Sacred Heart Language College is a multi-faith secondary school for girls in Harrow Weald, London. Part of the Blessed Holy Family Catholic Academy Trust, the school has around 800 students in years seven to eleven.
For Headteacher Nicola Walsh and School Business Manager Margaret Nichols, creating a better dining experience was about more than giving the school a new look. The existing catering setup was creating congestion, slowing down service and relying on outdated technology.
The school set out to transform the dining hall, improve the flow of students and bring its catering technology up to date. The answer was redesigning the flow of meal service, using CRB Cunninghams’ Self-Serve Kiosks.
Tackling congestion, queues and outdated technology
Before the upgrade, students were required to queue in a relatively small area to collect their food, then move to the tills. With limited space between the servery and till points, congestion quickly built up during busy periods.
Students could reach the till, only to discover they didn’t have enough money on their lunch account. This created additional backlogs in an already busy till area.
The school was also working with ageing technology and a catering setup that no longer functioned effectively within the available space.
“The main things that we were looking to make improvements on were the look of the dining hall itself, but also to bring our technology up to this current time. Our systems were quite antiquated.”
Margaret Nichols, School Business Manager
With the layout, technology and student flow all presenting challenges, the school decided that a complete transformation was needed.
A smarter way to order school meals
The school initially considered upgrading its existing till system. However, after seeing Self-Serve Kiosks in action, Nicola and the team quickly recognised there was a much greater opportunity to transform the dining experience.
“The upgrade of the kiosks far outweighed the tills as soon as we saw them and how efficient they were.”
Nicola Walsh, Headteacher
The compact design of the kiosks also gave Sacred Heart the flexibility to install them in different locations, making the best use of the canteen’s existing available space.
“They’re not big, they’re not cumbersome… They can be put on a wall, they can be put on a table, and we’ve got both… Whatever space you can use, it will work in that space.”
Nicola Walsh, Headteacher
How does the new meal service work?
Sacred Heart uses an advanced order kiosk system integrated with Fusion Cashless.
Before service, the Canteen Manager enters the number of portions available for each menu item into the back-office system. The kiosks then display the food that is available for students to order.
At lunchtime:
- Students use their fingerprints to log into the kiosks
- They can check their cashless account balance on the screen
- They select the food they want from the menu and check out
- The cashless transaction is processed automatically, and the kiosk prints a receipt
- Students take their receipts to the serving area, and the catering team serves their meals
- They can enjoy their meal in the dining hall, outdoors, or go straight to lunchtime activities
By moving the ordering and payment process to the start of the journey, students can make their selection quickly and know their food is reserved before they reach the servery.
Faster service for better lunchtimes
One of the biggest improvements for Sacred Heart has been the speed and efficiency of lunchtime service.
Once students became familiar with the new technology, the kiosks quickly became a popular part of the dining experience.
Nicola explains:
“Once they got used to it, got used to the system, they love it. They get in, they’re in and out very quickly.”
Nicola Walsh, Headteacher
The faster process also gives students greater flexibility over how they spend their lunch breaks. They can attend clubs, enrichment activities or fundraising events and collect their food later, confident that they can still access the meals they want.
“They can go to their clubs at lunchtime, they can go to enrichment, they can do fundraising, and then go to get their food later on and know that there’s still food in the canteen.”
Nicola Walsh, Headteacher
For students, the difference is clear.
“Kiosks are a very good way to get your lunch because they are quicker, accessible for everybody. You can see exactly what you want to get.”
Sacred Heart Language College Student
A more accessible way to order school meals
The Self-Serve Kiosks have also changed the way students interact with the school dining service.
Rather than waiting in a crowded queue to find out whether their preferred meal is available or whether they have enough balance on their account, students can see their options and balance before completing their order.
This gives students greater control over the process and makes ordering lunch simple and intuitive.
Improving canteen throughflow
The introduction of compact Self-Serve Kiosks has helped Sacred Heart make better use of its existing dining space.
By changing how students move through the dining hall, the school has reduced congestion that previously built up around the servery and tills.
The result is a smoother experience for students and catering staff, with fewer people gathered in one place, shorter waits, and less pressure during busy lunchtimes.
For a school of around 800 students, improving the flow through the dining hall makes a significant difference to the overall lunchtime experience.
Reduced food waste and live availability
The advanced order system has also helped the school to better manage food availability and reduce waste.
Because the Canteen Manager can enter the number of portions available for each menu item, the kiosks only display food that is available to order.
Once an item has reached its available quantity, it is no longer offered to students.
This provides the catering team with greater control over food production and helps ensure that students are ordering from an accurate, up-to-date menu.
Reduced anxiety and fewer payment-related delays
The previous system could cause anxiety for students who had spent a long time waiting in a queue, particularly if they were concerned they would not have enough time to eat before returning to lessons or activities.
The new system addresses this by displaying the student’s balance at the point of ordering, before the meal is collected.
“We’ve reduced food waste, we’ve reduced the queuing times. We’ve reduced the anxiety that people used to feel if they were queuing for long periods of time – would they be able to go and study after they’ve had their food?”
Margaret Nichols, School Business Manager
The result is a calmer, more predictable lunchtime experience for both students and staff.
A collaborative catering transformation
For Sacred Heart, the transformation wasn’t simply about installing new technology. The school worked collaboratively with CRB Cunninghams throughout the project to understand how the existing space and the new kiosk system could be used most effectively.
“CRB Cunninghams were brilliant, actually. Our account manager was great. We had lots of senior managers come down to see what was happening and to try and work out what needed to be done to make it better for us.
They knew exactly what needed to be done, and they got it done.”
Margaret Nichols, School Business Manager
Sacred Heart’s advice to other schools
For Sacred Heart Language College, the move to Self-Serve Kiosks has delivered more than a technology upgrade. It has created a faster, smoother way for students to get their meals and make the most of their lunchtimes.
Margaret concludes:
“I would definitely recommend the kiosks, it’s been a really positive change here.”
