A well fed child learns better
For some children, a school dinner might be the only meal they have that day. So getting your catering service right is vital.
At Cohesion we help you design and deliver best value catering for your school, working with your chef to increase uptake, drive sales and minimise costs.
We recognise that the food culture differs from school to school, so our service is completely bespoke and focused on achieving the highest quality food service. So that all pupils, especially Free School Meal pupils, can enjoy great food throughout the day.
Getting the essentials right
Great food needs skilled chefs and professional equipment.
We support clients in equipping their catering teams with the tools and support they need to deliver an excellent service every day.
And when it comes to menu planning and cost management, we offer practical advice on how to manage menus to deliver a popular and commercially viable offer.
We can even help you design and build your perfect kitchen and restaurant. One that is unique to your school’s needs and values, and optimises service efficiency and food uptake.
Supporting your insourced team
If your school wants to run your own catering services, we offer help with everything from supply chain management to food safety, health & safety and School Food Plan compliant menus
Managing contract performance
Monitoring contracts termly or annually keeps service levels high and contractors focused on high quality service and financial delivery.
Working as a critical friend we provide objective and balanced support to ensure tender promises are delivered, and SLA and KPI objectives are consistently achieved.
Performance health checks
Using cloud-based auditing tools, supported by proven industry benchmarks and detailed contract specifications, we conduct regular health checks to ensure you are getting the best value for your services. This includes evaluating your food purchasing pattern to help you make smart swaps on high volume items to maintain quality and reduce your costs.
Compliance
High levels of compliance will ensure that your school can offer a safe, effective and well managed service for every pupil, every day.
Our comprehensive audit reviews your systems supporting Food Safety, Allergen management and product labelling, Health and Safety, COSHH and HACCP processes.
Having the tricky conversations
When things aren’t working out, we specialise in mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution.
Using health check audits and in-depth financial reviews we can manage budget re-negotiations, service developments and contract extensions to deliver robust, pragmatic and financially viable service models that work for both school and supplier.
Contract price negotiations and reviews are challenging and becoming increasingly complex. However, by using industry benchmarks, price comparisons and detailed purchasing reviews we will ensure any negotiations are fair, proportionate and ultimately successful.
When all else fails, tendering may be the only option for both parties. In that case, Cohesion will ensure the contract handover and staffing transfer process is amicable, professional and seamless.