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Cheryl Barker, the school’s strategic business development manager, said the changes had improved satisfaction, eliminated queues, reduced food waste, and increased the uptake of school meals.

She said they had taken a new approach by flipping the traditional queue-and-pay cafeteria service by 180 degrees.

“Moving transactions to the start of the process, students now order lunch from modern touchscreen kiosks, quickly collect and enjoy their fresh, hot meals, then make the most of their free time.

“Working in collaboration with CRB Cunninghams, we have also updated our dining areas and replaced all staff-operated tills with commercial restaurant-style Self-Serve Kiosks.

“The positive impact has been felt across the school, from faster lunchtimes and improved behaviour to increased school meal uptake and reduced waste,” she said.

In fact, serving times have been halved – going from half an hour to just 15 minutes, allowing students more time to eat, socialise, and participate in lunchtime clubs.

Neil Gee, assistant principal at Penwortham Priory Academy, commented: “It’s like going from dial-up internet to broadband, the speed is that increased. The new system allows children to order really quickly, get their food, and then have time afterwards to do all the activities that we have in school.”

Barker said that reversing the order of service, with students completing transactions before collecting their meals, had also resolved the school’s previous issue of accumulating lunch debt.

Barker says: “It’s stopped pupils eating food in the queue when they might not have any money on their accounts, so there’s absolutely no debt being built up at all.”

Catering manager Kirsten Billings added: “The quantity input has helped massively in saving on waste produce, ordering the correct quantities that we need on a daily basis, and we literally have no leftover food at the end of service.”

You can watch how Penwortham Priory Academy reimagined lunchtimes and hear directly from students and staff in this video.