Dining Area Canopies

Featured Dining Area Canopy Project

Our Lady’s RC High School in Manchester add Large Outdoor Dining Canopy

What was the project brief?

Our Lady’s RC High School in Blackley, Manchester recognise the key part a comfortable environment plays for the well-being of their students. While a large amount of a child’s school day is usually spent within the confines of the classroom, the school wanted to ensure that their students had access to outdoor space in their breaks – all year round. It was important to Our Lady’s RC High School that the children were able to appreciate the fresh air, while also enjoying a good dining experience.

They realised that the best way to achieve this was to transform their unused outdoor space, into an outdoor covered dining area – complete with all the dining facilities such as tables, chairs and rubbish bins. As the school canopy expert, A&S Landscape was called in to help them with the entire process. This meant discussing the wide range of canopies on offer, how the canopy could be designed to better suit their needs, and once the school were happy – the manufacturer and design. 

What was our outdoor dining canopy solution?

The school canopy that was selected as the best solution was the Motiva Duo™. Measuring at 12000mm x 8000mm, this was to be a large dining area canopy. The Motiva Duo™ has a genuine polycarbonate roof, and a Dura-coat™ finish, offering excellent quality weather protection at all times of the year. The addition of side panels formed an enclosed area and created the much-loved outside eating area for the students of Our Lady’s RC High School.

What was the result of outdoor dining canopy?

The new dining area canopy has gone down a treat with the children, who are happy they can now enjoy the large outdoor dining area and can enjoy a better student dining experience – eating outside and socialising with their friends. The staff and teachers are also much happier now that dining capacity has increased, and the area is essentially used as the over-flow canteen. Now with the additional dining space, there is less pressure on the canteen and other indoor eating areas, with shorter lunch lines. No longer are children using valuable time during their lunch break waiting for dining tables to become free, nor are they having to rush their food to ensure they are back to their classes on time. And the side panels also helps to keep the students safe from the wind, rain or snow. This means the children are using their lunch break for what they should be used for – to relax!

Testimonial / Client Feedback

“I’d heartily recommend A&S Landscape to any other school or any other potential customer and we have done so. I’d very gladly work with them again.”

-Ian Gosling, Headteacher at Our Lady’s RC High School

About the client

Our Lady’s RC High School is a catholic school located in the suburban area Blackley, within the city of Manchester. The school is made up of a lovely team of individuals who were friendly throughout the process and were extremely helpful when it came to discussing the options with them. They certainly made our job easier by being so efficient with communication. We are so pleased we could help them create their outdoor dining area and further improve the school life of the students.

Why invest in a dining area canopy?

Outdoor dining canopies are beneficial to you whether you are a school, university, commercial business, or a public attraction, or any other business or organisation that requires to accommodate eating. Also exquisitely named outdoor dining and social canopies, they can be a hugely valuable investment. Here are a few reasons why they are worth investing in:

• The benefits of eating outside have long been documented, and so it’s no wonder we are all turning to outdoor dining rooms. Research has suggested that food can even taste and digest better. 
• As long as there is space available, a large outdoor dining area is in your reach. It’s a cost-effective solution that provides weather protection, gives room for outdoor entertaining and eases congestion on indoor areas. Additional features to outdoor dining canopies include heaters, lighting and power.
• Generally being outdoors is great for physical and mental health, it lowers rates of anxiety and depression, and increases concentration levels. Absorption of Vitamin D from the sunlight increases, which can help alleviate the chances of strokes, heart disease and other health problems.
• Outdoor dining canopies can bring use to unloved spaces. Providing your customers or students with a place to eat is always a good option – seeing as it’s something we do every day!
• Many of us are opting to take the ‘good dining experience’ to the next level. A dining area canopy is a great way to achieve this – just add your dining tables or picnic benches, and you’re good to go!

Why choose A&S Landscape?

We offer a whole range of canopies that can suit your needs. Whatever space you have available, and whether it’s a dining area canopy, or a timber playground canopy – at A&S Landscape, we have you covered!

We have been helping our architects, school business managers and business owners to find the canopy that is special and unique to them for over 44 years. In this time, we have developed a wealth of knowledge, but have continued to offer a friendly, reliable and trustworthy service as part of our family-run business. If you need some inspiration, feel free to look through our product gallery, and at our other completed canopy and shelter projects.

We’re always happy to help find your ideal solution to your outdoor cover, – so please get in touch with our friendly team on 01743 636176 or at [email protected].

