Onsite catering for schools

Engaging students with new flavours in our onsite kitchens

Onsite catering for schools

Engaging students with new flavours in our onsite kitchens

Tailored to suit your needs

A bespoke service to suit your needs. No matter what age group we’re catering for, our on-site school food brands, from primary and secondary schools to sixth form, deliver freshly prepared food across breakfast, break times and lunch.

We work closely with our suppliers and food development teams to provide high-quality, tasty dishes that make food an engaging dining experience for the thousands of pupils we cook for each week.

Good mood food

Founded over 20 years ago and operating in over 400 educational institutions, we’re the experts in school catering. Our cooks have developed menus full of tried and tested recipes using honest, transparently sourced, seasonal ingredients. Our local-first approach delivers innovative, healthy meals that support pupils’ happiness and wellbeing.
Food Smart Logo

Food Smart

Built for primary school pupils, Food Smart is about having fun with food, investing in dining spaces and offering engaging menus.
Kitcheners

Kitcheneers

Retail-focused, our secondary school offering is a fresh approach to health and wellbeing with our health by stealth programme.

The Forum

Learn more about our world flavour food offer, designed especially for sixth-form students who expect high street café culture.

Food Smart

Built for primary school pupils, Food Smart is about having fun with food, investing in dining spaces, and offering engaging menus.

Kitcheners

The Kitcheneers

Retail-focused, our secondary school offering is a fresh approach to health and wellbeing with our health by stealth programme.

The Forum

Learn more about our world flavor food offer, designed especially for sixth-form students expecting high street café culture.

What We Do

As a company of passionate foodies, our onsite catering management team’s drive for excellence makes us the expert food service providers for schools.

Our years of experience, good customer service, and love of food make school lunches something that students and staff can look forward to. Our catering facilities have chef-trained Account Managers who fully support every school and academy we work with.

What We Do

As a company of passionate foodies, our onsite catering management team’s drive for excellence makes us the expert food service providers for schools.

Our years of experience, good customer service, and love of food make school lunches something that students and staff can look forward to. Our catering facilities have chef-trained Account Managers who fully support every school and academy we work with.

Children’s nutrition and wellbeing

As an on-site catering company, we have a responsibility to support our schools by encouraging young people to make healthy food choices. We want to encourage kids to try new things and have fun with food, which is why our menus are full of balanced meals, curated by our specialised food development teams and leading nutritionists.

We work hard with our suppliers and food development teams to provide locally sourced ingredients and food services that offer an adult eating environment and make food engaging for the pupils we cook for every day.

Fresh food

We encourage healthy eating by only using local, fresh ingredients across our school menus, including meat sourced from British farms, seasonal produce, and free-range eggs.

Allergen management

We recognise a growing need for support around rising allergy and dietary requirements. All our recipes are developed with careful consideration of allergies and food intolerances, reassuring both schools and parents of the extra steps taken to keep pupils safe.

Served across different day parts of breakfast, mid-morning break, lunch and after-school clubs, we have additional menu choices that cater to vegan and vegetarian options.

Our sustainability journey

Currently, we’re working towards having all operations carbon-neutral. We also recognise the connection between food waste and carbon emissions.

That’s why we’ve set an ambitious objective to reduce our food waste 50% by 2025 by using digital pre-order and waste tracking technology to minimise food being thrown away. We use local suppliers, wonky veg and digital pre-order technology to reduce food waste and rotate our menus seasonally to make the most of the UK’s best produce.

We’re committed to providing social value

We’re committed to making a difference and giving back to our communities. That means employing local people and educating young minds on sustainable food and diets. Throughout the academic year, we provide chef-delivered workshops that include pizza-making, bread-making and sugar swap classes.

How to select a
caterer for schools

We believe we’re the right choice for your school. As a company committed to providing menus full of nutritious meals and food experiences that maintain high food standards while keeping it engaging for the pupils.

We know we can always do more. That’s why we’re committed to listening to our pupils and coming up with new, innovative recipes that keep students engaged and excited to see what’s on the menu.

How to select a
caterer for schools

We believe we’re the right choice for your school. As a company committed to providing menus full of nutritious meals and food experiences that maintain high food standards while keeping it engaging for the pupils.

We know we can always do more. That’s why we’re committed to listening to our pupils and coming up with new, innovative recipes that keep students engaged and excited to see what’s on the menu.

Leading school & education catering service in the UK

As THE specialist education catering company, here at AiP, we offer contract catering for schools that deliver a huge range of services focused on producing fresh and delicious food. Providing 75,000 meals per day across over 400 institutions in the education sector, we bring lunchtime to life with innovative menus that serve tasty, locally sourced, balanced school meals.

