The Original Inventors
Our staff have been working in school kitchens and school offices for the last 20 years. We understand the environment and create helpful tools which enhance the school day.
Our system looks great, is a pleasure to use, and is backed up by a genuine and friendly customer care team.
A history in Schools
We understand the challenges
We started out in 2007. Primary school meal uptake was at a low point nationally following years of bad press, and we realised that the key to improving this was a better customer experience – ‘customer care’. SchoolGrid (back then we were Live Kitchen) was started with a few basic principles – all children should get the meal of their choice, parents should be well informed about recipe and ingredient information, and lunchtimes should be fast and fun. As part of this drive to improve school meals, we invented the concept of online classroom pre-ordering and ordering from home.
This passion to achieve the best customer experience has never ceased, and today we offer many more industry leading features to make school meals safer, more inclusive and more transparent. Caterers enjoy an average of 8.5% increase in overall uptake, but also benefit from our unique staff and food waste reduction tools to drive cost down.
We've come a long way...
Healthy growth - and no selling out!
From our humble beginnings (we won a Catey while still based out of a bedroom) we have grown steadily over the years, and now have a great team spread over a number of locations in the UK and abroad. We provide services to over 800 schools, and look after over 20 million meal orders every year.
We are also an independent company, which is quite unique in our industry! This means we are not driven solely by profit and can instead develop the features we think are important for the industry and for children’s health. It also lets us invest properly in providing amazing support to our customers (which is the best available) and in the development of our staff.
“The system has freed up time in a very busy office and the support from School Grid is excellent, with help at the end of the phone whenever we need it.”
Katherine Rawes
Headteacher, Cowick Primary School
Training & Support
We've got your back!
SchoolGrid’s mission is supporting public sector caterers to achieve increased uptake, and lower food costs. To support you properly, when you use our software we do all the work.
We carry out all the training, we fit the hardware
We answer all the parent phone calls and emails
We support school and kitchen staff by phone and on site
– we don’t ask you to do any of this!
The result of this is more time for your managers to focus on the catering and a better relationship with your schools and parents, who will love the friendly and always available support. Our support team are carefully selected and they love what they do.
Meet the team
A great product and service starts with a great team
Dugald Curtis
CEO & Director
Gary Clark
CTO & Director
Nikky Dinning
Operations Manager
David Rattray
Senior Software Developer
Ehsan Eliasieh
Senior Software Developer
Mark Halleran
Senior Software Developer
Millie Caress
Sales Manager
Mike Travis
Sales Manager
Kerry Langton
Mobilisation Manager
Martin Smith
Client Support Manager
Louise Swindells
Senior Software Developer
Morag Hill
QA Manager
Matthew Halleran
Senior Software Developer
Chris Waddell
Senior Software Developer
Tiffany Riach
Customer Support Manager
Best in class!
Awards for Excellence
Our unique innovations and focus on customer experience have been acknowledged over the years for the positive impact they have made on the delivery and safety of school meals across the country.
In the 15 years since we started working to improve school meals in the UK, we have picked up some prestigious awards and nominations. These awards recognise the contribution we have made to enhancing the quality, cost and delivery of school meals.
Internally (and more importantly!) we have a September Superstar award ceremony for staff to recognise their contributions at the end of what is (for most of us) the toughest month of the year!
We'd love to give you a Demonstration
If you try it, you will love it! If you are a public sector school or caterer and wish to see our system in action, we can arrange a visit to a nearby school who uses us already. Caterers may also wish to try a completely free pilot. This would be for up to 5 schools and six months, and we pick up all costs (including payment fees). Click below to book a demo and find out more.
Try it out with a 6 month free pilot
I have found SchoolGrid to be open and honest whenever we have a problem and quick and easy to contact at any time by phone or email. My three favourite things about SchoolGrid:
- The freedom and control we now have over the menus.
- The clear communication it provides for the kitchen and office staff.
- The information and protection for children with dietary requirements and allergies.
I would highly recommend SchoolGrid for any school environment.
Chad Kong
Catering Manager, St Johns RC Primary School
Our Products
Four incredible products to cut cost, improve efficiency and supercharge your kitchens...
Our parent systems help caterers to increase uptake and deliver vital information to parents. We support card, cash and Direct Debit payments and our customer service team are happy to assist your parents directly over the phone if they need help.
Our menu and recipe suite is a drop-in replacement for systems such as Saffron and Nutmeg. It imports information from your suppliers and automates allergy protection. Recipes you enter can be accessed by cooks using KitchenGrid and by parents through ParentGrid.
Our award winning kitchen management systems are a doddle to set up and use, and our experienced training staff will train your cooks – on site and in person – to ensure trouble free implementation. Reduce your food spend and streamline the management of your kitchens.
For secondary schools and colleges, our SelfXpress ordering, payment and checkout system increases throughput and student engagement whilst decreasing staff cost. Our optional custom deli ordering system increases choice and safety.
Cutting waste & improving efficiency...
Pre-ordering & parent payments (DD & cards)
Menu planning, recipes, nutrition & allergy protection
Parent communication and feedback tools
Cash and debt handling features
Food waste reduction
Kitchen management suite
