Statement of intent
Dolly’s Daycare regards snack and meal times 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. We use meal and snack times to help children to develop independence through making choices, serving food and drink and feeding themselves.
Aim
At snack time, we aim to provide nutritious and balanced food, which meets the children’s Individual dietary needs. All food will be stored correctly and Dolly’s aims for food to be exciting and interesting for the children to eat. We aim to meet the full requirements of The National Standards for Day Care on Food and Drink (Standard 8).
Methods
All members of staff are responsible for food and hygiene and carrying out food and hygiene daily checks to ensure the food is delivered in safe practice. All staff at Dolly’s have undertaken food and hygiene training.
Before a child starts to attend the setting, we find out from parents their
Children’s dietary needs and preferences, including any allergies.
We record information about each child’s dietary needs in her/his registration record
We regularly consult with parents and staff to ensure that our records of their children’s dietary needs – including any allergies – are up to date.
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 parents’ wishes.
We plan food activities in advance.
We include foods from the diet of each of the children’s cultural backgrounds, providing children with familiar foods and introducing them to new ones.
We buy our food on a weekly basis from: Tesco.
We refrain from using peanuts or nut products within the nursery due to allergies. If any lunch boxes contain nut products, they are sent home unopened. Dolly’s staff are especially vigulant when a child is known to have an allergy to nuts or any other product
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 make a child feel singled out because of her/his diet or allergy.
The children have their personal drinks bottles this is so staff can monitor that children are drinking throughout the day. We prefer children drink water but, in some circumstances, weak squash can be given.
We inform parents who provide food for their children about the storage
Facilities and cool packs must be used.
In order to protect children with food allergies, we have rules about children sharing and swapping their food with one another.
For children who drink milk, we provide semi-skimmed pasteurised milk.
Packed lunches
We Inform parents that we encourage healthy eating at Dolly’s Daycare.
Encourage parents to provide sandwiches with a healthy filling, fruit, and milk-based deserts such as yoghurt or crème fresh. Some children’s yoghurts have a lot of sugar in them .
Discourage packed lunch contents that consist largely of processed foods, sweet drinks
Dolly’s Ensure that staff sit with children to eat their lunch so that the mealtime is a social occasion and that children are demonstrating correct table manners.
AT NO POINT MUST HOT DRINKS BE IN ANY CLASSROOM OR AREA WHERE THE CHILDREN ARE.
Useful documents/websites:
www.food.gov.uk Food Standards Agency
www.hpa.org.uk Health protection Agency
“Food hygiene – a guide for businesses”
Local Authority Environmental Health Department