Kirkby's Abbey Hill Primary and Nursery School says goodbye to much-loved ‘dinner lady’ after 47 years

Yvonne Green has been a Midday Supervisor at Kirkby’s Abbey Hill Primary and Nursery School for almost fifty years.

She is retiring this week after ensuring that the Abbey Road school’s children have been well fed, cared for and have enjoyed happy lunchtimes, filled with fun and warmth, since 1979. She is very popular with all the staff and children.

Headteacher, Adam Jevons-Newman, praised Yvonne saying: “Yvonne has been the most incredible colleague and servant to our school and its community. For forty-seven years she has kept the school and its community at the heart of all she does.

“She greets the children with warmth and ensures that lunchtime is a happy time in the day and we shall continue to hold that principle dear as she retires. She has watched generations of families grow through Abbey Hill which is remarkable - but then so too is Yvonne.” 

Yvonne said she had loved seeing kids grown up their school journey.

“Forty-seven years ago, I walked into this school for my first day as a dinner lady” she said. “Who would have thought it would fly by so fast? Being a dinner lady is so much more than helping the children with their lunch. It is also about the smiles and the scraped knees and the bumped heads.

“It’s about the comforting words and encouraging them to grow into the person they will become. I’ve seen tiny nursery children holding hands turning into teenagers, then they walk back through the school gates years later with their children, and even grandchildren.

“Finally, to my team of lovely ladies and staff, I want to thank you for making my time at Abbey Hill some of the very best. I will miss it so very much.”

She will be serving her last school lunch on Friday 24 July before the children and staff say their final goodbyes in a fitting send-off.