EYFS 2024 > Food and drink > 3.55
EYFS 2024 > Food and drink facilities > 3.56
EYFS 2024 > Food poisoning > 3.57
Our nursery is a suitable, clean, and safe place for children to be cared for, where they can grow and learn. We meet all statutory and voluntary requirements for food safety and fulfil the criteria for meeting the relevant Early Years Foundation Stage Safeguarding and Welfare requirements.
We only provide vegetarian meals (no meat, fish or eggs), snacks and drinks for children. By its nature, these are healthy, balanced and nutritious.
The Food Standards Agency gave the nursery a 5* Food Hygiene Rating in January 2023.
In order to do this, we will ensure that:
Either a meal or a snack is offered to children at least every 2½ – 3 hours. Our breakfast is between 07:45 and 08:30 followed by fruit at 10:15. Our lunch is at 12:15 followed by snacks at 15:30. Finally, our light supper starts at 17:00 for children leaving a little later. This is because children have small stomachs and high nutrient needs as they grow and develop, to play and learn. Only drinking water or milk is provided. Fresh drinking water is available at all times.
We serve small portion sizes on child sized plates. It is better for children to ask for seconds than to serve them too much. Children are not praised for finishing the food on their plate. This helps children to recognise when they are hungry and when they have eaten enough. Snacks served are mini-meals, with components as healthy as mealtime choices.
Children are encouraged to have a little of the different dishes on their plate and have a balanced diet. Dried fruit is not served as part of a snack as this can cause tooth decay. Children are allowed to say ‘no’ to foods and all food served is healthy. Food is not used as a reward or punishment. Children are not praised for finishing the food on their plate but will be praised for trying different foods.
Meal and snack times are recognised as an important time to develop verbal skills as well as a time to learn about healthy eating. We eat with the children at mealtimes and eat the same food. We can easily offer help, role model good manners and eating behaviour, direct conversation, and create a calm and relaxed eating environment. At the same time, we can supervise the children eating.
Our pre-school children (3+), have a buffet lunch in our outdoor lodge. They are free to select their own food in the quantity they feel comfortable with. Naturally this is closely supervised to ensure they are “nudged” to have a balanced meal.
Our toddler children (under 3) have their lunch served to them and they are helped with the eating where they need to.
All children in our nursery are given opportunities to explore food using their different senses. Children are involved in food growing and in food preparation, such as simple cold dishes: for example, they will help with washing the vegetables or grating the carrots. Children are encouraged and helped to be successful in whatever self-feeding and self-serving they are capable of doing to support their growing independence. Food is served in a form that young children can eat with minimum assistance and without choking; the texture changing from soft mashed food to adult texture by the age of 12 months.
We tell parents and carers how much their child ate during the day and foods they particularly enjoyed or tried. Children benefit when parents and practitioners share information and work together.
Every Thursday, the chef and the nursery manager meet to decide on the following week’s menu. Decisions are made based on what is available seasonally and what children have previously liked. We also include new foods and tastes to increase the palate. For example, using goat cheese in one of the recipes.
Menu for the following week is then shared with parents via their WhatsApp group.
We follow Department of Health guidelines on introducing solid food for babies from around six months, when they are displaying signs of being ready. Children with complex needs have their nutrition needs taken into account. A food/drink substitution, made in the case of allergies or other dietary requirements, will be similar in nutrient content to the food/drink it replaces. Foods served reflect the ethnicity and cultures of all children using the provision. Parents and carers are asked for advice to ensure the needs of all children are met and we learn from carers and parents’ experiences and suggestions.
We don’t allow food brought from home so that we can totally control the quality and ensure that we meet voluntary food and drink guidelines for Early Years nursery in England (pdf). We encourage eligible pregnant women and mothers with children under four to register with the Healthy Start scheme and access the weekly food vouchers and free Healthy Start vitamins. We provide effective support and information for parents and carers about all aspects of feeding infants and young children.
We hold regular parent workshops that teaches parents recipes that we cook in the nursery and children love. This is a great way to up-skill parents in their cooking abilities.
We promote non-food celebrations and treats, such as craft projects or stickers, which are pleasant alternatives to birthday sweets. If food is used for celebrations, it forms part of a balanced meal provision and doesn’t replace healthy foods.
Couple of examples of where food used as a celebration and a learning opportunity: children making a mocktail for Valentine's Day or sandwiches when learning about road safety.
We follow Department of Health guidelines on preparing and using formula milk. We only give children first infant milk and only for the first year of life, practising responsive bottle-feeding. Drinks are offered in an open cup from six months and bottles are stopped at one year. Water and milk are the best drinks for children’s teeth and bodies. We provide full fat milk for children between one and two; we do not use skimmed milk for children under five. Drinking water is available at all times. Juice (even diluted juice) or other sugary drinks are not provided.
Breast milk is the ideal source of nutrition for infants for at least the first year of life. We have refrigerated storage space for expressed breast milk which is clearly labelled with name and date. Mothers are welcome to breastfeed (or express breastmilk) and a secluded space will be provided, if required. We can direct mothers to where they can access further breastfeeding support.
We have received food safety and hygiene training if involved in preparing and handling food. We have undertaken other relevant training to keep us up to date on healthy drinks and foods suitable for children under five.
Review date: 31 December 2024
We take the task of nourishing children’s minds and bodies very seriously and ensure that their diet at the daycare is healthy and well balanced.