What We Do

As a company of passionate foodies, our catering managers’ drive for excellence makes us the expert food service providers for schools.

Our years of experience, good customer service, and love of food make school lunches something that students and staff can look forward to. Our chef-trained Account Managers assist every school and academy we work with.

Primary school catering

We have a responsibility to support our primary school pupils by encouraging them to make healthy food choices. Our school catering company service is all about promoting a well-balanced diet whilst encouraging the kids to try new things and have fun with food.

Our aim with Food Smart is to deliver freshly prepared primary school meals that exceed nutritional standards and are prepared by a dedicated catering team in a welcoming, home-from-home environment.

We only use local, fresh ingredients across our primary school menus, including meat sourced from British farms, in-season vegetables, and free-range eggs.

Secondary schools catering

As an education catering company, we understand secondary school pupils’ ever-changing needs and wants. Inspired by chats with staff and students, we developed The Kitcheneers to make good food in schools simple. So it’s goodbye, overly processed, pre-prepared, pre-packaged, one-menu-fits-all meals. And, Hello fresh, fast, easy and inspiring. Hello crowd-pleasers with healthy twists. Hello, easy customisation, endless variety and simple allergen control. And hello, menus designed together so everyone can enjoy. We’re ambitious about nurturing through food, improving young people’s wellbeing and their futures, and making healthy feel fun, tasty and easy for all.

Always on the lookout for something new and exciting, our development chefs constantly refresh our food concepts with bold new flavours that keep young people engaged. We maintain a healthy eating approach and offer Food for Life mark menus.

The Kitcheneers brand offers students an adult eating environment where they can be given the flexibility to choose the food options that suit their busy day at school best.

6th form catering

The Forum is our answer to sixth-form students’ love of all things café culture and street food, so we created a different food court type offer, especially for them.

Under the Forum brand, we offer fresh bean-to-cup premium coffee and deli grab-and-go items. Hot main meals are always available, alongside lighter bites such as an omelette bar and sweet and savoury crepes.

There’s also the option to experiment with world flavours. The Forum can offer street food-inspired sushi, noodles, and burrito bars.

Our sustainability journey

We promise to provide sustainable catering wherever we can. Currently, we’re working towards having all operations carbon neutral by 2025. Our produce is locally sourced, we use wonky veg and digital pre-order technology to reduce food waste and create menus that rotate seasonally to minimise waste and maximise meal uptake.

We’re committed to providing social value

We’re committed to making a difference and giving back to our communities. That means employing local people and educating pupils on sustainable food and diets. Throughout the academic year, we provide chef-delivered workshops that include pizza-making, bread-making and sugar swap classes.

How to select a caterer for schools?

We believe we’re the right choice for your school. As a company committed to providing menus full of nutritious food from world-ranging cuisines, we also offer a variety of vegan and vegetarian options.

The caterer for you will also provide support for allergy and dietary restriction policies. All our recipes take into account careful consideration of allergies and food intolerances, reassuring both schools and parents of the extra steps taken to keep pupils safe.

FAQ

What food safety standards are followed by AiP?

We have the following ISO accreditation: ISO 14001: 2015, ISO 9901: 2015, ISO 45001: 2018.

How does AiP address allergen management?

Parents/carers complete a special diet form for any child with dietary requirements. Our kitchen and nutrition teams then create a safe meal plan, including at least two daily options in most cases for allergies or intolerances. Once meals are selected, they are prepared separately, clearly labelled with the pupil’s name and allergen, and served using dedicated utensils and plates to ensure safety.

Does AiP accommodate special dietary needs for school pupils?

Yes, we can accommodate most special dietary needs. In some instances, we may ask for medical information to confirm that we are creating the correct meal to keep students safe. But, this is only necessary in a small number of cases when allergens fall outside the 14 regulated allergens or the need is very medically specific.

What certifications do you hold to certify menu quality and sourcing?
Food For Life Bronze
All meat used is British Red Tractor Certified
Key considerations to take on board when selecting a caterer for schools?
Look for a caterer that specialises in education, can adapt menus to meet the needs of your school community, and has proven ways to reduce queue times. At AiP, we focus exclusively on school catering, offer flexible menu options, and use strategies such as pre-ordering, clear menu signposting, parent communications, and multiple serving points to help children eat within the school timetable.
Do you provide menus for vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and halal diets?
We ensure that our school menus include daily vegan and vegetarian options. We work with students and families who require gluten-free and halal diets to tailor school meals to their needs.