School Case Story
Date: June 2015
Name of School: Holymead Primary School
Universal intervention to show whole school behaviour change towards healthy
weight.
School Background
Holymead is a larger than average-sized primary school in Brislington which is an urban area in the south east of Bristol. The school opened in
April 2013 following the merger of Holymead Infant School and Holymead Junior School. The school is housed on two separate sites with
pupils aged four to six years taught on one site and pupils aged seven to eleven years taught on the other. The school comprises 21 classes, 3
in each year from Reception to Year 6. All classes are mixed ability and the placing of children in a class is based on the need for an evenly
balanced distribution of children to teachers
Context: 8.9% FSM, 14.6% SEN (SAP), 3.03% BME
What needs were identified, and how?
The Health Data Pack supplied through the Healthy Schools team highlighted to us that many of the health issues in Brislington East and West
wards are associated with poor diet and obesity. The school age related data shows childhood overweight and obesity data puts our children
slightly above the Bristol Ward average and at Reception age above the average for England.
What outcomes did we focus on?
We wanted to see an increase the number of pupils who reported they enjoyed the dining environment and experience and an increase in the
number of pupils who take up school meals.
What activities / interventions did we put into place?
At Holymead Primary our vision is to
NURTURE children through a safe, caring and supportive environment. INSPIRE children through creative, exciting learning experiences. As
we aim to enable every child to ACHIEVE their full potential.
We wanted to develop an ethos towards Healthy Eating that supports and promotes health and wellbeing and the participation of everyone
within the school community. As a school we chose to take a holistic approach to healthy eating as we wanted to improve our children’s ability to make
healthy choices and for this to extend from the classroom to the wider school community.
After consulting with our School Food Team head teacher Kate Slatcher decided to buy in the services of a south Bristol based cookery school called Square
Food Foundation who led by Barny Haughton were able to help us put our healthy eating philosophy into action. All children have been involved with
cookery lessons, assemblies and activities. We wanted to promote a positive approach to food across the school community and make attitudes towards
healthy food a priority.
In order to assess what changes were needed we used surveys and discussions to identify what the needs were and to establish clear
solutions. We wanted this to be children led so in February 2014 children throughout the whole school were asked to comment on their
experience and enjoyment of the dining hall experience at Holymead Primary School.
To encourage positive attitudes towards school meals and the school dining experience we decided to get the information about school meals
circulating around the school community by displaying daily menus which are both colourful and eye catching. Menus were also sent home to
parents. Allergy information was also clearly displayed so parents and children were aware of content of meals.
We also planned to enhance the dining room experience by looking at the surroundings and physical layout of the rooms as we felt this would
impact on then children and staffs sense of wellbeing.
KS2 dining experience
The dining room in KS2 is a multi-purpose hall with access to classrooms around 3 sides. Tables and chairs are set up for use at lunchtime and
then stored away at the end of the lunch period.
Friendly and smiley kitchen staff
KS2 pupils had reported that meals were sometimes served colder than desired and that queuing was a problem. As the children had to
crowd into a small area they were unable to clearly see what was on offer and were squashed up.
To solve this issue a large mobile food server was purchased to ensure meals were both hot and attractively presented. The easy transport of
the trolley has also meant that the children are able to queue in a much more manageable way avoiding the previous problems of lots of
children squeezing into a restricted area.
Children also felt that they were sometimes rushed through meals in order to accommodate the next sitting of children and would value more
time to enjoy the social experience of eating with friends.
To help solve this tables with attached chairs have been purchased and are now being used in the dining hall.
New tables in KS2
This has greatly improved the environment and dining experience; positive impacts include decreased noise levels in the hall, as the sound of
scraping chairs in the Victorian hall caused loud echoes which consequently meant that children’s and adults voices became louder, happier
lunchtime staff as the change of equipment has meant easier movement of furniture and less issues with health and safety regarding possible
injuries due to lifting etc.
Children wanted more choice regarding healthy deserts and now instead of children choosing a bowl of fruit they are able to see the fruit
attractively presented.
Year 6 children working in a focus group with Caron O’Toole have produced charters displayed in the dining hall stating behaviour and
expectations of all children as well as articles stating rights to a healthy nutritious diet.
Example of Year 6 charter signed by all of Springbok class
FS and KS1 dining experience
The infant site hall is also multi –purpose with a storage cupboard designed for tables, chairs and trollies. The government imitative to provide
free school meals has meant we have experienced a high uptake since Sept 14, and the kitchen has at least doubled the amount of meals
served each day.
To accommodate this change the Infant site has changed lunch times to include 2 sittings and has increased the time of the SMSA’s on site at
lunchtimes from 1 hour to 1hour and 10minutes. This was trialed in July 2014 and teething problems were noted and ironed out. These
included Reception children always being part of the first sitting and the physicality of making sure all children are washing hands before
second sitting. Regular SMSA meetings ensured that all views were listened to and parents were kept informed of developments.
