Herne Bay Infant & Nursery School – Kitchen Refurbishment

Creating a Safer, More Efficient Kitchen for a Beloved Local School

Project Overview: Supporting a Growing School Community

Herne Bay Infant and Nursery School is a vibrant, welcoming community school located in the heart of Herne Bay, Kent. With a strong focus on nurturing young learners, the school serves children from nursery through to Year 2 and plays a vital role in the local community.

To continue providing healthy, freshly prepared meals to pupils and staff, the school needed to upgrade its existing kitchen, which had become outdated, undersized, and increasingly inefficient for daily use. Our team was engaged to lead a kitchen refurbishment project that would make better use of the available space, update equipment, and ensure compliance with modern safety and hygiene standards.

Project Objectives

The school had a clear set of goals for the refurbishment:

• Increase usable kitchen space without major building works

• Replace tired equipment and surfaces with durable, easy-to-maintain alternatives

• Ensure a hygienic, safe, and child-friendly environment

• Complete the project during school holidays to avoid disruption to pupils and staff

We worked closely with the school to develop a solution that would meet all of these needs—within a limited window and a tightly controlled budget.

Our Approach: Smart Planning & Careful Execution

Space-Saving Redesign

To expand the working area, we proposed a simple yet effective layout change—removing doors and internal partitions from an adjacent storeroom, which allowed us to open up the footprint of the existing kitchen without extending the building. This adjustment made room for a better flow of movement and more efficient food preparation.

Updated Equipment

We supplied and installed reliable, high-performance catering equipment from trusted brands, including:

• Blue Seal: Heavy-duty cooking appliances suitable for high-volume meal prep

• Maidaid: Commercial dishwashing equipment offering speed, efficiency, and water savings

These upgrades not only improved daily operations but also future-proofed the kitchen for years of service.

Hygienic & Safe Finishes

To meet strict hygiene standards and improve safety for staff, we installed:

• Commercial-grade Non-Slip Vinyl Flooring: Designed to prevent slips and trips in busy environments

• uPVC Hygienic Wall Cladding: Easy to clean and resistant to stains, moisture, and bacteria

Both materials were chosen for their durability, cleanliness, and ease of maintenance—essential in a school setting.

Working Within Tight School Holiday Deadlines

Due to the nature of the site, all work had to be carried out outside of term time—with absolutely no room for delay. Our team coordinated closely with the school leadership and worked extended hours to ensure the project was completed on time and on budget.

Despite the tight turnaround, the project was delivered smoothly, with minimal disruption and zero compromise on quality.

Outcome: A Modern, Functional School Kitchen

The finished kitchen is a bright, efficient, and hygienic space where staff can safely and confidently prepare meals for young learners. The smart redesign has improved workflow and made better use of the available area, while the new equipment and finishes will support the school’s operations well into the future.

Herne Bay Infant and Nursery School now has a kitchen that reflects its high standards of care and commitment to student wellbeing.