School cooks & caterers


Early Years FAQs

Frequently asked questions about the new national food and drink guidelines for early years settings and the practical tools

If you have a question about the food and drink guidelines or any of the support tools, that is not listed below, please contact the Trust at info@childrensfoodtrust.org.uk


Why have the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings been produced?
Establishing healthy eating habits during children’s early years is very important, as these influence growth, development and academic achievement in later life. Early years settings, therefore, provide an ideal opportunity to help children eat well, enjoy a varied diet, and establish healthy eating habits to take with them into their school years and beyond.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework, introduced in September 2008, and revised for implementation from September 2012, includes a welfare requirement for the provision of ‘healthy, balanced and nutritious’ food and drink. Early years providers, practitioners and parents have asked for clearer national guidance on what children under five years should eat and drink while attending early years settings, to help them to meet this requirement.

The Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years recommended in their report ‘Laying the Table’, that Government provide clear and practical guidance on meeting the nutritional requirements of children attending early years settings. This recommendation was endorsed by Dame Clare Tickell’s independent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which recommended that the Government act on the report of the Advisory Panel and consider providing further advice and good practice for practitioners.

The national voluntary food and drink guidelines describe the types and amounts of food and drink to provide for meals and snacks in early years settings. Following these voluntary food and drink guidelines will help to ensure the nutritional requirements of children attending early years settings are met.


Who are the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for?
The national voluntary food and drink guidelines and practical tools have been developed so they can be used by all early years settings providing meals, snacks or drinks to children aged one to five years. This includes children’s centres, registered childminders and nannies, private, voluntary and independent nurseries, local authority maintained nursery schools, nursery classes within primary schools, pre-schools and sessional settings such as playgroups.

Non-regulated settings are also encouraged to use the guidelines when planning meals, snacks and drinks.

Parents may also find the practical guide useful to help them to understand the types and amounts of food and drinks that they should expect their child to be offered whilst attending an early years setting.


Do the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines apply to all children attending early years settings?
The national voluntary food and drink guidelines have been developed to meet the nutritional needs of children aged one to five years. The guidelines are based on the Department of Health’s current dietary recommendations (Dietary Reference Values) for children aged one to four years, which are appropriate for children up to their fifth birthday.

The food and drink guidelines do not apply to children under one year of age. For more information about providing food and drink to children under one year, please refer to one of the following resources:


Are early years settings required to follow the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines?
No, the new national food and drink guidelines are voluntary, and settings are not required to follow them. However, the new food and drink guidelines represent national best practice for food and drink provision and the School Food Trust encourages all early years providers and practitioners to follow the guidelines when planning meals, snacks and drinks.

Following the new national food and drink guidelines is an easy way for settings to demonstrate that they are meeting the EYFS welfare requirement for provision of ‘healthy balanced and nutritious’ food and drink as well as showing parents that they are committed to providing healthy food for the children in their care.


Do early years settings have to follow the menus and recipes included as part of the practical guide, and within the example menus?
No, early years settings can choose to follow the menus and recipes included in the guide, or use individual recipes, but they do not have to.

The two example one-week menus included as part of the practical guide have been developed to help early years settings understand and use the food and drink guidelines and provide ideas about the types of food and drinks that could be provided for breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, as well as illustrating the appropriate amounts and frequencies for different foods. The two menus have also been developed to illustrate how to incorporate seasonal variation into meals.


What regulations relating to food and drink do early years settings have to meet?
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, introduced in September 2008, and revised for implementation from September 2012, includes welfare requirements which state “Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, these must be healthy balanced and nutritious” and “Fresh drinking water must be available and accessible at all times”.

In addition to the requirements of the EYFS framework, maintained nursery schools, and nursery classes within maintained primary schools, are required to meet the mandatory food-based standards for school lunches outlined in Schedule 5 of the School Food Regulations (2007, as amended 2008, 2011). These Regulations require that one item from each of four food groups (fruit and vegetables, starchy foods, meat, fish and alternatives and milk and dairy foods) is provided at lunchtime each day. These regulations can be found here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/2359/contents/made

Planning menus to meet the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines will help settings to meet the EYFS welfare requirement for food and drink, and the requirements of the School Food Regulations (where applicable).


