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New Ways Schools Are Dining
As Autumn approaches, pupils are preparing to return to schools across the country for their first full term in over five months. Although these times are confusing for many children, we have been reading some fantastic information about how schools can manage social distancing moving forward. We have gathered some ideas below to offer inspiration for managing mealtimes safely.
Make social distancing fun
Restaurants all over the world have been finding creative, fun ways to socially distance diners, one of our favourites was seen in a restaurant in Bangkok where stuffed pandas were strategically placed to remind individuals of social distancing. Replicating this in a school environment is sure to help pupils engage and understand their new eating environment.
Staggered Lunch Times
Having fewer children in the canteen enables pupils to socially distance themselves from others while still allowing conversation and interaction with peers. Consider staggering mealtimes for different year groups if you are not able to maintain social distancing in queues or with individual seating stations in your dining area.
Social distancing pods
Depending on the size of your class, the age of the children, and the number of children you have, you can separate the classroom into “pods” for each child. These could resemble mini apartments for each pupil where they have all of the supplies they will need for the day. Rather than transferring pupils from room to room, the idea is that a child should complete each of their classes and dine in their designated area.
Painters tape and stickers!
If you do decide to invite students to dine in the canteen, laying painter’s tape down on the floor gives children a clear pathway from the entrance, to their assigned eating area, to the exit. Alternatively, using vinyl stickers are a great way to remind children of their boundaries, allowing a one-way movement system.
Remove self-serving food bars
Similarly, to restaurants, schools are being advised to remove any self-serving salad bars or similar elements. It is recommended that a member of staff should deliver school meals to each pupil wearing the appropriate protective equipment, for example, gloves and a mask.
Offer a pre-ordering system
Many schools are putting an online ordering system in place, whereby pupils pre-order their food which is then delivered to a child's pod / socially distanced place in the canteen. Make sure your lunch menu is simple, with one main meal, one vegetarian (or vegan) option and fruit and a yogurt for pudding.
Have less high risk food offerings on the menu
Caterers are swapping high risk foods, such as sandwiches and other uncooked dishes to safer casseroles, pies and pasta dishes. We have a wealth of recipe inspiration tailored to the education sector on our website - https://www.essentialcuisine.com/recipes/#filters
Quirky Face Masks
Any staff that require face masks can use it as an opportunity to introduce something fun for the children, just like these cartoon and Marvel character face masks!
Outside dining
Make use of safe outdoor areas to help space out dining areas. Simple picnic tables can be a low cost way of enabling social distancing during lunch time and breaks
Hand washing!
All pupils and staff should wash their hands / use sanitiser on entering and leaving the dining room. Children should be encouraged to wash their hands for at least 15-20 seconds, this is roughly the same amount of time it takes to sing happy birthday!
For more information, visit https://www.foodforlife.org.uk/~/media/files/coronavirus/school-food-checklist-for-covid-19.pdf
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