The price of school meals for Foundation Phase pupils (infants) will increase by 5p to £2.15 in September this year, and by 10p to £2.25 for Key Stage 2 pupils (juniors).

The new prices were approved by Pembrokeshire County Council’s cabinet.

Some innovative pricing initiatives are also set to be introduced for those who consistently opt for school meals.

Parents or guardians whose children have a school meal every day are now entitled to a 10 per cent discount.

The discount is available for parents or guardians who commit to purchasing meals every school day (190 days) and pay by direct debit. This effectively gives children 19 ‘free’ meals if their child attends school daily.

A new family discount is also being introduced.

Families with three or more children are now eligible for a family discount of 50p per pupil, per meal, per day. The discount applies to pupils whether they attend primary or secondary school.

Pembrokeshire is the first local authority in Wales to offer the family discount, and one of the first in the UK.

Another new introduction is tiered pricing.

To reflect the different portion sizes for children in infant and junior schools, infant pupil meals will be 10p cheaper than Key Stage 2 pupil meals.

The cabinet also agreed that further price increases in September 2017 and 2018 be agreed at an additional 10p per meal per year.

Free school meal entitlement is available to families where household income does not exceed £16,190 p.a.

Free school meal application forms can be obtained from schools or downloaded from the ‘Lunch with Lennie website’ - www.lunchwithlennie.co.uk

Alternatively, you can contact revenue services on 01437 764551.