How were the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings developed?
The national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings are based on the recommendations made by the Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years. The Advisory Panel published draft guidance on the provision of food and drink in early years settings in appendix 19 of their report. This draft guidance was used as a basis for the national voluntary food and drink guidelines.

A draft practical guide outlining the national voluntary food and drink guidelines was produced with advice to help settings encourage children to eat well. A set of practical tools were also developed and included as part of guide to help settings understand and use the guidelines. The practical tools include a code of practice for food and drink, two checklists to evaluate approach and provision of food and drink and example menus and recipes.

The food and drink guidelines and practical tools were piloted in 18 early years settings between June and August 2011, to ensure that the guidelines and tools were clear, practical and met the needs of a wide range of different settings, including nurseries, children’s centres and childminders.

The guidelines were also externally reviewed by the Department for Education, Department of Health, six national early years organisations, and health professionals to ensure that the guidelines were aligned to current food and nutrition advice for children aged one to five years and reflected best practice.


How do you know that the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings are achievable and practical?
The food and drink guidelines and the practical support tools were pilot tested by 18 early years settings, including nurseries, children’s centres, pre-schools and childminders, during summer 2011. Testing the food and drink guidelines and the practical tools in this way was important to ensure that they are fit for purpose and the information was clear and easy to understand and use.

To pilot them, each setting used the food and drink guidelines when planning meals and snacks for a week. Feedback from each setting was then used to refine the final wording of the guidelines to ensure they were clear and easy to understand and use.

The guidelines were also externally reviewed by the Department for Education, Department of Health, six national early years organisations, and health professionals, to ensure that they were aligned to current food and nutrition advice for children aged one to five years and reflected best practice.


How do the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings differ from the national standards for school food?
The new national food and drink guidelines for early years settings are voluntary. Early years settings (regulated and non-regulated), can chose to follow them, and we would encourage them to do so.

The food and drink guidelines for early years settings set out how often, how much, and which type of food and drink should be provided to children aged one up to five years, across the day. The guidelines are based on four food-groups (starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and other non-dairy sources of protein and milk and dairy foods). For each food group, there are food and drink guidelines to use when planning menus, good practice points to consider, and food safety advice to follow.

These guidelines apply to all meals, snacks and drinks. If settings follow these guidelines, providing the types and amounts of food and drink set out by the guidelines, it will help them to meet the nutritional requirements of children aged one to five years.

In comparison, the national standards for school food are mandatory for all local authority maintained primary, secondary and special schools in England. These standards include both food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches and food-based standards for school food other than lunches. The nutrient-based standards require schools to analyse lunch menus to ensure that they meet 14 nutrient-based standards, which include an average standard for energy, minimum standards for vitamins and minerals and maximum standards for fat, saturated fat, added sugar and salt.


We cater for a primary school with a nursery unit, should we follow the food and drink guidelines or the national standards for school food? How can we meet the requirements of both groups with one menu?
Food provided to pupils attending a local authority maintained primary school in England should be planned to meet the national standards for school food, including the food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches. Maintained nursery schools and nursery units within primary schools are not required to meet the national standards for school food. Instead, lunches provided to these children should comply with Schedule 5 of the School Food Regulations, which require that food from each of four food groups (starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and other non-dairy sources of protein and milk and dairy foods) should be provided each day as part of lunch.

Children under five years of age have different nutritional requirements to older children, and the voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings have been developed to meet these requirements. We would recommend that food and drink provided for children attending early years settings, including maintained nursery schools, and nursery units within primary schools is planned to meet the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines.

Lunch menus planned for use in nursery units of primary schools, can be checked using the menu planning checklist to understand if the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines for early years settings have been met. This checklist is included in the practical guide, on pages 61-5.


