Policy Statement
This setting regards snack time and lunch club 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 aim to provide nutritious food which meets the children’s dietary needs.
Procedures
We follow these procedures to promote healthy eating in our setting.
- Before a child starts to attend the setting, we find out from parents their dietary needs and preferences, including allergies (see Managing children with allergies)
- We record information about each child’s dietary needs in his/her registration record and parents sign to record to signify that it is correct
- We regularly consult with parents to ensure that our records of their children’s dietary needs, including allergies, are up-to-date.
- We display current information about individual children’s dietary needs so that all staff and volunteers are fully informed about them.
- We implement systems to ensure that children receive only food and drink that is consistent with their dietary needs and preferences as well as their parent’s wishes.
- We provide a variety of nutritious food for snack time, including fruit, cereals, cheese, salad items etc.
- We encourage parents of children staying for lunch club to provide a healthy and nutritious lunch for their child and offer advice.
- We are a ‘nut aware’ setting and minimise the risk of exposure to nuts, providing food which does not contain nuts or nut products. If we have a child or adult with a known nut allergy we are especially vigilant and write to parents asking them not to send their child into the setting with nuts or food containing nuts, asking for their co-operation to make life safe for allergic children/adults.
- We require staff to show sensitivity in providing for children’s diets and allergies. Staff do not use a child’s diet or allergy as a label for the child or to make a child feel singled out because of his/her diet or allergy.
- We organise snack time and lunch club so that they are social occasions in which children and staff participate.
- We use snack time and lunch club to help children to develop independence through making choices, serving food and drink and feeding themselves.
- We provide children with utensils that are appropriate for their ages and stages of development and that take account of the eating practices in their cultures.
- We have fresh drinking water available constantly for children. The children are informed that they can help themselves to water at any time during the session and staff are on hand to help if needed.
- We give parents who provide food for their children information about suitable containers for food.
- In order to protect children with food allergies, we discourage children from swapping their food with one another.
- For children who drink milk, we provide semi-skimmed pasteurised milk.
Priory View Pre-School
This policy was adopted by the Joint Management Team:
Vicky Peters - Owner
Delphine Pouncy – Deputy Manager
Christine Johnson – Deputy Manager
