What was your dining room like before Canteen Rescue and why did it need to change?
We have a multi-purpose hall and the problem we had was that the old tables and chairs took a long time to set up and put away, so that reduced the amount of time we could spend using the hall for other things like PE.
The tables themselves were at least 15 years old. They were dark coloured and scratched and were always having to be repaired by the Caretaker. The chairs were adult size with splayed legs so they took up a lot of space and the children had to be really careful not to trip over.
We have two lunchtime supervisors and between them they have to set up the hall for lunch. That meant lifting 120 chairs a day and moving the heavy old tables around – it wasn’t at all good for their backs and it took a long time. So we also had to consider how any changes we made could ease their workload and the strain on their bodies.
It’s a very tall room with poor acoustics, so the chairs scraping on the floor all the time really added to the din of lunchtime! Some of the younger pupils used to get upset by all the noise.
What changes did you decide to make and how did you come up with the ideas?
We set up a School Nutrition Action Group, known as SNAG, 2 years ago. It’s a small group of pupils from Years 5 and 6, and me. By using questionnaires and interviewing other children, they identified what we could do to make lunchtime more enjoyable.
Apart from new furniture, pupils said they wanted the dining hall to be brighter and less noisy. So we started to make small, easy changes like putting bright displays on the walls and we created the golden table. It’s decorated with a table cloth and has special cutlery and crockery. The golden table only comes out on a Friday and pupils who have behaved well at lunchtime during the week go into a draw to win a seat. It’s very popular and we try to make sure everyone gets a turn at least once a year!
We tried different table layouts and most pupils favoured long ‘Harry Potter’ style tables. We found out how much it would cost to get new tables and chairs but they were too much money. Then we heard about Canteen Rescue…
What was the easiest thing to change?
In terms of cost, one of the cheapest changes we made was to buy the table cloth for the golden table, which was £3 a metre, and we bought special crockery and cutlery for it. The pupils love sitting at the golden table, it makes them feel special.
Getting pupils involved doesn’t cost anything. We meet for 45 minutes each half term and they feel as if they’re doing their bit – and they are! Their contribution is really important.
What was the most difficult thing?
It might be surprising, but I think the most difficult thing for us was having the confidence to bid for the Canteen Rescue grant, we bid for the full amount of £10,000 so we didn’t for one minute think we’d get it! When you have an opportunity to do something, you’ve just got to go for it.
How long did it take?
Not very long at all. We put in our bid for the Canteen Rescue grant in October and were told we had been successful in December. In the New Year we got quotes from companies from different companies and just after the February half term the tables arrived.
How much did it cost you?
We received £10,000 from Canteen Rescue and the tables were £7,500. We got rid of the old chairs so we had money left over to buy new chairs to use in the hall for assemblies and events – they fold away onto racks so they take up less space when stored, giving us even more floor space for PE.
How much time did you have to put in?
We were already doing the SNAG group anyway which is 45 minutes each term of my time and the bid itself took no more than 5 hours. Add in a few hours for getting and choosing a quote. It was a very small amount of time for what we’ve got out of it.
Did you fund any of your dining room improvements yourself?
We did our own fundraising with the school council to buy the materials for the golden table.
What have the changes meant to your school? What differences have you noticed?
It’s less noisy than it was and the supervisors say there’s more room to get around the tables. Now we have a group of children from our nursery to have their lunch so that they can get used to the environment.
Have you seen a difference in your school meal take up?
Our school meal uptake is at 35% at the moment. We haven’t had our new furniture for very long, but since we started making changes to lunchtime, we have noticed that some pupils who previously had a packed lunch every day are now having a school meal once or twice a week.
We put on special events for parents like ‘Come Dine with Me’ so they can find out for themselves what our school meals are like. They say things like, “It’s different to when we were at school” and they’re surprised by the fresh fruit and the salad bar.
What advice would you give to other schools that are looking to make some changes to their canteens and dining halls?
Find out what the children really want and choose to do the things that what will make the biggest difference.
