10. Food and Drink

St Peter’s Pre-School will observe current legislation regarding food hygiene, registration and training. In particular, each adult will:

•	   Always wash hands with soap, under running water before handling food and after using the toilet.

•	   Not be involved with the preparation of food if suffering from any infectious/contagious illness or 
        skin trouble.

•	   Never smoke at the pre-school.

•	   Never cough or sneeze over food.

•	   Use different cleaning cloths for kitchen and toilet areas: 
        Yellow- washing
        Blue- craft
        Blue paper towel- Spillages and bodily fluids

•	   Wash fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly before use.

•	   Keep food covered and refrigerated when not eating.

•	  Provide healthy, wholesome food, promoting and extending the children’s understanding of a healthy diet when cooking with children as an activity.
•	  The preschool follows healthy food guidelines from Change4Life and Public Health England.
•	  Government guidance (2017) states that “Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influence many aspects of well-being. Children’s food preferences and eating habits are also formed early in life with consequences for a range of health and development outcomes in later life. It is therefore important that the food provided in early years settings provides appropriate amounts of energy and nutrients and supports development of healthy eating habits in young children.” (2017, p.4)

Snack time:

The sharing of refreshments can play an important part in the social life of the pre-school, as well as reinforcing children’s understanding of the importance of healthy eating. The pre-school will ensure that it fulfils all the requirements of the registering authority and that:

·	All snacks provided are nutritious, avoiding large quantities of fat, sugar, salt, additives, preservatives and colourings.

·	Before a child starts to attend the group, the child’s dietary needs will be discussed with parents, including any allergies. Appropriate steps will be taken to meet these needs. This must be noted on the registration form.

·	A diet encompassing food from a range of cultures ensures that children from all backgrounds encounter familiar tastes, and that all children have the opportunity to try unfamiliar foods.

·	Dietary rules of religious groups (and also of vegetarians/vegans) are known and met in appropriate ways.

·	Water is constantly available.

·	Milk provided for children will be either whole or semi-skimmed and pasteurised.

Food Allergies:

·	Parents of children affected by food allergies must inform the supervisor prior to commencing pre-school that their child has an allergy so that the correct care and attention may be delivered throughout pre-school. 

·	Any parent of a child on medication to treat an allergic reaction should ensure that pre-school has the medication in every session. This should be clearly labelled with the child’s full name and address, dosage and expiry date. In addition the parents must complete a medication consent form. In cases of severe allergic reactions, e.g. nut allergy, parents are requested to obtain a letter from their GP giving details of their condition and appropriate treatment.

·	Pre-school takes special care when buying biscuits or other snacks but as an extra precaution those children with nut allergies may be asked to have their own biscuits supplied by their parents. These biscuits will be kept in their named box. 

·	All cookery ingredients will be checked by the supervisor or in her absence a senior member of staff to avoid any foods which may contain nuts or nut derivatives. 

·	Children allergic to milk will be offered water to drink. 

·	Party food/birthday cakes: parents are asked when donating party food, or bringing in birthday cakes to ensure that there are no nuts, or where possible, no nut traces in the ingredients. We also request that at parties, parents of children with allergies check the food available so that they can decide if they would prefer some items to be withheld. 

All staff involved in preparing and handling food must receive training in food hygiene.

This policy was adopted at a meeting of the Pre-school held on……………………… (Date)

Signed on behalf of the Pre-school: …………………………….……… (Chairperson)