Local Authority

Cheshire

Architect:

White Design

Pupils on roll

205

Area

Kitchen/servery: 50m ²
Dining area:170m ²

Context

The teaching staff have developed the curriculum and school operation specifically to take advantages of new facilities present to teach pupils about their environment and reduce their overal ecological footprint. The building’s energy-in-use data supports Maths teaching, class gardens are used for pupils to learn about ‘food miles’ while they grown their own food, and a green ‘travel to school’ scheme encourages parents to leave their cars at home.

Design

The ethos of the school informs every aspect of the design, from its orientation on the site, to the selection of natural materials, the use of natural ventilation and day lighting techniques and the landscape concept.
The kitchens have mechanical ventilation for extraction, but are naturally lit through roof lights. The dining area, which is also the hall, is lit by natural light and naturally ventilated to provide a bright and contemporary dining area.

School Food Policy

The school food policy focuses on encouraging healthy eating in a relaxed and sociable atmosphere. Part of this involves teaching pupils some basic skills (such as how to use a knife and fork) and introducing them to new food. Pupils grow some of their own vegetables, linking with curriculum activities around sustainable crop growing. Crops grown include broad beans, carrots, and potatoes. Herbs are grown for kitchen use. The school works with the local authority contractor to focus on eating seasonal produce. Parents volunteer to maintain the
garden during the summer holidays. Vegetable waste from the kitchen is composted for use on the garden, and appropriate food waste is placed in the wormery. The success of the ambitious food policy and the frequent use of the main hall by the community has put pressure on the catering facilities and the equipment.

Feedback

Pupils

• Pupils in Years 2 to 5 like the food offer and enjoy being able to take part in gardening and competitions for recipes.
• Although they like some aspects of the hall as a place to eat, they all find it very noisy.

Head of Catering

• The school has a clear approach to healthy eating, developed in partnership with the catering team.
• The catering team collaborate on curriculum-related projects (such as foods from around the world, to coincide with study themes) and on separating waste from the compost and wormery.
• The kitchen is well-equipped but the increasing emphasis on fresh ingredients means that there is now a shortage of storage area.
• The layout also means that deliveries come into the kitchen to be unpacked, which is not ideal.
• There is a lack of preparation space in the current layout. The office is too small to be useful and lacks ventilation.
• The servery area functions well and the cashless system is excellent (no cards are required).

Staff

• Staff would prefer a hall that can be divided into two, so that dining and other activities could co-exist; or separate halls for dining and PE. It is difficult to accommodate extended services properly, since clubs ideally need to be set up while the hall is in use for teaching.
• The hall works well for performances and assembly. It is a light, airy room, but it is not ideal as a dining space, since it is too noisy.
• The type of tables has changed since the design stage so there is now insufficient space for storage.

Guidance/Conclusions

Why this case study works well:

• The cycle of food – from growth to composting – is an integral part of the pupils’ learning experience.
• The integration of the catering team with the teaching agenda is successful.
• The servery layout works well and the cashless system is appropriate and effective.
• The tables are well designed for quick set-up and storage.