'Laying the Table. Recommendations for National Food and Nutrition Guidance for Early Years Settings in England' was published in March 2011.
A preliminary review published by the Trust in January 2010 concluded that current advice on food and nutrition for early years settings in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework was limited and not supported by clear recommendations for implementation. The School Food Trust was commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) to establish and manage a multi-disciplinary Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years.
The Advisory Panel considered the need for revised guidance or standards on the provision of food and drink in early years settings, and on the implications of any changes it might recommend.
The Advisory Panel worked with providers, practitioners, caterers, food manufacturers and those involved with auditing or inspecting early years food and drink provision, including local authorities and Ofsted. It produced a set of recommendations to inform the wider, independent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage which began in September 2010 and reported in March 2011.
The relevant documents relating to the work of the Advisory Panel can be accessed through the links below:
- Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years
Laying the Table. Recommendations for National Food and Nutrition Guidance for Early Years Settings in England. Volume 1: Main report
Click here to download (Adobe pdf doc 1,348KB)- Laying the Table. Volume 2: Appendices
Click here to download (Adobe pdf doc 1,285KB) - Preliminary Review of Early Years Food, Nutrition and Healthy Eating Guidance in England: A Summary
Click here to download (Adobe pdf doc 166KB)
The work of the Advisory Panel
Between February and October 2010, the Panel met five times to consider the evidence submitted and consult with a diverse range of stakeholders including local authorities, practitioners and parents, in order to gather their views on food and nutrition in early years. There was general consensus on the need for better practical guidance on how to provide healthy food and drink to children aged under five years in a diversity of early years settings.
In addition to the contributions of the Panel members, the Panel undertook five pieces of work to gather evidence on existing guidance, food and drink provision and practice, training, and cost of food from a range of practitioners, providers, parents and children.
The Panel member contributions and the evidence gathered showed that there is confusion amongst early years practitioners about how to deliver the current requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (that settings should provide food that is “healthy, balanced and ‘nutritious”). It pointed to a need for practical guidance on the food and nutrition needs of children in the diversity of early years settings and on the implementation of such guidance.
The Panel developed a draft set of guidance which was then tested with nurseries, childminders and daycare centres. The final food and drink guidance recommended by the Panel is available in Laying the Table: Volume 2, Appendix 19.
The Panel submitted its report and recommendations to the Department for Education and Dame Clare Tickell, Chair of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework review, on 29th October 2010 for further consideration.
