CHILDREN can look forward to fresher food and a greater choice at dinner time after a new kitchen was installed at their school.

Up to £80,000 has been spent on upgrading the kitchen at St Mary's Primary School, in Knutton, so that school meals can be cooked on site.

The school is one of 110 across Staffordshire benefiting from improved catering facilities following a funding boost.

The new kitchen was officially opened yesterday when parents were invited to come to the school and have dinner with their children to try out the new facility.

Headteacher Janet Fletcher said the school had already seen an increase in the number of pupils wanting to eat school dinners.

Previously all food was produced in a kitchen 12 miles away in Stone and brought to the school by van.

She said: "We were not very happy with the way the food was brought to us under the old system and served out in aeroplane-style containers.

"We have quite a high number of children at the school who are on free school meals so it is important that the food we serve is of good quality and high in nutrition.

"As a school it is important we offer our children the freshest and widest selection of food possible, and this new kitchen will allow us to do that.

"The reaction we have had has been very encouraging and we have already seen an increase in the number of pupils wanting school meals."

The work started after Staffordshire Catering Service secured almost £3 million from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Staffordshire County Council to encourage more children to have school dinners.

Debbie Alcock, operations officer for the county council, said the new kitchen at St Mary's would allow for a greater variety of food to be offered to pupils.

She said: "The funding to pay for the new kitchen means all of the meals can now be cooked on site, so we can offer a fresher and wider choice of food than before.

"A new salad bar has also been introduced as part of the changes, which children can have unlimited service at.

"Similar kitchens have already been introduced at schools across the county and there are more planned for the future.

"It is all tied in with the drive to get children eating healthy food from a young age and reducing childhood obesity."

Donna Rorback, aged 31, from Knutton, ate dinner with her child at the school yesterday.

She said: "The food tastes really nice and there seems to be a lot of choice for the children. It's good that you can see into the kitchen now where the food is being cooked."

Her eight-year-old daughter, Demi, said: "The food is nicer now than it used to be."

Charlotte Smith, aged 10, said: "The food is nice and there is more choice than we had before."