Café Development Group
Wednesday 10th February, 12-1pm

Present:

·  Jamie Roberts – Café Manager

·  Students x 6 (4 x FE and 2 x HE)

·  Staff x 7 (Tutors, Student Services, Learning Services & Learning Centre staff)

A general discussion took place - the main themes were recurring from previous meetings, and as such, time was spent exploring the main problems in more detail and coming up with proposals for a way forward:

Problems / Proposals
Students eating in classrooms/ on staircases
Students not using the café & going off-site
Due to:
·  Café being full at peak times (12-1)
·  Queues extending out of the doors & down the corridors
·  The noise & volume of students can be intimidating to some learners / ·  Extend hot food service times to 11.30am-2pm at lunchtime and from 5pm in the evening
·  Encourage staff to timetable lunches around the above and stagger lunches throughout this time
·  Establish a second serving area in the alcoves by the vending machines
·  Enable a card facility to take card payments
Lack of space for a social space/ common room – similar to a 6th form
Learning Centre often very busy/ full
The ‘Hub’ is a quiet space so difficult to do group work
Students can’t drink/ eat in the LC & Hub – sometimes they want to work with a coffee
The café is seen as a school canteen & used for lunch, but underutilised at other times / Develop the café space to create a more student friendly environment – that is used throughout the day and thus –
·  Generates more income for the café
·  Provides a space for group work
·  Alleviates pressure on the Learning Centre
·  Gives students the ‘social space’ they are looking for – aids recruitment
How to do this:
·  Create a high bar table to run alongside the wall – with plug-in points for student devices
·  Use the cupboard space to create additional curved seating areas
·  Have portable screens to create different zones –display posters on these, promoting café offers
·  Work with Art & Design to create a landscape artwork to run alongside the main wall
·  Erect a canopy over the balcony so this space can be used throughout the year
·  Have games that students can exchange for their ID cards – jenga, table tennis, cards etc
·  Have more vibrant colour in the space as it’s seen as too white/ clinical