Improving Your School Dining Area

Lunchtime is always a busy time of the day in any school. With a limited time to set up, feed everyone and clear up, lunchtimes need to be well organised and planned.

A noisy and stressful dining experience can have a negative impact on children which can affect their behaviour in afternoon lessons. Ensuring lunchtimes are more relaxed will make a social and fun experience for children and this could also lead to an increase in take up of school dinners.

When planning lunchtimes there are many things to consider such as the size of your dining area, number of children you need to seat and any storage space required. You need to think about the flow of the room and how the space needs to work. Consider the whole dining experience – where children queue to get their dinner, where the serving area is, where children go once they have their food, what happens when they have finished and how things are cleared away. You also need to remember the children who bring in packed lunches and where they will sit and how they fit in.

The look and feel of the dining area is important. It needs to be stylish, comfortable and inviting so that children want to sit and eat in these areas. School dining tables and chairs are available in a wide range of colours so you can use the furniture to help create this environment. Our dining tables are available in a range of heights to suit different age groups so you can choose tables which are most appropriate for your school to ensure they are comfortable for the children.

In many schools the dining hall is a multi-use area so converting this space ready for lunchtime needs to be quick and easy. It is important to maximise capacity but minimise storage needs and set-up time. If it takes a long time for staff to set up and clear the dining area this impacts on staff time, and therefore costs, and on the use of the area for other things. If dining furniture is being moved on a daily basis then, for the health and safety of your staff, it needs to be easy to move with heavy lifting limited. 

Our mobile folding dining tables are perfect for multi-use dining areas. They are functional, easy to use and space efficient. The rectangular mobile folding table has fixed seats – choose 8, 12 or 16. The table folds in the middle and is on wheels so can be moved easily for storage – no heavy lifting required. As the tables are mobile they are easy to clean under. Table tops are laminated on both sides and have an ultra-tough rubber edging making them waterproof and easy to clean.

We also offer an octagonal folding table and round mobile table, both with 8 seats. If you prefer to have benches for seating children then choose the rectangular mobile folding bench. This features benches on both sides instead of stools and has the same benefits as our other folding table units.

If your dining area is a dedicated space then you could opt for static tables and chairs. Our Enviro dining tables have fixed legs and come in a choice of shapes including rectangular, circularand square. They are 40% lighter than other static tables so are lightweight to move if needed. With wipe clean laminated tops in a choice of colours, these tables are ideal for permanent dining halls. Static dining tables can also be available for other uses within school when needed, such as events or in breakout areas.

If you are looking for something in-between mobile seating units and static tables, we offer tilt top tables. The table top tilts and locks into a vertical position and the frame is on castor wheels so the tables can be folded and moved easily for storage or use in other areas of the school. Our tilt top tables are available in a range of shapes including circular, oval, octagonal and rectangular.

All of our school dining tables comply with relevant safety standards and come with a manufacturer’s guarantee. They are robust, durable and designed to withstand the rigours of busy school lunchtimes.

With our mobile folding dining tables we offer a free 3D planning service which will create a dining furniture solution customised for your school. We also offer free site surveys which evaluate your needs to create the most viable options for your school in terms of quantity, positioning and style of dining tables. For more information on these services please contact us on 01733 511121.

For more information on any of our school dining furniture please contact us or call 01733 511121.

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