Background Information:
Paget Primary is an infant and junior school in the Pype Hayes area of Birmingham. Pype Hayes has recently been through a period of regeneration, which has improved housing stock in the area. There are around 213 pupils on roll with 55% taking school meals and 70% of those were taking a Free School Meal (FSM).
Paget Primary School previously had a Cookserve kitchen. One meal per week was created on site, from base ingredients. The school also had a dedicated dining hall which could seat up to102 pupils in one sitting. Lunchtimes were staggered by class to minimise the time pupils spent queuing.
Why did the school want to make improvements to their lunchtime provision?
Kitchen:
Within the kitchen area there was a lack of storage space, resulting in poor organisation of equipment around the production area. The kitchen also lacked some equipment which prevented staff from preparing fresh food, on site, on a daily basis.
Dining Space:
The dining area had high ceilings which resulted in poor acoustics and increased noise levels. This in turn impacted on pupils’ social interactions during meal times. Although the school had a dedicated dining area it lacked features associated with café style eating.
School Food:
The school surveyed the pupils to discover any issues surrounding the school food. Pupils made the following comments:
- Flight trays were disliked and seen as unhygienic
- Food portions weren’t big enough
- Food choice was limited, particularly for vegetarian options
- More fruit should be served at the salad bar
- School Food is costly
Furthermore, a high level of food wastage was created over the lunchtime period. The catering team reported two possible causes including:
- Pupils often ate their pudding first and so did not want their main meal
- Pupils rushed their food to enable them to have more time to play outside.
Who was involved in driving forward the improvements?
- Head Teacher
- Deputy Head Teacher
- Cookserve Supervisor
- Local Authority Catering Manager
- Industry Forum Facilitator
What improvements did the school make to the lunchtime provision?
Kitchen Area:
New storage areas were built and the kitchen was reorganised. Furthermore, stainless steel benches, a combi oven, a refrigerator, shelves and servery counters were prepared and installed in the kitchen area. A desert cart was purchased to enable pupils to queue separately from the main meal queue. Modifications to the kitchen and installation of equipment were carried out over the February half term and during weekends to minimise the disruption to the service. The total cost for the new equipment and installation was £13,684.
The kitchen staff undertook a two week trial implementing the new menus, to enable them to familiarise themselves with the new facilities and receive on the job training. The Cook shadowed other local caterers in a nearby primary school, with a full production kitchen and attended a Kitchen Management course.
Dining space:
A blue and white canopy was also erected over the servery area to give the dining space more of a café feel. Pupils were asked to submit ideas for murals to be incorporated into the dining area. The school commissioned an artist to create the murals. The murals were further complemented by the installation of the stretch ceiling system. The ceiling was intended to reduce some of the noise that reverberated around the hall at lunch time, by lowering the overall ceiling height. New lighting was installed to complement the new ceiling.
School Food:
Plates and bowls were introduced to replace the flight trays and food courses were served separately to minimise the amount of food wastage. New menus with a greater food choice were created to complement the installation of the full production kitchen.
Paget Primary School decided to trial a pre-order service to reduce queue time and food wastage. The new system was also introduced to try to ensure that pupils on the last sitting received their preferred food choice. Photo menu booklets were printed to enable pupils to make their meal choices a day in advance. Each child was given a coloured wristband to enable Kitchen staff to identify their meal choice.
Pupils were informed about the changes to the school meal service in an assembly. Furthermore parents were invited into the school to view the new facilities and to try the school food. The school council and their parents were invited to a launch of the new dining hall, where they were invited to taste a selection of school meals. The school continued to advertise their new facilities by sending the menu booklet out to parents and inviting them for further taster sessions.
What were the benefits and outcomes to the school?
The table below illustrates the take up figures before and after the improvements were implemented during February 2009 (spring half term). The overall take up of paid and free school meals rose from 64.21% (before half term) to 76.64% (after half term). The table also illustrates that overall take up has remained consistently higher since the lunchtime service has been improved.
| Take up | Spring Term | Summer Term | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| of School Meals | First Half | Second Half | First Half | Second Half | |
| % take up of paid meals | 64.21% | 76.64% | 74.46% | 71.20% | 66.01% |
Kitchen:
The introduction of the new kitchen has enabled the kitchen staff to cook meals from fresh every day. This has resulted in improved food quality and greater menu choice for pupils. New equipment has enabled the kitchen staff to increase their capacity to cater for the increase in take up. There is now increased storage space in the kitchen through investment in new shelving and utilisation of the boiler room.
Kitchen staff have reported improved morale and team working through training and a better working environment.
Dining room:
The dining area is vibrant with a café style and is unique to the school. Pupils feel a sense of ownership for their dining space through the incorporation of their mural designs. Installation of the new stretch ceiling has reduced the higher pitched noise which has improved the dining experience.
The installation of the new desert cart has increased flow through and reduced queuing time.
School Food:
Pupils now eat more of their school meal which has reduced the level of food waste. Furthermore, the introduction of plates and cutlery has reduced food wastage further as children are encouraged to finish their meal before going to get their desert. More pupils are using their cutlery and there has been a perceived improvement in table manners. All the children are receiving their first choice of meal from the menu.
The production of the picture menu booklets has enabled pupils to make informed meal choices and promoted school food to parents.
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
