What was your dining space like before canteen rescue and why did it need to change?
Well we used to use the sports centre next door to our school as a venue for exams, but they recently had a special new floor installed which means we can no longer set up tables for exams there. It meant we had to utilise every bit of space in the school for exams and as our biggest space is our dining area, we had to start using that. As a result, we needed to add another dining area for use during exam time.
In doing so we also saw the opportunity to create a dining space that for most of the year could be used exclusively by Year 7.
Why did you feel that Year 7 needed their own space?
Year 7 often find the transition from primary to secondary quite disconcerting and it does cause anxiety. It’s a big school and they don’t get the one-to-one contact they used to get at their primary schools. So we thought that we could give them an inclusive space that would still give them a sense of being in a smaller school.
So how did the Canteen Rescue grant help you with this?
The major project was to build a Year 7 Conservatory, convert an unused kitchen space to serve the new dining area and create an outside eating area with a canopy, also for Year 7.
The money we got from the Canteen Rescue grant enabled us to put in a non-slip floor in the new kitchen. We also bought some recycled plastic benches for the canopy – they’re made of recycled plastic which fits in with our aim to be a sustainable school. We installed some heaters in the canopy area which make the space usable in the winter months and finally we bought new signage to complete the Year 7 area to link it to the house-style we have in our other dining spaces.
How did you come up with those ideas and were the pupils involved?
We have a very good student voice programme here and we have a student ambassador team. We asked what they wanted and we talked to the Catering Manager to find out what the catering team needed to finish the new canteen project off.
How long did it take?
Once we actually had the money from Canteen Rescue we got all the things we needed in about four weeks, so the whole process was very quick.
What diffences have you noticed since you made the changes?
It has created a safe space for Year 7 and a place that they can call their own. It’s now heavily used by the whole year group and they actively help select the menus and use some of the farm produce that we grow on site goes into what they eat – so it’s also teaching them about growing and cooking the food they eat.
The Year 7s are now separate so it means that they have time to make their own decisions and its not impacting on the other year groups because Year 7s tend to eat slower for the first couple of months! We’ve achieved what we wanted with this project and I’m happy with the results.
What would you say to other schools who want to make changes to their canteens?
Changes don’t have to be expensive and little things can make a big difference. Our next step is to get metal knives and forks and real crockery because that will enhance the dining experience – it’s not expensive to do things like that. In this school lunch time used to be a really rushed and quite stressful process, but there are lots of things you can do to help pupils to enjoy eating. Other schools should think about how to make a difference to their dinner time.