We only provide snacks/drinks in our setting, are we still able to use the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines?
The food and drink guidelines have been developed for early years settings providing any meals, snacks or drinks. The food and drink guidelines are specified by food group in section three of the practical guide and listed for each meal and snack in section four of the practical guide. Settings providing only snacks can use section four of the guide to identify the food and drink guidelines which apply to snacks, and to see examples of snacks meeting the food and drink guidelines.

Food and drink guidelines for drinks are listed on page 26 of the practical guide. Settings providing only drinks can use this information to check that their drinks provision meets the food and drink guidelines.

The menu planning checklist included in section six of the practical guide is also split by meal occasion. This enables settings providing only some meals or snacks to complete the relevant section of the checklist to evaluate their provision against the appropriate food and drink guidelines.


We don’t have the facilities to prepare hot food. Can we still follow the food and drink guidelines?
The food and drink guidelines have been developed for early years settings providing any meals, snacks or drinks, including cold meals and packed lunches. We would recommend that where cold meals and snacks are provided, these are still planned to meet the food and drink guidelines.

The guidance for packed lunches included on pages 52-53 of the practical guide can be used by settings providing cold meals and snacks, to identify examples of the types of food that can be provided to meet the food and drink guidelines.


Should the guidelines be applied to packed lunches brought into the setting?
Food provision varies between early years settings, and in some settings, families may be asked to provide some (or all) meals and snacks for their children. We would recommend that settings include guidance on food brought from home in their food policy, to help families to choose and provide appropriate food and drinks for their children.

Guidance on providing packed lunches and snacks which meet the new national voluntary food and drink guidelines is included on pages 52-53 of the practical guide. This information can be used to give advice to families to help ensure that food provided as part of packed lunches is consistent with food provided by the setting.


We currently provide a snack tea, rather than a light meal as included in the example menus. Should we be providing a light meal for children before they go home instead?
The example menus included within the practical guide are planned to provide 30% of average daily energy requirements at lunchtime and 20% at teatime, in line with the nutrient framework recommended by the Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in Early Years.

We are aware, however, that food provision in early years settings varies, with some settings providing a main meal for tea, some providing a light meal, and some providing only a snack, so that children can eat a meal with their families at home. However food provision is organised, it is important that families are aware of this, so that they can provide appropriate meals and snacks at home. For example, if only a snack is provided at teatime, it is important that families know this so they can provide children with a meal when they get home. Sharing menus for all meals and snacks with families is one way to ensure that they know what food and drink is provided for their children.


Why does the practical guide state that food provided in early years settings can provide 125% of the recommended maximum salt intake for young children?
The maximum salt content of meals and snacks provided by early years settings, as specified in the nutrient framework, is based on target average salt intakes for different groups within the population, published by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). These figures represent a population goal rather than an ideal consumption level for individuals.

These current salt targets are difficult to achieve when planning meals and snacks for young children which meet other recommendations for a healthy, balanced diet and include foods which are good sources of nutrients such as iron and calcium. The advisory panel therefore agreed that it would be acceptable to set guidance allowing menus planned for a week or more to have a maximum of 125% of the current population target for salt for this age group.

It is important that young children do not have too much salt in their diet. Using the food and drink guidelines to plan meals and snacks, and checking product labels to choose products lower in salt, will help to reduce the salt content of food provided.


The food and drink guidelines state that starchy foods which have been fried should not be provided more than once a week at lunch or tea – which foods do these include?
The food and drink guidelines recommend limiting starchy foods which have been fried to once a week at lunch and once a week at tea. These foods can be high in fat and saturated fat and limiting them will also help to encourage children to eat a wider variety of starchy foods.

This group includes starchy foods which have been fried in the kitchen (for example roast potatoes, potato wedges, chips and fried rice) and also bought potato products which have been fried during manufacture (for example potato waffles, smiley faces and other processed potato shapes).

The food and drink guidelines recommend preparing food from scratch as often as possible, as this will help to reduce the saturated fat and salt content of meals and snacks. Therefore, although both homemade and processed products are classed as fried starchy foods, it is preferable to provide homemade products (such as roast potatoes as part of a roast dinner) and serve these as part of meals instead of products such as processed potato shapes.


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