Dining Shelter in Wiltshire at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy

Everybody loves a bit of fresh air, and Royal Wootton Bassett Academy were especially keen to add additional space to their outdoor grounds. Adding a dining shelter would give their staff and students an extra area to unwind and socialise during the lunch period, plus they knew it would do a world of good to their health both physically and mentally. Having already been impressed with the designs offered by A&S Landscape, Royal Wootton Bassett Academy reached out wanting a shelter that would have multi-purpose. Protection from all-weather types, but also an appealing and eye-catching outdoor area that would be an incentive for their students to head outside during break times. After an initial consultation, the design team installed a Motiva Linear™ with Mint Turquoise steelwork with Opal roofing. Royal Wootton Bassett Academy were incredibly pleased with their new dining shelter – the finished product had the exact look and feel they were after. It was modern in its appearance, and the perfect space where their children could relax. We were extremely delighted to be able to create a space that served all the needs of this school, they were a pleasure to collaborate with during the entire process. Click here to find out some more about this outdoor dining shelter for Royal Wootton Bassett Academy.

Dining Canopy at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College in Gloucestershire

With the unpredictable British Weather, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College were hoping to have some shelter just outside their canteen. They needed something that offered a shield on those wet rainy days, but also protection from the hot sunny days. With a shade sail structure in mind, the school reached out to A&S Landscape, which led to the installation of the eye-catching and stylish Maxima Sail™, in Gentian Blue steelwork, finished with a lovely green fabric roof. They told us that it has completely uplifted and enhanced the whole look of the cafeteria area. Everyone is thoroughly enjoying the new dining area as it is the perfect unique space where staff and students can eat and socialise outdoors no matter the season. The shelter can also be used as an outdoor classroom, which has proved to be very popular amongst all attending the college. We were delighted to assist and guide this college to ensure we delivered a solution of a high standard. Learn more about this shade sail structure, for South Gloucestershire and Stroud College here.

Outdoor Shelters at Ryde Academy in the Isle of Wight

With two canopies being an essential necessity, Ryde Academy wanted to have a dining area plus an extra shelter and space joining their sports pitches. High quality, value for money and aesthetically pleasing were important criteria to the staff of this school. After a thorough consultation with A&S Landscape, Ryde Academy chose Motiva Mono™ for their courtyard and dining shelter, with lovely glazed panels providing the protection they were looking for no matter what the weather served, along with a Motiva Duo™ for the canopy next to the sports pitches – providing ample space with a very easy on the eye curved roof design. Installing these two facilities has significantly reduced pressures on the indoor facilities at Ryde Academy – now there is ample space where children can spend their lunchtimes and also use the sports pitch shelter regardless of the weather. We were extremely proud to be able to provide the school with not one but two canopies, especially within their budget without compromising on the quality and durability of both shelters. You can learn more about these outdoor shelters for Ryde Academy here.

Dining Canopy at St Mary’s and St John’s CE School in Greater London

St Mary’s and St John’s CE School were keen to reduce the pressures on their indoor cafeteria facilities, with the additional benefit of providing a space where their pupils could enjoy their break times if they wished to. After a detailed discussion with A&S Landscape, the school chose a Motiva Duo™ – an ideal outdoor dining area, as it is both appealing and effective in its standalone structure. Having this large outdoor dining canopy, made to a size of 10000mm x 8000mm, has certainly reduced the queues indoors during lunchtimes. Plus it’s been a great meeting point for pupils to socialise and dine without worrying about the unpredictable British weather. The canopy is both classic and robust, which were two important factors to the school when they approached us. We were pleased to provide a product that was extremely useful to St Mary’s and St John’s CE School, and one which respected their budget. Working with this school was extremely easy and effortless as they were incredibly polite, professional and helpful during the entire process from start to finish. Click here for more details on this dining canopy installation for St Mary’s and St John’s CE School.

Dining Shelter in Merseyside at Lord Derby Academy

Lord Derby Academy were keen to invest in increasing their outdoor seating capacity. This would help reduce the pressure of overcrowding in their indoor facilities during break and lunchtimes. With an additional dining area outside, staff and students could enjoy the fresh air during the lunch period, plus socialise with their peers and friends. A&S Landscape installed a Motiva Duo™ curved roof canopy, featuring Wine Red steelwork and Opal polycarbonate roofing. Everyone at the school loves their new shelter – they can now dine and socialise outside regardless of the weather, plus it’s aesthetically pleasing too! They have been impressed with the versatility of this canopy as they can also use it as an outdoor classroom, which will add some excitement to their lessons and help motivate the students’ learning. It was a real pleasure collaborating with this great school. Click here to find out more about the dining shelter canopy at Lord Derby Academy.

