Food

Well balanced nutritional meals

Good nutrition is essential during childhood, as it is a time of rapid growth, development and activity. This is also a vital time for healthy tooth development and prevention of decay. General eating habits and patterns are formed in the first few years of life. A nutritious diet, together with good hydration, provides your child with good eating habits for life, healthy skin, a healthy weight, secure emotional well-being, and improved behaviour.

The nursery staff have a key role in introducing young children to a wide variety of foods and establishing a pattern of regular meals and healthy snacks. Eating is about more than food, it is a social event too, and nursery staff join your child’s mealtimes. Staff encourage interaction between the children, good table manners and the development of social skills. Staff are also on hand to support and assist, if needed.

Your child’s transition to solid foods can be challenging. We will work with you during the weaning period to ensure you are fully leading the next stage of your child’s development with their meals. The arrangements for children’s meals and snacks will, of course, be dependent on your child’s sessions whilst attending the nursery. The Nursery Manager will discuss this information with you before your child starts at the nursery.

To give every parent peace of mind, our seasonal menus are nutritionally well balanced. They rotate on a four-week cycle and are prepared by our qualified chefs to ensure we meet all children’s dietary and cultural needs, as well as exploring different tastes at mealtimes.

Meal times

Meal and snack times are an important part of our daily routine across all age groups. Children take an active role in the preparation of snacks, and, with adult support, serve themselves at lunch time. In our older age rooms, children take it in turns to set tables and then work together to clear away at the end of a meal. This enhances the development of social skills by helping to increase children’s confidence, self- esteem, independence and decision making skills, and is the next step for school readiness.

Our nursery chef

Dean, our Nursery Chef is originally from South Africa and has a diploma in Hospitality Management. Dean has a wealth of experience in the catering industry, and has worked in nurseries for the past 5 years. He is particularly passionate about ethical sourcing of food, using seasonal and fresh ingredients to prepare delicious meals for the children, and is a key member of the Nursery’s Cookery Club. Dean is an advocate for The Soil Association Food for Life Served Here Award, and is leading on our Bronze accreditation. He is looking forward to pursuing the Food for Life gold status for the nursery.

Food for Life

We believe in serving food that is fresh, local and honest. Our dedication to providing tasty meals prepared with farm assured meat, sustainable fish and local vegetables has been accredited by the Soil Association through a Food for Life Served Here Silver award. We achieved our Bronze award in 2019 and have achieved our Silver award in August 2020. The award also recognises that we champion freshly prepared meals by trained chefs who are passionate about the ingredients they work with.

We know that food is a vital part of education, and understand that fresh, healthy food is what children need to grow and develop. That’s why our varied menus include a range of options to make healthy eating easier for everyone.

Find out more about our award at www.foodforlife.org.uk/catering