The Dining Room Experience Competition January-April 2007

Hopefully the food in all Merton primary schools will improve considerably from September 2007 under a strict new contract. However, many of us know that no matter how good the food is, if the dining hall is noisy or chaotic, and if children feel rushed, they just won't enjoy a school meal. Reception children are often too scared to even go into the dining area. With this in mind, Merton Parents have launched The Dining Room Experience Competition to try to improve the environment in which many of our children eat. Every school has a School Council made up of representatives of each class. They often meet to discuss ways of improving the school from a child's perspective. We have set them the challenge to improve their school's dining experience in at least 3 ways, and to let us know by the Easter holidays (April 2007), how they have got on. We, with our team of judges, will assess which school has made the most significant improvements. Further down this page you will see some of the pack that has been sent to the School Councils in Merton, and if you want to see a PDF of all 5 pages, you can download the whole pack by clicking here (the document is 1301k and will begin downloading as soon as you click). You will require Acrobat Reader to view it.

We have some great prizes generously donated by Watercoolersdirect.com, The Soil Association, The School Food Trust, School Councils UK, as well as our 2 local MPs - Siobhan McDonagh and Stephen Hammond. There are also several runner up prizes, so there's a real chance that most schools will get something! We are also grateful to Merton Council for their support in launching this competition.

If you're a parent, please ask your school if they're taking part. If you are a school and intend to enter, please let us know at competition@MertonParents.co.uk

Here are some messages of support for the competition:

"School councils often make great changes in schools because children can come up with ideas that teachers would never imagine. I look forward to hearing about how Merton school councils develop by being involved in this great competition." Jessica Gold Chief Executive School Councils UK www.schoolcouncils.org

"The Food for Life Partnership is delighted to be helping Merton Parents, through this competition, to champion the need for school children to have a quality dining room experience. The Food for Life Partnership, led by the Soil Association, is funded by the Big Lottery to help schools across the country become beacons of good food culture." Joanna Collins Food For Life Patnership www.soilassociation.org

"It's much better having lunch in a canteen that feels like a great place to be so I hope lots of pupils will get involved in this campaign. Who knows ­ the next famous interior designer might be out there somewhere in Merton." Brian Dow School Food Trust www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk

And this is some of the pack that has been sent out: