Local Authority

London Borough of Greenwich

Architect

Dannatt, Johnson Architects

Pupils on roll

489

Area:

Kitchen/servery:85m ²
Dining space:180m ²

Design

The multi-purpose hall is used for assembly and lunch, and for indoor PE and school sport.The kitchen opens directly off the hall with a roller shutter hatch.There is a large storage area at one end of the hall where the wheeled combination tables and stools are parked. Setting up for dining is very rapid.The hall has good daylight and makes a pleasant dining space.

School Food Policy

The school has a Healthy School Award and a school food policy that aims to create a pleasant social experience at lunchtime. The catering staff encourage pupils to try out new foods that they may not have experienced at home.There is an emphasis on hygiene as part of the lunchtime experience. Pupils wash their hands and in the Nursery also brush their teeth before the meal. The Nursery and Reception have a ‘family service’ approach to the meal: for example communal salad/bread/hot food are placed in bowls on the tables and the children help themselves. For the Nursery and Reception class, each child has a mat with their name and photograph, placed by a teacher. For Key Stage 1 and 2, the school operates a ‘helpers’ system whereby pupils take it in turns to help with the clearing up after the meal.

Feedback

Pupils

• Pupils appreciate having a big enough space for everyone to eat together.
• They like the food very much and think it is healthy.
• The hall is noisy, particularly the fans (the fans are for fresh air supply).

Head of Catering

• The arrangement of the kitchen/servery area next to the hall is excellent – open the shutter and everything is ready to serve.
• There is a good window with a view from the wash up area (which was adapted to be openable at the request of kitchen staff).
• The equipment layout could be improved – for example the custard boiler is currently too close to the workbench.
• More storage area could usefully be allocated for fresh goods and for the trolleys taken to the nursery school.

Staff

• The nursery and primary pupils have benefitted from the family service, and the school is considering extending this to other pupils.
• There are some queueing bottlenecks, even though the lunchtime period is nearly two hours long, and ideally the hall would be larger.
• The environmental controls on the space are not ideal – it can be too hot in summer, and too cool in winter.
• Although there is some acoustic absorption, it is still noisier than it should ideally be during the busy lunch period.

Guidance/Conclusions

What the case study does well:

• The dining hall is a pleasant space, with good daylight and views, which is popular with the pupils.
• The school has developed some good techniques for making the lunchtime enjoyable for pupils, such as the ‘family service’ and individual placemats.
• The tables are an excellent design, and can be erected and put away in a matter of minutes.