Nursery food and drink policy

The University of Dundee Day Nursery Ltd regards snack and mealtimes as an important part of the setting’s day. Eating represents a social time for children and adults and helps children to learn about healthy eating. At snack time, we provide nutritious food, which meet the children’s individual dietary needs. A healthy diet from a young age may also help to prevent ill health later in life.

Dietary

Before a child starts attending the setting, we find out from parents their child’s dietary needs and preferences, including any allergies. All information about individual child’s dietary needs are recorded on the Registration Record and Individual Care Plan and parents sign the record to state that it is correct. Theses care plans are updated regularly every 6 weeks for 0-2 years and every 3 month for 2-5 years.

We regularly consult with parents to ensure that our records of their children’s dietary needs – including any allergies – are up to date. Parents sign the up – dated record to signify that it is correct.

Information about individual children’s dietary needs are displayed in each home room the kitchen and in the office so that all staff and students are fully informed about individual dietary requirements.

We implement systems to ensure that children receive only food and drinks that are consistent with their dietary needs and preference as well as their parents’ wishes. Each room must have an allergy list with child photo, full name, and list of allergies. Allergy list must be updated every single time parents inform us of  any changes or when child’s Care Plan is updated. Staff must inform kitchen about any changes in child’s allergies requirement as soon as possible. We take care not to provide food containing nuts or nuts products and are especially vigilant where we have a child who has a known allergy to nuts.  Through discussion with parents, research reading and training by staff, we obtain information about the dietary rules of the religious group to which children and their parents belong, about vegetarian and vegan meals, and about food allergies.

Mealtimes – Education and Healthy Choices

We recognise that by educating children from a young age about healthy eating practices we can influence them later in life. By providing children with a rich and varied diet and educating them about the food they eat, we hope to sustain their enthusiasm for healthy eating and enable them to make a healthy choice for themselves.

The nursery aims to give the children the necessary knowledge to make decisions about their own diet, by incorporating healthy eating and self-care practices into the curriculum through practical activities and play. The children are provided with regular opportunity to play with real food and used it thorough activities such as baking and role play.

The older children are then given the opportunities to contribute to their own healthy lifestyles through choosing between foods at snack times and develop independence through, serving food and drink and feeding themselves.  

We provide children with utensils that are appropriate for their age and stage of development and take account of the eating practices in their cultures.

Throughout meal and snack times children are encouraged to be as independent as possible. Older children are also given the opportunity to do what they can for themselves, such as setting the table, pouring their own drinks, buttering their own toast, or clearing away their leftovers. Children will be encouraged to develop good eating skills and table manners and will be given plenty of time to eat their meal.

The examples given below show how learning about and through food can be linked to the How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare, GIRFEC, Curriculum for Excellence, Pre-Birth to Three and Setting the Table and UNCRC.

Personal, social, and emotional development

Mealtimes offer children experiences to taste different foods, overcome dislikes and learn how to share. Sitting around a table eating food together is a good way to teach social skills. Cooking activities offer opportunities for learning through working with others and increasing self-esteem.

Physical development

Fine and gross motor skills can be developed through activities such as using knives and forks, preparing food, and washing up. Mealtimes can be used to help children to make healthy food choices.

Communication and language

Sitting around a table eating food together is a good way to teach conversation. Language can be developed, and senses explored through discussing and describing the taste, texture, size, look and smell of food.

Literacy

Many stories involve food. They can teach children about ingredients, where food comes from and about food for special occasions and from different cultures.

Mathematics

Activities such as counting out spoons and pieces of fruit when setting the table or at snack time can be used to support numeracy skills. Sorting and matching foods into different types can help promote organisational skills and reasoning.

Understanding the world

Food tasting activities teach children about ingredients, the seasons and where food comes from including food from different cultures. Growing fruit and vegetables teaches children about where food comes from, about life cycles, about gardening and how to look after plants. Many vegetables and herbs can be grown on windowsills and in pots or bags, which children can be involved in.

