Calmer Dining Halls 1 – Introduction

Preview

Introduction

Group of children having packed lunches

 

Let’s try and imagine a dining hall that is calm and quiet where;

  • Children come in and leave quietly and sensibly
  • They are always on time and can leave promptly when finishing
  • They listen to the adults in charge
  • They collect their food quickly without any fuss
  • They eat all their food without any bother
  • They have good table manners and behave well
  • They are polite to all the adults and other children
  • There are few accidents, dropped plates or spillages
  • There are plenty of helping hands to make everything run smoothly
  • There are no long queues to enter or leave the dining hall
  • There is very little mess left behind when the children leave
  • The children enjoy being in the dining hall

 

But also importantly:

Everything runs smoothly and you feel relaxed and enjoy your job… and

The children look forward to and enjoy the lunchtime experience.

Creating the ideal dining hall may not be possible all of the time but working through the sessions on this course will help you to learn and understand what makes a dining hall work well.

Pre-Covid, I ate in different school dining halls at least two or three times a week. Truly, I understand that the shortage of time and the hoards of children having to come through in such a short time can make steam come from everyone’s heads.

Each school is unique. However, every school will need to have a series of Plan, Do and Review meetings to decide what systems you most need to refresh, restore and re-energise in order to move towards the important vision of a calm and happy dining hall.

We need to achieve this vision for the children’s sake. A good meal, in a well-mannered orderly hall is the right of every child – and midday supervisor!

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