Bulwell hot meals and homework programme wins national award for Djanogly Learning Trust and Akshaya Patra UK

Djanogly Learning Trust and Akshaya Patra UK won the Trust Collaboration award category of this year’s Optimus Education’s MAT Excellence awards.

Award-winning charity Akshaya Patra runs a range of food programmes linked to education and serves fresh food at schools, holiday clubs and homework clubs in the UK and India.

The charity decided to run a two-month pilot project last year after being approached by Djanogly Learning Trust, which has 11 schools in the East Midlands.

The trust’s Springfield Academy in Bulwell was the first school nationally to pilot a Hot Meals and Homework club with Akshaya Patra.

This involved serving around 500 nutritious hot meals a week in the school hall to pupils and their families at the end of the school day.

To create a welcoming and relaxing atmosphere, the school hall dining tables were dressed with tablecloths, flowers and battery operated candles.

Meanwhile, jazz music played in the background.

Mark Mallender, chief executive at Djanogly Learning Trust, said: “We’re really proud of this project and how it is supporting our local communities in the face of cost of living pressures.

"Extending the school day to help some of our families with learning coupled with offering a nutritious meal is definitely having an impact.

“Children are more attentive because they are not hungry, school attendance has improved, relationships with families have strengthened and parents are more involved in their children’s education.”

Daniel Adams, chief executive at Akshaya Patra UK, added: “After 25 years of feeding children across India, Akshaya Patra is pleased to now be making a meaningful impact here in the UK too.

"Our after-school programme, Hot Meals and Homework, was born from a common belief that every child deserves the fuel to learn and the support to succeed.

“In partnership with Djanogly Learning Trust, we are proud to have created a programme that bridges both the nutrition and attainment gaps for children living in disadvantaged communities.

"We are delighted to share this award with Djanogly and hope it will spur on further support so we can grow this initiative – ensuring even more children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.”