PARENTS are due to be brought into a school kitchen in an attempt to satisfy the culturally diverse tastebuds of pupils.

Catering manager Sarah Buckle and principal Helen Swanson are planning to bring in the parents of pupils at Drove Primary School to share the secrets of their home recipes.

Under the watchful eye of Sarah, the parents will come into the kitchen and talk the staff through the best way to cook certain foods, especially those originating outside the UK.

Helen said the cultural range of pupils at the Drove Road site makes meeting their needs a challenge at times.

“Next week we have got parents coming in with a different year group each day.

“We want them to see the set-up here and have contact with their own children at dinner time,” said Helen.

“We’ve done quite a few surveys with parents and we have had the issue of the cultural diversity of our pupils raised on a few occasions.

“If we serve food like curry, the taste might be different to what the children are having at home.

“We have raised the idea with our parent advisory board and through that Sarah has spoken to parents on a routine basis. There seems to be quite a bit of interest.”

If the plan goes ahead, a call will be put out to parents, who can then volunteer to come in for a day and showcase some of the food they offer their children at home.

Drove educates some 600 pupils across Key Stages One and Two, with 185 hot meals served to pupils when the Adver visited to sample their plated produce.

Sarah has been working at the school for two years and says there has been a steady increase in the number of children lining up for a hot meal each day.

The rate is higher in the winter months, according to the catering manager, with parents less keen to spend time shopping in the evenings after school.

She says parents are eager for their children to receive better quality food in the day in winter.

Sarah and her head chef Kim Large are two of the school caterers from across the borough who have profited from the Food for Life partnership of Swindon Council.

Learning from Jamie Oliver’s inspiration, Jeanette Orrey, Sarah said: “It was very valuable. We shared a lot of ideas with catering managers across the borough in the four sessions we have had so far.

“The biggest lesson is that we never stop learning.

“We have to keep things moving forward, involve the children and involve the parents in what we do in the kitchen.”