Meals

Food

Young children can often have strong preferences for one type of food or another and may show allergies towards certain foods. It is important to introduce a variety of foods to children’s diet.

To ensure that food meets the relevant requirements and is of the highest quality the following procedures will be followed:

The setting will provide healthy balanced snacks twice daily in the morning and afternoon these will consist of fruit, vegetables and a carbohydrate.  It is recommended that children receive a minimum of 350ml of milk per day to ensure calcium intake is adequate. As a setting we provide free of charge semi skimmed milk due to parent/child preference and water is accessible throughout the day in order to keep the children hydrated. The nursery will have a board displaying what is on offer at the snack bar daily in each area and the children have free choice.

Parents are expected to provide nutritious and enjoyable meals and drinks to suit their child’s hours at nursery. Guidelines from the food standards agency recommend plenty of fruit and vegetables. Plenty of bread potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods- choose wholegrain varieties when you can, and a limited amount of milk and dairy products.

Food safety measures

Any specific dietary requirements must be discussed verbally and written down when the child is registered at the nursery, the nursery must also be informed of any changes in dietary requirements at any time.

All food will be checked at the time of use to ensure that it is fresh and not past its use by date. (Any food that is found to be out of date will not be given to the children and put back in the children’s lunch box)

No foods with nuts will be used in the nursery.

Carbonated drinks (fizzy) sweets and nuts (peanut butter) will not be permitted in the nursery.

The setting has the facility to re-heat meals that are bought in by parents.

No shellfish, rice, or chicken on the bone will be re-heated, and meals will be heated to the correct temperature of 75 degrees.

Our standards

As a nursery we will make lunch & snack times a happy social experience we will not under any circumstances make a child eat something that they do not like, children will be offered different items from their lunch boxes, parents please remember to put a good variety of items in your children’s lunch box’s.

Uneaten food when possible will be placed back in the children’s lunch box so that parents can clearly see what their children have eaten.

What a headache it is trying to think of different ideas for lunch every day, it’s all to easy to fall into bad habits: a jam sandwich, chocolate biscuit and a sweet drink…these are all high in sugar and can cause tooth decay. Please consider you child’s health when selecting items for their lunch box.

Ideas for packed lunch contents

  • Mini Pork Pies
  • Tomatoes
  • Carrot Sticks
  • Cucumber & Celery Sticks
  • Cubed Cheese
  • Cold Mini Sausages or a Sausage Roll
  • Crisps
  • Dried Fruit ( Raisins, Apricots )
  • Yoghurts
  • Breadsticks
  • Wraps
  • Bread for toasting
  • Fruit
  • Cold Pasta
  • Cold chicken drumsticks ( We cannot reheat )