Background Information:
Churnet View is a middle school in the Leek area of Staffordshire. There are 489 pupils on roll of which around 150 take school lunches, 45 of these have free school meals. In total 22% of pupils live in a deprived area and it was thought that up to 40 more children at the school could be entitled to free school meals (FSM).
Why did the school want to make changes to the lunchtime provision?
Kitchen staff:
The school has had a high turnover of kitchen staff in the last few years and communication between the school and the kitchen team has broken down, this needed to be addressed if the service was to be improved. Kitchen staff wanted to improve communication with the school to enable them to coordinate the provision with upcoming events.
Kitchen area:
The kitchen is in a poor state of repair with a number of potential health and safety hazards identified including:
- Flooring
- Extractor Fan
- Leaking Glass Roof
- Wooden Cupboards need replacing
- Outdated equipment
Furthermore, the area behind the servery was very cramped, had limited access for staff and the flooring was damaged. The servery area was also squeezed into a small space within the dining space which slowed down the flow through of pupils.
School Food/Dining space:
The quality of the food was considered poor, quite bland and tasteless. Due to the poor state of the equipment the food costs were higher because the school had to buy items like ready prepared vegetables. Portion sizes were considered to be too small and the plates were intended to be used by infant children which meant that the amount of food the older pupils could put on their plate was limited.
There was no salad cart and the overall presentation of the food needed improving. Menus were not displayed in the queuing area which slowed down service. The students had to queue up twice, first to pay at the till and then to get their food. The choice of food was not visible to the children until they arrived at the servery which further slowed down the serving process.
The current dining space is multifunctional and also used as a gym. An outside courtyard area with picnic benches was utilised during lunchtime, weather permitting.
Who was involved in implementing the changes?
- Head Teacher (Acting)
- Kitchen Staff
- Local Authority Catering Services Area Manager
- Industry Forum Facilitator
What changes were made to the lunchtime provision?
Kitchen Staff:
The local authority catering team trained the kitchen staff and two additional staff members were utilised to focus on food preparation. Kitchen staff worked with the school to implement some of the changes.
Kitchen area:
The following equipment was ordered and installed in the kitchen area:
- 2× 10 shelf gas heated combination ovens
- 2× 6 burner gas heated ranges
- 1x fryer
- 1× 4 tier pan rack
- 2x mobile hot serveries
- 2x mobile multi-tier refrigerated displays
- 2x mobile cashier sections
- 1× 20cu.ft. refrigerator
- 1x stainless steel ‘dirties’ dishwash table
- 1x hood-type dishwasher (with water softener)
- 1x stainless steel ‘cleans’ dishwash table
- 1x stainless steel handwash basin
- 1x stainless steel pan wash sink
The flooring, extractor fan, glass roof and cupboards were all replaced under the health and safety regulations and paid for by the school and Local Authority.
The school’s biggest issue was the servery area which was dark and walled off from the dining hall/gym. The school chose to remove this wall and replace it with concertina glass doors that meant the pupils could observe the food being prepared. The doors would be opened fully at lunch time in order to open up the servery and make it less cramped. The doors were installed by a local glass company and had the school logo etched into them. New servery equipment was also been purchased, including a chiller cabinet for sandwiches and salads and a new bain marie area which improved the food presentation
The final item to be installed was a cashless system, again this was to help speed up the queues, but also the school intended to use it to learn more about the food choices the pupils were making. All the improvements took place over the February half term to minimise disruption to the lunchtime provision.
The new kitchen and servery was launched to parents in March with a slide show of the work in progress and tasters of the food for parents and pupils to try in an after school event.
School Food/Dining space:
There had been a number of small changes made to the service which included a second service point for sandwiches and drinks, and 2 bins for unwanted (waste) food. School food was displayed prominently in the new servery area.
A further satellite servery was installed at the other end of the dining hall. The servery was to sell mostly pasta pots and sandwiches, meaning that the queues were split, speeding up the flow and queue time.
Larger crockery was purchased to address portion size and salad was made available at: the new servery, satellite service point and in the new chiller cabinet.
What have been the benefits of the improvements to the school?
Kitchen Staff:
Staff morale has improved as a result of the improved kitchen environment and the local authority catering service training. Joint working between the kitchen staff and teaching staff to implement the changes, has improved communication. Teaching staff now eat school meals provided by the kitchen on a more regular basis.
Kitchen area:
The installation of the new equipment has improved the food quality, increased efficiency and increased menu choice. Installation of the new servery area has improved the presentation of the school food.
School Food/Dining Hall:
As you can see from the table below the overall take up of school meals increased from 39.02% (before half term) to 63.52% (after half term) when the improvements had been implemented, in 2009. The take up of paid meals also increased from 36.01% to 61.95% following the half term. Similarly, take up of FSM’s increased from 63.91% to 76.47% following the implementation of the improvements.
| Take up | Spring Term | |
|---|---|---|
| of School Meals | First Half | Second Half |
| % take up of paid meals | 36.01% | 61.95% |
| % take up of FSM | 63.91% | 76.47% |
| % take up of school meals | 39.02% | 63.52% |
The increase in number of service points has reduced queue time and increased flow. Installation of the new equipment has enabled more food to be prepared from fresh which has decreased food costs and increased food choice. There is a wider variety of food choices including sandwiches and pasta pots. The look and feel of the dining area has been improved with the installation of the new servery area and glass doors.
Further information
If you would like further information please feel free to contact the School Food Trust on 0800 089 5001 or alternatively please email enquiries to info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk
