Healthy eating
Duxford Preschool runs a rolling snack policy for the morning session, which allows the children to have a snack when they wish, so that they do not need to be interrupted in their play. We aim to provide healthy, nutritious and varied snacks such as fresh and dried fruit, vegetables and salad, crackers, bread sticks, fruit toast, houmous etcetera. We often link the snacks to our current topic or special cultural celebrations to encourage the children to try a diverse range of foods.
We ask that all parents notify us of any special dietary requirements, preferences, allergies or intolerances that your child may have and we also operate a nut-free policy, so if your child attends the setting for lunch, their packed lunch must not contain any nuts or nut products e.g. peanut butter or nut-based chocolate spreads.
At lunchtime the children eat together alongside staff members, as eating in a social group can be an important part of discovering new foods and learning to enjoy mealtimes and we also like to promote a healthy lifestyle that includes children's lunchboxes. We encourage all parents to consider healthy choices when making packed lunches and to try and avoid food with high salt, sugar and/or fat content, such as chocolate, cake and crisps. We also ask parents not to provide children with sugary and acidic drinks, as we always have water and milk available. For further information on children's nutrition and advice on what to include in your child's lunchbox, please see the factsheets below or go to the NHS Change4Life website or the Nutritionist Resource website.
Healthy Packed Lunches for Early Years
Children 'exceed recommended sugar limit by age 10'