe children learn best when they are healthy, well supported, and attending schools that are financially stable and well organised. Good food, reliable services, and secure school systems all play an important part in making this possible.

Our decisions are guided by our three Trust principles:

Opportunity

We want every child - regardless of which Canonium school they attend - to have access to a high-quality, nutritious meal every day. The hub kitchen model ensures small village schools have the same opportunities as our larger schools: the same menus, the same quality, the same safety standards, and the same positive lunchtime experience.

Challenge

We do not accept “how things have always been done” when it no longer serves children well. Small schools have faced mounting financial and operational pressures around staffing, kitchen upkeep & compliance. We have challenged these limitations and looked for a better, safer, more reliable model - one already used successfully in thousands of schools across the UK. The hub kitchen model represents a thoughtful, evidence-based improvement.

Integrity

Integrity is about making decisions that are right for children, not simply convenient. This model protects teaching budgets, strengthens safety and compliance, and removes operational pressures from small schools - allowing our headteachers and staff to focus on what matters most: children’s learning and wellbeing. No staff have lost their jobs as a result of this change and all existing staff have been supported into new roles within the new structure. Every decision has been taken with fairness, care and transparency.

Questions or Concerns?

If you have any questions about the catering arrangements at your child’s school, please contact the school office in the first instance.

We will continue to review our catering provision throughout the year, working closely with Edwards & Ward, to ensure it remains safe, sustainable and in the best interests of all Canonium pupils.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Will my child’s food still be freshly cooked?

Yes. All meals are prepared fresh every morning in a fully equipped hub kitchen at a nearby Canonium school. Nothing is pre-packed or mass-produced.

How far away is the hub kitchen that cooks the meals?

Always within approximately 15–20 minutes of your child’s school. This keeps food fresh, safe, and at the correct temperature on arrival.

How is the food delivered safely?

Meals are delivered by our specialist partners, Sheridan Myers:

Insulated, temperature-controlled Iglu containers
Secure packaging
Professional food-safe transport
Temperatures checked before leaving the hub and on arrival at school

This is standard practice across thousands of UK schools, local authorities, Hospitals and Care Homes.

Will lunchtimes feel different for my child?

No. Children will still:

eat in the same dining hall
be served by the same familiar staff
choose from nutritious daily menu options

Only the behind-the-scenes preparation changes.

Why can’t our school continue cooking meals on site?

Small schools serving fewer than around 100 meals per day face significant operational and financial challenges when running a full on-site kitchen.

As a general rule of thumb, 1 member of catering staff can sustainably prepare around 100 meals. When a school produces fewer meals than this - or needs more than one member of staff to run the kitchen - the meal service becomes financially unviable.

This means the school often ends up:

subsidising catering costs from curriculum, teaching and learning budgets
facing higher staffing costs per meal
struggling to cover staff illness or absence
managing equipment repairs and maintenance on its own
carrying the full responsibility for compliance, safety and allergen processes

For small schools, this creates a significant and unfair disadvantage, because a larger proportion of their budget is spent keeping the kitchen running rather than supporting teaching and learning.

The hub kitchen model ensures a fair, sustainable and equitable system for all Canonium schools - one where every child receives the same high-quality meals, and small schools are no longer penalised for their

Is this approach common?

Yes.

This model is used by:

thousands of primary schools across the UK
many Local Authorities (some only operate this way)
both rural and urban Multi-Academy Trusts

It is considered best practice for small schools.

Will the food still meet School Food Standards?

Absolutely.

Edwards & Ward design menus with chefs and nutritionists to fully meet the Department for Education’s School Food Standards, including balanced portions and nutritional requirements.

What about children with allergies or medical diets?

Edwards & Ward provide excellent allergen and dietary support.

Parents can register here:

👉 https://edwardsandward.co.uk/special-diets/

Menus for special diets are prepared safely and separately.

Who will serve the meals at school?

Your school’s own Midday Assistants will continue to serve the meals in the dining hall.

This means the lunchtime experience remains warm, familiar and supportive, with the same trusted adults your children already know.

Have any staff losing their jobs because of this change?

No members of staff have lost their jobs.

All existing catering staff have been offered roles within the hub kitchens, and their employment has transferred to Edwards & Ward under the legal protections of TUPE, which safeguards their pay, terms and conditions.

What are the benefits of this for our school?

The hub kitchen model:

removes the risk of the school subsidising meals
improves reliability and quality
ensures compliant menus
reduces operational pressure
allows the Headteacher to focus more fully on education

It is a more sustainable, fair and future-proof model for small schools.

Will the menu be the same for all schools?

Yes - all schools receive the same high-quality menu, with the same portion sizes, nutritional standards and themed events.

What if I have more questions?

Parents are encouraged to:

speak to the school office
attend parent drop-in sessions
contact Canonium Learning Trust (hello@canonium.org) if they require more detail

We are happy to answer any questions and provide reassurance.

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