Expressive arts and design

Art activities can engage children with food and alert them to colours and shapes.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, nursery will use reasonable endeavours to meet the existing learning and development requirements, instead of this being something they ‘must do’. What this means in practice: In our Nursery – as early years providers, we  will try and meet existing requirements as far as is possible during the COVID-19 outbreak, we recognise that these are extraordinary times and there may be occasions where it will not be possible to provide activities and experience across all seven areas of learning for all children all of the time.

During the Covid -19 outbreaks, tables, and chairs to be wiped clean/sanitised prior to serving food. Staff and children will wash their hands before sitting down to eat. Hands should be dried on a single use paper towel and disposed of in a lidded bin. Staff to wear PPE while supporting children during meals time and cleaning prior and after each meal. Children will eat in their home room. Food will be brought, covered, from the kitchen to the room by the cook. No food will be eaten from shared platters or containers. Practitioners will plate up food away from the children’s table and serve to children individually. The cook will collect dirty dishes to be returned to the kitchen. All crockery will be washed in hot soapy water before being placed in the dishwasher to be sterilised. Staff must wear face masks if 2-meter social distance is impossible. Waste food will be placed in food bins in each room.

Nursery provides morning snack, a cooked 2 courses lunch and an afternoon snack.

Morning snack is served between 9.00 and 9.30, to ensure that everyone has had a breakfast.

Lunch-around 11:30 – 11:40

Afternoon snack around 2:40 – 3:00

We offer fresh fruit and vegetables every day for snack and all other meals are enhanced with wide offer of fresh and cooked vegetables and salads.

The Nursery menu includes a variety of foods from the four main food groups:

• Meat, fish, and protein alternatives
• Dairy foods
• Grains, cereals, and starch vegetables
• Fruit and vegetables

The Nursery takes care not to provide foods which contain nuts or nut products and is especially vigilant where we have a child or adult who has a known allergy to nuts.

We provide nutritious food at all snack and mealtimes, avoiding large quantities of fat, sugar and salt and artificial additives, preservatives, and colourings.

Practitioners make notes how much every child ate- detailed reports will be given to parents in the evening. If a child constantly eats little or disposes of large amounts of food, the practitioners are advised to express their concerns to the Room Senior or a member of the Management Team.

The Nursery includes foods from the diet of each of the children’s cultural backgrounds, providing children with familiar foods and introducing them to new ones.

Individual dietary requirements required for medical or cultural reasons will be respected and, where possible, catered for. Parents are encouraged to work with the Nursery Management Team/Room, Seniors to create a menu which is suitable for all children. The is no requirements for parents to provide food from home unless there are unusual circumstances.

All eating problems (like fussy eating) will be discussed in a supportive and sensitive manner- offered strategies, courses, close monitoring, and daily feedback for parents. All exemptions should be discussed and agreed prior to any further actions.

We will gather information from parents regarding their children’s dietary needs, including any allergies, during initial conversation during first settling visit. Where appropriate we will work alongside parents to put into place an individual diet plan for their child in a way to define possible allergies, while at the same time encouraging parents to get the allergy source confirmed by the doctor.

Drinks

The Nursery provides cow’s milk or an alternative soya drink for children with a lactose intolerance. All children in the Nursery are offered milk/water every day alongside their daily meals.

No alternatives to milk or water drinks are offered to children.

Dental Hygiene

Through a programme of healthy eating and awareness, the children at the nursery are encouraged to thing about their dental health when considering what food and during they are consuming. Children are provided with a toothbrush to brush their teeth after lunch as a part of Child Smile Programme

Food Poisoning Notification Form

Food poisoning can occur for several reasons; not all cases of sickness or diarrhoea are because of food poisoning and not all cases of sickness or diarrhoea are reportable. Where children and/or adults have been diagnosed by a GP or hospital doctor to be suffering from food poisoning and where it seems possible that the source of the outbreak is within the setting, the manager will contact the Environmental Health Department, the Care Inspectorate and the Health Protection Agency to report the outbreak and will comply with any investigation.