Queensmill School has received significant praise and recognition for the wonderful school lunches by our full-time onsite chef, Lucio Poli, and his team. The highly skilled catering team provide a superb variety of healthy meals and are able to cater for a range of specific dietary requirements as well as adapting the presentation of dishes as needed to suit individual’s mealtime specifications.
We know that mealtimes can be particularly difficult for students with Autism and that many eat a restricted range of foods. We therefore provide a variety of supports and strategies throughout the school day to help develop students’ tolerance of foods and to ensure that mealtimes are positive.
All staff receive training from the Occupational Therapy Department in how to support students at mealtimes. This training covers the use of sensory and language strategies to reduce anxiety, adapting the environment, staff modelling and developing students’ independence. This training is also offered to parents.
The success of our mealtimes was recently written about in the national media. You can read the article here. In 2015, the school won an Observer Food Monthly ‘outstanding achievement award’ for our inspirational way of supporting the dietary needs of students with Autism. Read more about the award here.