School Background
Churnet View is a middle school in the Leek area of Staffordshire. There are 489 pupils on roll of which about 150 take school lunches, 45 of these have free school meals. 50% of pupils are from out lying rural areas and are bussed into school, the other 50% are from the local estate, and the school is located on the outskirts of this estate. In total 22% of pupils live in a deprived area. It’s thought that up to 40 more children at the school could be entitled to free school meals.
The school has had a high turnover of kitchen staff in the last few years and communication between the school and the kitchen team has broken down, this needed to be improved if the service was to be improved.
Their last Ofsted report in 2007 deemed them to be outstanding.
Project Team
- Head Teacher (Acting)
- Local Authority Catering Services Area Manager
- Industry Forum Facilitator
- School Food Trust Contact
Case Study
Read the case study on Churnet View Middle School here:
www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/casestudy/churnetviewmiddleschool
Final Report
Executive Project Summary
Objectives decided by all stakeholders
- Improve equipment available in the kitchen e.g. dishwasher, ovens, steamer and extraction.
- Improve the skills of children at mealtimes, manners, behaviour and social interaction.
- Increase the number of service points
- Encourage staff to eat with pupils
- Integrate the kitchen staff into the school staff and break down barriers.
- Improve the quality of the food to provide a good service to all customers, aiming to increase and sustain take up levels.
The dining facility is set up in the multi-use hall, with seating capacity for 161 pupils at any one time. There had been a complete breakdown in communications between the kitchen staff and school staff which had resulted in extremely poor working relationships and a poor quality food service on offer.
The kitchen did have the capacity to provide meals for all pupils on roll using the current processes and equipment.
Results
General
- Improved staff morale and teamwork through training and a better working environment.
- Improved communication between kitchen and school staff
- Teaching staff now eat meals provided by the kitchen on a more regular basis.
Kitchen
- Improved food quality and menu choice due to extensive staff training
- Installation of new equipment
Servery and Dining Hall
- Number of service points increased and variety of food extended to include sandwiches and pasta pots
- Reduced queuing and waiting time due to additional service points
- Improved aesthetics with new servery counters and folding glass doors.