How To Determine What Your School Canteen Needs

Taking the time to determine what your school’s canteen needs are will reduce both delays and potential design mistakes in the long term. It will also help you factor in a realistic budget and time frame for implementing your project from start to finish. Here are some considerations you’ll need to make before you get started.

You may be aware of some of your school dining hall needs, but you cannot get a full picture without input from others. When assessing your school canteen needs, your students and catering staff will likely have plenty of vital ideas or complaints about their existing service that can help you fully understand all of your school canteen needs.

Here are a few strategies for discovering what exactly it is that will make your school canteen a hub of social relaxation and enjoyment, enough so, that it’ll increase the uptake of school dinners at lunch time at your school.

Conduct Surveys And Request Feedback

Group discussions, surveys and student feedback will highlight some of the most obvious problems or solutions. This is easily implemented through student feedback boxes, assemblies, the school newsletter (or email notifications) or through parent’s evenings. It’s also useful to observe the dining room personally during the lunch period, or have other staff members do so too, to identify any other issues that need resolving.

Gather Inspiration

Before making decisions about what you want to implement in your school dining hall, it’s worth researching other school dining halls, cafes, and dining spaces to gather plenty of inspiration for your project.

Consider Common School Canteen Problems

Schools often have similar problems with their school dining halls. Identifying these problems and factoring in solutions to them will give you some inspiration to help you consider all potential issues your school canteen might experience and will allow you to optimise your design. You’ll find more information about some of the most common school canteen problems further on in this article.

What Are The Typical Problems Most School Canteens Face?

Typical problems most schools will experience in their school canteens are:

School Dining Hall Usage

One of the biggest problems for most schools is that there aren’t enough students who are using the school canteen facilities. Which can lead to unhealthier eating, reduced socialisation and a downturn in school ethos.

School Canteen Queues

Students hate queues, for good reason. They don’t want to spend all of their valuable social time standing in a long queue. Nor do you want them to, not least because break times should be relaxing and fun for the students but also because you need to manage the footfall in your school canteen to meet everybody’s needs. Paying attention to the queues will significantly improve the school canteen experience for everyone involved.

Limited School Canteen Space And Seating Facilities

If there’s nowhere to sit, or your school dining hall feels cramped and stuffy, you’re not going to see an uptake in the use of your facilities from students. This is an important issue that almost always needs careful consideration.

How Does Good School Dining Design Improve The Students’ Experience?

Good design incorporates features that will enhance and optimise the way students use and experience your school canteen. These features include the following:

Five Ways To Optimise Your School Dining Hall Design For Efficiency

There are many ways to optimise the efficiency of your school canteen, the idea is that you want to provide an organised and streamlined service that is easy for your canteen staff to manage while reducing the queuing and wait times that your students might experience. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

1. Publish Your Menu Ahead Of Time

Get into the habit of sharing your menu with students ahead of lunchtime to minimise the time a student takes to choose their options. You may even consider a pre-order system if your budget allows. Ways you can circulate the menu might be to create large posters displaying the menu and posting on the common notice boards around the school. Have the kitchen staff or teachers share the menu or discuss the specials during registration, or send the menus home.

2. Adopt A Solid Food Labelling System

Food labelling increases school canteen efficiency by reducing the amount of time canteen staff might have to take to answer student’s questions about the food on display and can reduce queue time significantly. It also provides opportunities for the school canteen to easily communicate information about the nature of the food on display. For example, your label might include what the food is, what the ingredients are and whether it’s appropriate food for differing diets such as vegan, whether it’s suitable for people with nut allergies or if the food is halal or not.

3. Provide Easy Access Food Stations

Set up stations in your school canteen with pre-packaged food ready for students to grab and go. Providing this facility will move some students through your queuing system faster and will speed up the service provision. To successfully implement this facility you’ll need to adhere to stringent food labelling practices and consider moving your grab and go food items to a separate area of the school dining hall, to optimise efficiency. Students who want to enjoy the ‘fast food’ facility won’t get caught up in the queues for hot food for example. If you make most of your easy access food healthy options too, then this service will help you to encourage healthy eating.

