School Catering Award

sponsored by the Local Authority Caterers Association
Presented to educational establishment in the UK that can demonstrate a commitment to healthy eating and value for money through the provision of a first class catering service available to all students.

2011 Winner: Crondall Primary School, Hampshire

Crondall Primary School was highly commended in a report by the Environmental Health Department last year for its “outstanding” kitchen and hygiene conditions, where catering staff’s “hard work and diligence” proved to be a continuing “credit to the school”. Such praise chimes with its flagship Gold status as a Food for Life Partnership member, and derives from the school’s policy of using as much organic produce and seasonal fruit and vegetables as possible, including poultry and meats from local organic farms. Long before Jamie Oliver’s inspirational TV series highlighted the need for significant improvement in the UK, Crondall were already embarking on their own school meals crusade: nothing fried or processed enters their kitchen.  Indeed, the school has built an extensive organic kitchen garden with staff, pupils and volunteer parents. Assisted in part by National Lottery funding, the school is even looking at selling excess produce to the local community.

Commended

Abbotsholme School, Staffordshire
Abbotsholme School’s catering team bring a predominantly home made dimension to the menu for its pupils, ensuring tasty, healthy and nutritional value and strengthening a family feel to school life. Supplies come from parents, local suppliers and even their local farm, which isthought to be essential considering their active and demanding school life where pupils need a steady drip-feed of energy, reinforced by mini ‘fuel’ breaks. Striving to instil early healthy eating habits they believe brings long-term rewards, so the school works on the 80/20 rule: 80 percent good, fresh food and a maximum 20 percent treats. Equally, there is careful attention to special allergy problems. The school’s catering forum and testing panels are a regular part of school life, and pupils are encouraged to interact with the catering team to keep menus tip-top and exceed expectations with a balanced offer of fresh, local foods that are cooked and served well.

Great Missenden CofE Combined School, Buckinghamshire
Great Missenden Combined School believes ‘lunch is the best lesson of the day’, and as part of a whole school food policy pupils are encouraged to make healthy choices, try new foods and form positive eating habits early on. Ensuring the success of their catering strategy, staff focused on involving pupils in garden and cookery clubs, farm visits and theme days; while also developing pupils’ palates by offering wholesome, quality food with beneficial nutritional content. The new approach led to an overall increase in take up with pupils receiving their first food choice through pre-ordering; and no longer do they take crisps, chocolate or soft drinks in their packed lunches. Such measures increased pupils’ interest in what they consumed. Further embedding comes from regular school council discussions, forming a nutrition action group, a new food teaching area training kitchen. Linked to the school’s curriculum, this important journey is well underway.