At school we often invite parents in to talk about their work and we learnt that two of our parents work for Virgin Air. As we sometimes have
special lunch days we decided to invite them in to join us for lunch one day.
Our Infant dining room became an airplane. We had a display on the wall with a world map showing our destination. The room had airport signs
displayed and each year group had their own boarding pass.
.
Across both sites parents have been invited in to sample lunches with their children. Parents can also access the menus and information about
special lunch days such as our special Christmas dinner or promotional days on the school website.
What did we achieve and how did we know?
In February 2014 we established our baseline when our target group of 590 children answered a questionnaire and a RRS survey on their
dining room experience. Results found that 60% of children enjoyed the lunchtime experience. We hoped to see a 10% improvement on this
amount and were pleased to find that on repeating the survey we had actually made an improvement of 82.3%! This sees a highly significant
increase of 22.3% more children enjoying their dining experience. Discussions also highlighted that the children were much more aware that
they could make a difference to the atmosphere of the dining room and they recognised the value of having a lunchtime charter that was clear
and applied to everyone.
We also looked at increasing the uptake of school meals (excluding Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 as they were offered Universal Free
School Meals from September 2014 and in June 2014 and we recorded 84 out of 244 (20%) children in our data collection.
In April 2015 we recorded that 120 out of 422 (28%) were now regularly taking up school dinners. This has been an increase of 8% more
children in Key Stage 2 eating a school dinner compared to a year ago.
In addition, at parents’ evening EYFS parents commented on their children trying more foods at home.
A teacher says:
I teach Year 6 and my classroom opens onto the Upper Hall which is also our dining room. I am pleased that the children show a mature and
responsible attitude towards the lunch time as they often want to help the SMSAs to put out the cutlery and generally to set up the hall. They
seem to need little reminders to clear their plates and cups away. It is good to hear the chatter as the children converse, this is especially
positive as for some of the children this is their only experience of sitting and eating at a table in the day.
Holly Taylor
I am based on the infant site and I am always delighted to show visitors such as parents and the air cabin staff into the dining hall during lunch
time as they always comment on how calm and well behaved the children are. The children enjoy sitting with their friends and chatting over the
lunch table. The atmosphere is positive and there is always good rapport between SMSAs and children.
Jeremy Hough
The Headteacher says:
The children in KS2 have enough time to sit, eat, chat and enjoy their meal as there is more time now with staggered sittings. The hot trolleys
mean children can see the food presented in a more attractive way. Kathryn Slatcher
Children in Year 2 say:
“It saves mum and dad making me lunch, I like the food”
“It is always served at the right temperature.”
“Its healthy food especially the meat and the vegetables.”
“It was fun when the airplane crew came to join us. They were actually people’s mums”
“The deserts are yummy”
“You can sit with your friends, sometimes I help the little kids.”
“Mr Hough always helps us.” Tiger Class
Children in Year 4 say:
“I like being able to talk to my friends when I eat my lunch.”
“The tables are really cool and I like sitting with my friends from the other classes.”
“I didn’t used to like eating vegetables but now I eat lots of them.”
“I like choosing desert, I like fruit but sometimes I choose something else.” Fox Class
A Governor says:
“When I have been in school and observed the dining hall, I have been very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the meals on offer and the
presentation. The children are very independent and chose their dinners, carry their food to the table and then eat with a knife and fork with
confidence. The children do not sit in class groups but mix with all ages creating friendships across the school.” J Buckley
Parents say:
“ I have children in Year 2 and Year 6. Both my children have had school dinners 5 days a week across both school sites. They were both fussy
eaters and the encouragement they get to try new things has certainly benefitted them. I like the fact the year groups are mixed up and
therefore encourages them to make new friends. I am aware that there have been issues on the junior KS2 site, however, I can see that these
are being addressed and are resulting in an improved dining experience. “ NW
“ I have two children that attend Holymead Primary School. My youngest in year 2 and my eldest in year 5. School dinners have been a good
choice for both boys as it fits with my working life. Knowing that they have had a hot healthy meal, helps with the menu of the evening meal. I
pay for the meals so having one free has been a great benefit. Although not all meals are a favourite they are both happy to eat the food
provided. I intend to keep choosing school meals until both boys have finished primary school.” ZH
Our future plans.
Although as a school we have made great strides in improving our children’s dining experience we want to continue to the good progress. At
KS1 we are planning to trial ‘tip and tilt’ tables which we hope will be aesthetically more attractive and will also be better for the welfare of our
lunchtime staff as they can be wheeled into position and will not need to be lifted. We will continue to try to find innovative ways of reducing
queuing for year groups 1&2 and work with the children to find creative lunchtime sessions such as the example of the flight crew.
In KS2 we will continue to review current arrangements and are pleased that the children are keen to continue to be part of this planning
process. Also our school is on working party for new school meals tender from Nov 15.