Elior Restauration Enseignement's Resto'Zen: a modular concept to optimize acoustic comfort in school restaurants

Noise in school restaurants reaches high levels and can affect children. Moreover, 9 out of 10 primary school pupils consider school restaurants to be too noisy.

Beyond its food and educational offering, Elior Restauration Enseignement, the leader in school catering, places children's well-being at mealtimes at the heart of its concerns.

Aware that this phenomenon is a public health issue, the company has therefore developed Resto'Zen, a modular concept to optimize acoustic comfort in school restaurants and raise awareness among children and teenagers.

85 decibels = the hearing risk threshold: this is the average noise level in school restaurants!

Noise pollution is one of the reasons why pupils may sometimes not enjoy their school restaurant, even if the quality of the food is up to standard. Indeed, occasional or prolonged exposure to noise creates risks for children's health and behavior: excitement, nervousness, sleep disorders, reduced concentration...

How can noise in school restaurants be tackled? Resto'Zen, THE solution from Elior Restauration Enseignement

?Resto'Zen is a modular offer, both architectural and educational, that meets the specific constraints of each school.

The objective is, on the one hand, to reduce noise to offer a real moment of relaxation; and on the other hand, to offer children and teenagers awareness workshops on the phenomenon of sound,? explains Marine Dunoyer, Restaurant Communications Manager at Elior Restauration Enseignement.

After assessing the noise level of school restaurants, Elior staff, supported by technical and educational experts, offer school managers different types of interventions to improve acoustic comfort:

The Resto'Zen layouts
• Simple and effective layout

To address the noise generated by diners and furniture, Elior proposes:

- reorganizing the dining room to limit comings and goings and simplify circulation;

- reducing the noise made by furniture and installing mobile acoustic partitions to limit the spread of sound

• In-depth layout
With the help of an acoustic consultancy, Elior offers the possibility of implementing more substantial technical solutions to address reflected noise by installing, for example:

- a suspended ceiling to reduce the ceiling height,

- a soft floor covering;- ...

The Resto'Zen activities
In partnership with the association Ecophylle, Elior Restauration Enseignement also provides educational responses. To foster children's awareness of sound, its origins, and its consequences for the environment and health, various activities are offered in class or in school restaurants:

- ?Experiments with sounds?: to understand this phenomenon and the sense of hearing;

- ?Decibel expert?: children measure sound using sound level meters.

?At the Louis Braille school in Bussy-Saint-Georges, following the acoustic improvements we made in the dining room, with absorbent wall panels and suspended ceilings, we noticed a real difference and a noise reduction of 20%,? says Marine Dunoyer.

?Before, we couldn't hear each other speak. The children would shout to be heard by their neighbors at the table. As soon as the acoustic improvements were put in place, all the diners, teaching staff and catering staff noticed a real improvement in acoustic comfort. The children's behavior has changed. They are calmer during the meal and arrive in class less excited after lunch. As for the adults, they really enjoy having lunch and working in a more peaceful atmosphere,? explains Martine Soustelle, Headteacher of the Saint Geneviève school in Aix-en-Provence (13100).