Nursery food: What will my child eat at nursery?

The first five years of a child’s life is a critical time for their growth and development, so parents understandably want to provide them with the best nutrition, both at home and at any childcare setting they attend.

Nurseries have a responsibility to provide nutritious, healthy food; their country’s childcare regulator (e.g. Ofsted) will make sure this is being done effectively during inspections. Nurseries also have food hygiene inspections to make sure that food is being prepared and served safely.

Each country in the UK provides guidance for childcare providers on early years nutrition and menu ideas. You can view your country’s here:

• England: Example menus for early years settings in England
• Scotland: Nutritional Guidance for Early Years
• Wales: Food and nutrition for childcare providers
• Northern Ireland: Nutrition Matters for the early years

Nutrition in nurseries by age

0-6 months

While your baby is still exclusively on milk, the nursery will stick to a feeding schedule.

If you breastfeed and want your baby to have your milk at nursery too, you can provide the nursery with expressed milk, which they will label and keep in the fridge ready for feeding times.

If your baby drinks formula milk, you may be required to provide formula or even make bottles up for the day and bring them in. Other nurseries will provide the formula of your choice and may include the cost in their fees.

Read more about milk at nursery.

6-9 months

During the weaning process, babies will be introduced to new foods with care taken about potential allergens.

The nursery will follow your preferred weaning method (traditional puree or baby-led weaning, which involves letting the baby choose which solid foods they want to try from a selection) and pace. They may also keep track of what your baby is eating to identify any food allergens or intolerances.

Feeding babies milk, whether formula or breast, continues in nursery as children make the transition to solid food.

10 – 12 months

Some children take longer to wean than others. By this time, many children will be following the nursery’s menu for every meal (that they take at the nursery) while others will still be having some of their diet from breast or formula milk. 

As they grow, their calorific needs increase so they may be given one more snack or pudding at nursery than they had previously.

1 – 5 years

At this age, children are relying mostly on solid food and drinks to get all their nutritional needs. Some parents choose to continue supplementing their child’s diet with breast milk after a year and nurseries can accommodate this.

Nursery food is carefully planned to provide a balanced diet that contains essential vitamins and minerals, calcium, protein, starch and fats. They often put together a weekly menu so parents know what their child will be eating.

Nursery menu example

Many nurseries publish example menus online and send parents the next week’s menu in advance.

Often nurseries will pay attention to where they source their food from, such as only buying free-range eggs or even only organic milk, meat and produce. They often have an autumn/winter menu and a spring/summer menu, taking into account seasonal produce and serving children meals that are more suited to the weather, such as warming stews in colder weather.

A typical day’s food at nursery might look like:

Breakfast

Porridge or toast

Morning snack

Fruit

Lunch / Dinner

Fishcake and peas

Vegetarian option: Bean burger and peas

Afternoon snack

Cheese and tomato slices

Dinner / Tea

Cottage pie with broccoli

Vegetarian option: Lentil cottage pie with broccoli

Pudding

Yoghurt and fruit

Packed lunch at nursery

If your child goes to a childcare facility that does not have a proper kitchen, such as a pre-school at a village hall, they may be required to bring a packed lunch.

Some nurseries also offer the option of bringing in a packed lunch if you choose.

Some nurseries have policies on what children can eat at nursery, in order to instil healthy eating habits from a young age. They may have restrictions on what you can put in a packed lunch, such as no biscuits, cakes etc.

Many nurseries are nut-free zones and you will be expected to abide by this rule in order to protect the children.

Ideas for packed lunches

Packed lunches are a great opportunity to provide nutrition for your child and some parents prefer them.

Nurseries tend to favour healthy foods in packed lunches and may have rules on what you can and can’t pack. Even if you want to pack a “healthy” biscuit or cake, it can be difficult for the nursery staff to explain to other children, so it’s best to leave things like this for when your child is at home.

Ideas for packed lunch fillings include:

• Sandwiches with soft fillings (cheese, egg, houmous etc)
• Chopped vegetables such as carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, green beans, cherry tomatoes (not whole as these can be a choking hazard)
• Ready to eat fruit, such as berries or peeled and separated satsuma segments
• Yoghurt
• Cold pasta or potato dishes

Milk in nurseries

If your child attends nursery for two or more hours a day, they are entitled to free milk under the Nursery Milk Scheme. This enables nurseries to claim back the cost of the milk from the government.

Children are entitled to a third of a pint (189ml) a day up to the age of five.

The milk scheme was introduced in 1945 and used to include every school child under 18, but the ages provided for were cut back by the Labour Party in 1968 and the Conservative Party in 1971.

Building healthy eating habits at nursery

Learning about healthy eating habits and looking after your body is an important part of early years learning. Children take part in activities to learn about what foods are healthy and how they help the body.

Some have gardens or vegetable patches that enable children to get involved in growing the fruit and vegetables they eat.

Nursery is an excellent place for children to try new foods, particularly as they are more likely to eat it if the other children are.

Many nurseries have a policy of only providing water and milk to drink, these will not allow you to pack juice or squash.

If your child has special dietary needs

Nurseries take dietary needs such as cultural and religious preferences, vegetarian and vegan lifestyles and allergies and intolerances seriously.

You can learn more about how nurseries cater to dietary requirements.