Dining @ Maybury

At Maybury, we believe that eating lunch is an important part of the school day.  We believe that it is important to influence children to develop positive, healthy eating habits. As well as children being able to access the delicious and nutritious food provided by our school kitchen - see ‘School Dinners’ section of our website- there are other benefits gained from our school dining experience.

Our Restaurant

We are fortunate to have a dedicated restaurant where children come and take their midday meals. The restaurant is carpeted and set with tables that seat between four and six people. Tables are laid up by the restaurant staff.  Staff and visiting adults eat in the restaurant and model ‘round the table’ conversation and good table manners.

Research shows that eating round a table as a family strengthens family bonds, promotes healthy eating habits and improves mental health.  We aim to replicate this experience with the children and staff of our Maybury family.

Timetabling

School lunchtimes have historically involved around an hours break in the middle of the day where children eat food and have an extended play outside. We have changed this practice and split the ‘eating’ element of the lunch break from the ‘long play’ element.  Each class has a set time to eat in the restaurant. This time is allocated purely for eating and children are accompanied to the restaurant with either their class teacher or a teaching assistant from their class. A long play session is timetabled at a different time. Due to this, meal times are calm and supports children to finish their meals, rather than being in a rush to get outside to play.