If you are not assigned meal duty, you are still required to attend mealtimes in the canteen. As part of our student integration and welfare responsibilities, all Campus Leaders should sit with and eat with the students and group leaders each day. 

Sitting with the students as you eat allows you to do the following: 

Build a rapport with the students - make them feel welcome!

Identify shy, quiet or introvert students - Help forge friendships, be the ice breaker, or keep people company

Gather feedback on previous days - find out what they liked (or didn't like) to help improve the programme 

Build excitement for upcoming tours and activities - a really important part of the process is to get people excited about their next adventure

Encourage signups and participation for the talent contest and other performance based evenings - find out who the confident loud ones are and get them on the signup list

Monitor for welfare concerns - Identify changes in behaviour, unusual comments, student interaction and much more that could indicate a student is at risk. Perhaps they are not eating enough, hiding bruises, showing signs of crying. Informal mealtimes is a crucial time to spot areas of concern.

Fully Catered

Breakfast is served in the main canteen area for all students, group leaders and Language in Action team members. Time vary by centre but are typically 0745-0845 and meals are served in a buffet style for hot and/or continental style breakfast. 

Self-Catered breakfast 

Some packages or centres include a self-catering breakfast option, for which breakfast supplies will have to be bought/delivered to the centre and placed into student kitchens. Students should never run out of available food at breakfast time. 

Depending on the site, and the surrounding amenities, you will have a different plan and schedule for this, which will be discussed with your managers. It will typically involve sourcing breads, condiments etc from a local supermarket. 

Providing food for the students is a key safeguarding area, and something that should be maintained with upmost priority. 

Fully Catered

Lunch is served in the main canteen area for all students, group leaders and Language in Action team members. Times vary depending on the centre, and it is served in a buffet style of hot food. Depending on your centre, some lunches are served in the residential building. 

Packed Lunch

Packed lunches consist of a sandwich/wrap/baguette, crisps, fruit and water.

Students, group leaders and all team members will get a packed lunch on arrival day, departure day, and every Saturday and Sunday. During these times the canteen will not operate.

Lunches are to be collected by the students at breakfast service, as the students do not return to the campus after their morning activity. You will need to work with the Tour Guides to coordinate the collection of packed lunches (typically you’ll also liaise with the relevant group leader, and it is the group leader who will instruct the students). You will also have to do a final numbers check to make sure meals match student numbers.

On sites where packed lunches are supplied by an external contractor, a Campus Leader will be scheduled to accept the delivery each applicable morning. Meals will then need to be stored in a refrigerated area if they are not being consumed by the next mealtime. 

For example, meals delivered at 7am must be prepared for collection at breakfast service around 8am, for consumption at lunch. If the meals aren’t due to be consumed until dinner, they must be stored in a refrigerated area until collection at lunchtime. 

Fully Catered

Dinner is served in the main canteen area for all students, group leaders and Language in Action team members. Times vary and it is served in a buffet style of hot food. Depending on your centre, some dinners are served in the residential building. 

Packed Dinner

Packed dinners are identical to packed lunches in contents and are used for the midweek evening By Night activities for students who are on an afternoon tour.

Packed dinners are to be collected by the students at lunch service, as groups will not return to the campus after an afternoon activity. You will need to work with the Tour Guides to coordinate the collection of packed lunches (typically you’ll liaise with the relevant group leader, and it is the group leader who will instruct the students) and also for the final numbers check. 

Excursion / Special Dinners

On occasion, and depending on the site and group bookings, there will be certain evenings where the canteen is closed, or the group have booked to eat in a restaurant. Dinners in a restaurant will be booked in advance and will vary by location. Other options include special mealtimes such as Pizza Night, for which pizzas will pre-ordered. These takeaway nights are shceduled into most centre's timetable for either a Saturday of Sunday night. As a Campus Leader you will help your Campus coordinator organise and orchestrate this mealtime.