Meals served in the Centre meet children‘s nutritional needs in a healthy, attractive way and are appropriate to the child’s religion, culture and any special dietary needs.
Meals are completely pescatarian. We use no meat products at all and aim not to use any genetically modified foods. The use of salt and sugar is closely monitored with only half of the recommended amount being used.
Children will be offered a range of meat substitutes e.g. Quorn, vegetarian mince and a variety of fish e.g. cod, tuna and salmon. To encourage good eating habits, children will have opportunities to experience different tastes and textures and the food traditions of different cultures. We aim to provide a healthy balanced diet for all of the children in our care.
Menus are planned in advance by the centre cook, staff, parents and children. We are always open to ideas and support when developing our menus.
Seasonal menus are developed as follows
Spring
March, April, May
Summer
June, July, August
Autumn
September, October, November
Winter
December, January, February
Autumn Baby Menus 2023
Menus will cover four weeks; these will be rotated to cover each three-month period.
The provision of meals is appropriate to the number of hours that a child attends the Centre. We offer a snack breakfast around 8:30am. This is not a complete replacement for a full breakfast. Children will be offered milk or water to drink. We have lunch at 11:30am, where a main course and a pudding will be offered.
Children have a ‘light’ tea at 2:45pm which comprises of a savoury item and a range of fresh fruit. A healthy snack is provided at 5:00pm. Drinks are provided throughout the day. Children in Bumblebees, Ladybirds, Grasshoppers and Dragonflies have access to fresh water all day, using individually labelled drinking bottles. The children in Caterpillars and Butterflies have individually labelled non-spill drinking cups, which they can access for fresh drinking water when required.
Copy menus are displayed in the individual play areas and on the nutrition display board in our reception area.
We would like to remind all parents that we are a pescatarian nursery. We will work closely will all families to ensure all medical dietary needs will be catered for this includes food allergies and intolerances. If your child does not need any medically required exceptions, then they will be expected to follow the menu that we provide.
Children under 12 months will be offered foods at their level of weaning which will be discussed with parents.
