Local Authority

Staffordshire

Pupils on roll

208

Architects

Walters & Cohen

Kitchen design

Staffordshire Catering Services

Area

Kitchen/servery: 75m ²
Dining: 190m ²

Design

The key to the hall’s success as a multifunctional space is the use of folding, sliding doors at one end of the hall. These open onto the heart of the school, which in turn connects to a smaller cooking facility, primarily used for Food Technology lessons. Serving not only as an overspill dining area but also as a practical space for the breakfast club scheme, the heart allows for other activities to take place in the main hall with minimal disruption.This will prove invaluable as a kiosk selling snacks and as a gathering area during break times when the hall may be unavailable.

Smaller functions may also make use of this more intimate space and kitchen, giving the school useful flexibility in how to approach and deliver school catering. The main kitchen was designed by Staffordshire Catering Service.

School Food Policy

The school has a ‘nurturing’ ethos, which influences the policy for food provision. Staff tend to eat with pupils, and two free lunch places are offered to staff daily. The school council (representing the views of pupils) has a food focus group, which works closely with the Head of Catering. The group has proposed that the tables have a family seating (mixed age group) policy, which is likely to be the next step in the evolving plan.

Feedback

Pupils

• Pupils like the proposal to eat in a family seating arrangement (with mixed years at one table).
• They are looking forward to eating outside, since there are nice grounds to the school.
• They like having more than one place to eat inside, and particularly like the bistro area, because it has round tables and is quieter.

‘The bistro area is a good place to sit, because you can talk to more of your friends on the round tables.’

Year 5 pupil Redbrook Hayes

Head of Catering

• The kitchen is a good size, and is well equipped.
• The servery is well-equipped and generally works well, though the counter is a little wider than optimum.
• Currently the fresh air intake above the hood creates a strong draft, which makes the kitchen uncomfortably cold on winter mornings.
• It would be nice to have a view out from the main working area of the kitchen.
• The stores would be better located next to the entry area for deliveries.

Staff

• The much larger hall size in the new school has been good for mealtime management, giving greater flexibility in the way lunchtimes are organised.
• The hall makes a pleasant dining area, and is large enough to give a reasonable amount of time for the pupils to eat, using a staggered rota.
• There are picnic tables and landscaped steps, which can be used for outside dining in the summer.
• It would be good to have a view from the dining hall to the outside.

Guidance/Conclusions

What this case study does well:

• The dining hall is a well-proportioned space with a pleasant mix of daylight and artificial lighting.
• The hall provides a good acoustic environment for dining
• The bistro area and kiosk kitchen in the heart of the school give considerable scope for catering for parent and community events and is popular with the pupils