Eating out: How school dining canopies can help overcrowded schools
In our latest blog, we look at how school dining canopies can help overcrowded schools create additional space for eating lunch and studying!
Overcrowded dining areas have long been an issue for many schools. Despite the ongoing need for social distancing, many schools struggle for adequate space to accommodate students at lunchtimes. In this article, we look at school dining canopies and how they can help alleviate this problem – providing additional space for students to sit and eat in, and doing away with those long queues for the canteen!
What problems do schools have as a result of insufficient dining space?
According to discussions between our partner Canopies UK and school leaders, 54% of schools have inadequate dining space. This means that for every available seat in the school canteen, there are more than two students who want to use it! This problem is shared by both primary and secondary schools and can cause a host of knock-on issues, including:
- Queues for the canteen spilling out into other areas of the school, causing an obstruction
- Students with nowhere comfortable to sit and have lunch
- Students skipping lunch as a result or being late to their next class due to having to wait too long for a seat
How can schools create more dining space?
A school dining canopy can provide a comfortable, fully-enclosed shelter to take the pressure off your crammed school canteen or dining hall! Dining canopies can incorporate lighting, heating and draining and come in a variety of freestanding or wall-mounted designs. Opt for a wall-mounted canopy to secure against an existing wall to maximise your canopy’s space, or choose a freestanding design that you can locate where you wish!
Away from lunchtimes, school dining canopies also provide a useful extra study space or even an area to host school events!
Our school dining canopies
We partner with Canopies UK, one of the UK’s top providers of high-quality canopy products, to offer schools a large selection of freestanding and wall-mounted canopies. Our school dining canopies include:
- Cantabria: This stylish canopy has a retractable roof you can open at the touch of a button. It features glass sides and can be fitted with energy-efficient LED lighting and heating. You can instal this canopy against a wall or opt for a freestanding design. It’s also available in any length you need.
- Connekt: This modular canopy system is available in any length of your choosing; you can also extend it (if needed) in the future. There’s no limit on how far these canopy shelters project, which is useful if you want to cover a large area. This product range also includes a freestanding ‘umbrella’ canopy, which features a single central post.
Leasing a school dining canopy
Compared to the cost and upheaval of building an extension to your school building to gain extra space, leasing a canopy is a cost-effective and simple solution! We can tailor the size and design of your canopy to your specifications and leasing, rather than purchasing, means you can get what you want – without compromising.
We can also include the groundwork, installation and ongoing maintenance within your rental agreement. On top of that, you can choose from termly, quarterly or annual rentals – for maximum flexibility. Budgeting is made easy, with fixed costs for the term of your rental!
To learn more about our durable, low-maintenance dining canopies for your school, call on the team at Utility Rentals!
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