Small school success story: Crich Junior School in rural Derbyshire

19 Mar 2013

Crich Junior School, in rural Derbyshire, we have just 50 pupils and – because of tight planning regulations for its Victorian building – no kitchen. Instead, we get lunches delivered every day from a primary school in Fritchley, a mile down the hill.

The relationship with Fritchley’s cook, Bernie, is crucial. Before she began cooking for us at Crich, Bernie visited the school several times to talk to the children about their likes and dislikes, and helped smooth out any glitches in the system for delivering, reheating and serving the food. “Every request has been willingly tried out,” says head teacher Cheryl Julian. Our lunch costs a very reasonable £1.90. In the past, Derbyshire County Council managed the food budget from a central pot. Now that the funding has been devolved, we are having to balance the books ourselves. But by collaborating with Fritchley – and running a tight ship – we are managing to break even.

Despite our small size, we run a popular, efficient and healthy lunch service. We have a thriving growing scheme too – including a 30-foot polytunnel and a chicken coop – we are really proud to be a‘flagship’ school in the Food for Life Partnership. The school was recently deemed ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.