The catering staff at Broughton Primary School in North Lincolnshire have won the Unsung Hero award at the regional Local Authority Catering in Education (LACA) Excellence Awards, held on Friday 14 June 2019.
The award aims to give unsung heroes within the school catering industry recognition by celebrating a team or individual who has shown amazing dedication and goes above or beyond their role.
The team at Broughton Primary School were nominated for the award after they lost a colleague in tragic circumstances.
Despite their grief, rather than see the pupils of the school go hungry, all the kitchen staff returned to work the following day, and every day after that, to support each other make sure lunch was ready for the children.
The award-winning team – made up of made up of Debbie Dring, Amanda Haywood, Kim Dobson, Joanne Blakey, Shirley Norton and Elisabeth Senior – have over 50 years of service between them and most of them live in Broughton village.
Sharon Ainsworth, Head of Catering and Cleaning on North Lincolnshire Council, said:
“I am immensely proud of how this team has worked together through the toughest of times and have shown real character and dedication to the school. It is fantastic to see this strong team recognised for their professionalism and strength with this award.
“A few months on from the tragedy, the staff at Broughton are now even closer, but the loss of their colleague has left a big hole in the team and their lives which will take a long time to heal. They have recently found the courage and strength to turn the radio back on to their favourite station and smile at the memories of their colleague singing and dancing – remembering all the good times.”
This is the first time the LACA Excellence Awards have been held for the Yorkshire and Humber region, so the team from Broughton Primary School are taking home the very first trophy.
