Catering
The school’s catering service is provided by Taylor Shaw, caterer of choice for thousands of secondary school students across the UK.
We believe lunch is an integral part of the school day. When students sit down with friends, they cement relationships, enhance social skills, and replenish both their body and mind.
Our menus are exciting, nutritious, and appealing, served in a supportive environment designed to educate students about how they can make healthy choices to support their wellbeing and improve their ability to focus.
Our freshly prepared menus meet the Government’s School Food Standards and meet the bronze Food for Life standards.
Download Menus Here
Great Value
Our meal deal is priced at £2.60 and includes:
- Hot Meal Deal - choose from any hot main meal of the day, homemade traybake & a bottle of water.
Healthy Eating Promotion
Good nutritional choices are vital to students’ health, academic achievement, and wider performance at school. Our Healthy Swaps campaign encourages the uptake of healthier items by providing suggestions for more nutritious options that are readily available.
Theme Days
Keep an eye out for our regular Theme Days and Pop Ups featuring fantastic flavours for students to try including our Taste of Greece, May The Fourth Be With You and Veganuary!
Allergen Management
At Taylor Shaw, all our colleagues are trained and up to date with allergen procedures and will provide accurate allergen information to your child. If your child has allergies, we would ask that they speak to our server for information so that they can be provided with the information they need to make an informed and safe choice.
Eating a School Lunch is Better for Your Child
Did you know only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food? Five reasons school lunches are better;
- They save time & money
- They’re nutritionally better than a packed lunch
- They promote a varied diet & encourages new tastes
- They support inclusivity, dining with friends
- They help academic attainment by being linked to improved concentration
School Meals
Our canteen and kitchen service offer quality food and drinks served by our professional and caring catering staff.
Arnold and Newman canteens are open before school, at break time and lunch time.
We operate a cashless catering system which runs alongside Parent Pay, our online payment provider. Through Parent Pay, parents can top up and view transactions on their child’s school meal account. For more information about Parent Pay at Maricourt, please use the link below. Copies of your child's unique registration letter can be requested from the school finance office.
If your son or daughter is in receipt of a free school meal, their account is credited with £2.50 each day that they are present in school, which does not accumulate with time.
Debt Policy
Pupils will need to have sufficient money on their dinner money balance before being able to purchase items and if they go overdrawn they will need to bring a packed lunch to school or make other arrangements until the outstanding balance is cleared.
If you will have difficulty in repaying the outstanding balance or if you have a query with accessing Parent Pay please contact the finance office by phoning the school number 0151 330 3366 or by e-mail to finance@maricourt.net
At your request, we can put a hold on your child’s dinner money account to prevent any further spending until the account is cleared.
Please note that we can accept card payments over the phone if you prefer to clear the balance using this option.
Registering for Free School Meals
Free School Meals
The Government has introduced substantial changes to Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility. Under the new national criteria, all families in receipt of Universal Credit will qualify for free school meals, meaning that more students will become eligible.
From September 2026, there are two categories of benefit-related FSM:
- 1. Targeted Free School Meals:
This category continues to be based on the existing income threshold. You may qualify if:
- You get Universal Credit and your household income is £7,400 or less per year, or
- You get support through the Immigration and Asylum Act (1999), or
- You get income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
- You get the guaranteed part of Pension Credit, or
- You have no recourse to public funds (NRPF)
- Expanded Free School Meals:
This category applies to school meals only and you may qualify if:
- You get Universal Credit and your income is above £7,400 per year
- Pupils eligible for Expanded FSM will be eligible to free school meals only.
How free school meals work at Maricourt:
Free School Meal Information Letter - September 2026
End of Transitional Protections
Since 2018, some children have continued to receive free school meals, even if their family circumstances changed during the rollout of Universal Credit. This is referred to as transitional protections. Now that entitlement is being expanded to all families on Universal Credit, these protections ended at the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
This means:
- Some children may no longer be eligible from the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year if their family does not receive Universal Credit or another qualifying benefit
- Eligibility will now be based on current benefit status
How to Apply for Free School Meals
If you are unsure whether you need to apply or if your circumstances have changed, please contact your local authority (links below), or the school’s finance office.
https://www.sefton.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals
https://liverpool.gov.uk/benefits/free-school-meals/
How to apply for free school meals in Sefton if you live in Knowsley