Kids, Chaos and Custard! (Dinner Lady)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Dinner Lady
Date:	23/02/02 (4307 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: you get to interract with the kids, you get school holidays off, it's often fun

Disadvantages: low(ish) pay, tiring, frustrating and stressful

What is your idea of a dinner lady? Grey-haired sixty year olds spooning thick pink custard over unrecognisable dessert? Or maybe the women in light blue from the Victoria Wood sitcom? Well, I’m here to help you think again…

~~ What’s In A Name? ~~

I’m a dinner lady. Oh yes. But we have many names. Admittedly, the Dooyoo category title of ‘looking after the kids at school over lunchtime’ is rather long winded, but it is what we do. Our official title is either lunchtime supervisor or S.M.S.A (School Meals Supervisory Assistant).

~~ So How Did I Get The Job? ~~

I hadn’t really been looking for a job, but then one of my friends said she had been covering for one of the dinner ladies at school, which got me thinking. She mentioned they always needed more staff, so I went along to talk to the Headteacher and she asked if I could do supply work for two weeks, then we’d see how things went from there.

I finished the trial period and was asked if I wanted to be taken on permanently. I initially said no, but after working for another week, I changed my mind and accepted. I now have to fill in a load of forms, but you get these with all jobs really.

I get just over £5 an hour, but as I work 1 ¼ hours, I end up with just over £6 per day. Obviously, this is no good as a main wage-earning job, but fine for a bit of pocket money for housewives and mothers who need jobs to fit in with school hours. (You also get paid over the holidays!)

~~ What Does My Job Entail? ~~

Well, this may vary in different schools, but I will tell you what happens where I work. I am part of a team of four dinner ladies who work with the Juniors, which is kids aged 7 to 11 (Years 3-6).

Two of us work together, alternating between staying inside until 12:15pm and until 12:30pm. The former means I work in the large hall where the kids eat packed lunches until 12:15pm (this is
usually with the Year 1 kids, as the older ones come in later), when I spend the next hour out in the school playground (or patrolling the corridors and classrooms, if it’s wet play).

The latter means I work in the dining hall, supervising the kids eating school meals. I have to cut up food of the smaller children and take their plates away, scrape them and put the dirty pots in containers. I also have to wipe down the tables and chairs, and make sure the kids are behaving sensibly. Then I go outside at 12:30pm.

While looking after the kids eating, we also have to make sure no-one chokes or has an allergic reaction to anything. We have to deal with any arguments or swearing, open crisp packets, fetch them spoons from the kitchen, peel apples and try to persuade them to eat their sandwiches!

~~ Out In The Playground ~~

There are up to four dinner ladies out in the Juniors playground each lunchtime, supervising some 200 or so children. You have to deal with any bad behaviour (breaking rules, swearing, fighting, etc.) as well as any accidents that may arise. So far, I have only had to deal with nosebleeds, cuts and bruises, but we have two epileptic girls in the school and in the past, kids have been concussed after falling and broken the odd bone.

Let’s put it this way, the job is never boring! You always have plenty of disputes to deal with – from girls falling out with each other to full-scale fisticuffs from the older boys. You get your little ‘fan club’ – the same kids who follow you round, chatting and asking you things. You also get the regular kids who keep pushing, until they know where the boundary is – the ones who get all mouthy, to see what ‘Miss’ does about it.

You see all sorts in the playground – it’s a real microcosm of life out there! As with any age and any situation, you will see loners, bullies, attention seekers, trendies, chat
terboxes, tell-tales and gossips.

~~ Rules vs Intuition ~~

When you start, you should be informed of the main school rules and the discipline procedure. It is pointless telling every child off for every offence, you have to pick and choose. There is a big difference between a one-off falling out which will be forgotten about the next day – and a group of bullies who regularly cause fights. You can have a quiet word with the children concerned in the first case, but the second should certainly be reported to the teacher and possibly the Head.

We are told to carry round a notebook and pen with us. This is a necessity some days, when incidents come thick and fast and you are noting down several names and classes. It is also a surprising deterrent too! At some point every day, kids will suddenly start behaving well because “Miss has got the book out!” or they’ll plead their case, insisting they’ll be good from now on.

~~ The Bad Times ~~

As with all jobs, there are good and bad things about being a dinner lady. One of the worst things is the frustration – when you can’t get the kids to ‘kiss and make up’ or to see the logic behind what you are telling them. It often feels like you’re banging your head against a brick wall.

There are some kids that never seem to change, no matter how you handle them. I find it depressing that the respect we had to adults when we were younger has dissipated so much. Of course, it’s only a minority, but it’s still unpleasant.

You do get bad days, when you end up with a hoarse voice from shouting and a headache from the noise and stress. One day this week, I was told I looked pregnant (I’m not), a boy thought I was 57 (I’m 32), someone else didn’t like my hair colour and criticised my make-up!

The biggest disadvantage I have found though is how much it impinges on your time. The
job is only from midday til 1:15pm, but I usually start getting ready around 11am. As I don’t get back from taking my kids to school in the mornings until gone 9am, this means I have just two hours in the morning to do all my housework, writing and emails.

By the time I have been round the teachers reporting on how various children have behaved, it’s often gone 1:30pm. So instead of going home for an hour or so (until it’s time to pick up the kids again), I often go and help in one of the classes as a parent helper. All this is a complete change from having six hours of child-free time a day at home to get everything done!

~~ The Good Times ~~

Overall, I love this job. It isn’t a full day’s work, so even if you feel a bit under the weather, you can usually manage to make it to work. (If not, you do get sick pay too.) I get on well with the other dinner ladies and we often have a cup of tea and a chat afterwards. They also organise social outings together, although I haven’t been there long enough yet to go on one.

As my four children attend the school where I work, I get an insight into their lunchtime. I can see what they eat, how they behave and I’m there if there are any emergencies or bullying going on. They like me being there too, which is an advantage!

I think the best bit of the job is the little victories – connecting with the kids, sorting out problems, being there for them. When one of the kids who are notoriously difficult ends up chatting with you on a one-to-one basis, it is very rewarding.

I have had several occasions when I have had really good discussions with the older boys especially, who are often insolent in front of their peers, but can be real softies away from them. You find out about their families and background details which enable you to understand them more and hopefully allows you to work out how to handle them better in the future.


There have been two boys this week – one in Y4 and the other in Y6. I had previously found them both rude, violent and hard to talk to. Since spending some more time talking with them, the Y6 boy asked his teacher if I could sit next to him in class and the Y4 boy walked round the playground with me all day today, being the complete opposite of his usual hyperactive, destructive self.

It is for these reasons that I do the job, not the £5 or £6 we get!

~~ Overall ~~

Being a dinner lady is a job that women tend to do almost exclusively. They are usually mums with kids at the school, but continue to work for years after their own children have left. I can see myself doing this too. The hours also mean I still get time to write, which I am hoping will be another career I can pursue at the same time.

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