Beacon Primary School, located in Bolton, has close to two hundred pupils aged two to eleven years of age. This school has an excellent track record for pupils achieving high standards in maths, reading, and writing. Beacon Primary’s goal was to improve meal uptakes, improving Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) retention, especially in children transitioning into Year 3.
The school contacted Dolce Schools Catering, a family owned and operated independent school caterer, backed by more than twenty five years of experience. Dolce was a firm choice, serving more than six hundred and fifty primary and secondary schools throughout England and Wales, serving more than one hundred and thirty thousand pupils every day. Dolce’s mission is to make lunchtime an experience, offering healthy, nutritious, and home-cooked meals, made from locally sourced British produce with a zero food-waste system, through their online pre-ordering system.
The challenge the school was facing is that parents were unsure about the available menu and nutritional quality. With a drop in UIFSM retention with students moving to Year 3, Dolce provided a tailored solution – a Parent Taster Evening. This parent taster evening helped to build trust, enabling families to try a variety of dishes, while showcasing quality, freshness, and child-appeal. The evening included hands-on demonstrations on how to use the online pre-ordering system, along with conversions with nutritional experts, catering managers, and cooks.
Beacon Primary promoted the event via their school newsletter, classroom reminders, and social media. Dolce provided clearly labelled stations, with allergens, new dishes, and vegetarian options with live ordering demonstration stations, where parents could try the online pre-ordering system for themselves, under the Dolce team guidance. The evening included feedback cards to collect parental insights, which were used to refine the menu.
The results have been excellent with twenty five percent of parents registering for the online ordering portal immediately after the event. UIFSM Year 3 retention also improved by more than thirteen percent, showing parents trust in meal quality. School staff also reported fewer complaints or queries regarding the menu, as they felt more reassured and informed.
Dolce’s tailored approach directly addressed the challenges Beacon Primary was facing. Dolce is passionate in providing healthy and nutritious school means, supporting schools with events to build parental confidence and boost meal uptake, while reducing waste and costs. The parent taster evening at Beacon Primary delivered tangible results, boosting confidence and uptake, while the demonstrations on how to use the pre-ordering system, improved registrations and reduced barriers. Providing parents with the opportunity to sample the menu showed transparency, while building trust. Overall, this was an excellent event that helped Beacon Primary improve UIFSM retention by 13% with a continuous uptake in school meals.
