School Background
Hetton School in Sunderland is a specialist Technology College with students ranging from 11 to 16. There are around 1000 students with a 50/50 split of boys and girls.
The school building is relatively large with a lot of outside space, however, there is very little inside recreational space. The dining hall is an exception to this and has recently been extended to be used as learning space as well.
Most pupils start at the school having achieved broadly average results in their primary schools. There are very few pupils with English as an additional language or from minority ethnic backgrounds. The number of pupils who have special educational needs is above average.
Hetton is a good school and a good Technology College. It provides learners with good chances to succeed in life when they leave the school. Teaching is consistently good and there is a very positive climate for learning in which students make good progress. These are considerable strengths of the school.
Achievement and standards have been good over time and the school takes the right actions to maintain and improve them when necessary. Care, guidance and support for learners are equally as good.
(Ofsted, 2005)
Project Team
- Head teacher
- Bursar
- Two Sunderland City Catering Representatives
- Avail Consultant
- SFT Representative
Case Study
Read the case study on Hetton School here:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/casestudies/hettonschool
Final Report
The refurbishment of the kitchen and main dining hall has been a success.
The cycle time for serving students has been reduced by moving the tills away from the serving area. There are still issues with the use of the tills, which once addressed should see a further reduction in the serving cycle times.
The school conducted a week long free meal trial. The success of this trial has assured the head teacher that the kitchen has the capacity to prepare and serve sufficient school lunches, so that they can extend the current policy of keeping years seven and eight on site during lunch to include year nine from the summer of 2009.
The new tables and chairs in the dining hall have been well received by teachers and students, although the seating capacity was reduced slightly from what it was originally. The free meal trial highlighted that there were now insufficient seats and the school is purchasing additional seats to increase the capacity.
Hetton School Report