4. Create Additional Pay And Collection Points

If you have the space, and means, adding multiple areas where your students can access food and pay will help to divert the footfall and reduce queue time. The main advantage of this strategy is to improve the sense of efficiency to the students using your school canteen services. It may not be as efficient financially, since you’ll need to factor in additional staffing and space.

5. Implement Staggered Lunch Times

If you have enough additional seating for slower eaters, it may be worth considering allocating a time zone for students to access the school canteen which you can sort by year group. Or consider making your canteens lunchtime session twice as long so that you can make the most of staggering lunchtimes. In this scenario, some students may start lunch at 12 pm to 1 pm whereas other groups may start their lunch at 12.30pm to 1.30pm or 1 pm to 2 pm and so on. Of course, this latter approach to staggered lunchtimes involves amendments to your school lesson timetable too.

Read more of our featured dining canopy projects

Dining Area Canopy Installed at St Wilfrid’s RC College in West Yorkshire

The cost of an extension can be prohibitive to a stretched school budget. This was the challenge facing St Wilfrid’s RC College in Featherstone, West Yorkshire. Guaranteeing the health and wellbeing of their students during lunchtimes was a priority that they needed to address. The school’s existing facilities could only accommodate half of the required student capacity. This is where A&S Landscape came in. They designed an alternative structure to support the required dining capacity. Using the features of the curved roof canopy of the Motiva Duo range as the basis for a new dining area canopy, A&S Landscape then added glass panelling and a door to enclose the facility so that it could be used all-year-round. With the addition of heating and lighting, the space became a comfortable eating area. As an additional bespoke flourish, A&S Landscape added St Wilfrid’s logo to the glass panelling. To read more about the dining area canopy at St Wilfrid’s RC College, click here.

Outside Dining Canopy Installed at Rhymney Comprehensive School in Tredegar, South Wales

Rhymney Comprehensive School in Tredegar is surrounded by rolling green fields. Even on the rainiest days, there’s nothing better than taking in the fresh air and the views. So when the school decided that an outside canopy would enable their pupils to be outside more, A&S Landscape knew that there’d be an option to suit. Initially spoilt for choice, the school eventually settled on the Motiva Duo model, adding an opal effect roof and finished in Squirrel Grey. This created a space that the students immediately embraced, and the shelter is in demand even on the rainier days. The school now plans to add seating and tables so the space can be used for outside dining. The benefit of an outside dining canopy is that the space will be used even more, and we’re sure that there’ll be plenty of competition from the students to grab a seat at lunchtime! See why the students at Rhymney Comprehensive School will be flocking to use this canopied outside dining space here.

Curved Roof Dining Area Canopy Project Completed at Rushcliffe School in Nottingham

This was a real makeover project for A&S Landscape! From an ugly duckling in a sorry state to a swan sitting pride of place in the former quad area of the school. When Rushcliffe School in Nottingham approached us for a solution, they already knew that they wanted to revamp the area which was unused. The aim of the project was to increase the amount of dining space for students, and the school was keen to create an outside eating area, protected by a dining area canopy. As the school had grown, they needed to bring in to use areas of the building that were not adding value. The Motiva Duo dining area canopy range was perfect for this refurbishment project. The area was turned quickly and efficiently into a usable space that provided students with a quality outside eating area. Find out about the dining area canopy we installed at Rushcliffe School.

West Hatch High School in Essex at Freestanding, Curved Roof Shelter

West Hatch High School needed to find a solution to their cramped dining hall which wouldn’t break the bank. A&S Landscape had the perfect option in mind, which came in the form of an outdoor dining shelter. Our installation team added a Motiva Duo™ curved roof canopy to the school, complete with Brown Red coloured steelwork. The covered space can now be used as additional seating for the students during lunchtimes, relieving pressure from the existing facilities. As a cost-effective alternative to a formal building extension, it’s no surprise that more and more schools are choosing to install a dining shelter. Click here to see more about the dining shelter we made for West Hatch High School.

Sale High School Add Curved Roof Shelter in Greater Manchester

An underused decking area was the focus for this project at Sale High School. The school needed to create more space for the students during lunchtime and decided to revamp an unloved area on campus. Our design and installation team completely transformed the space into an outdoor dining area, complete with a newly tarmacked surface and curved roof canopy. With the simple addition of a few benches, the area can be used by the students who are looking for an alfresco lunch experience. Covering an overall area of 10000mm x 6000mm, there is plenty of room for many students to enjoy the space. Head over to our project page to see more about the dining shelter at Sale High School.