Food and Nutrition
Our menu is carefully planned to meet nutritional guidelines and to provide a healthy and balanced diet for 0-5 year olds. It is prepared fresh onsite each day by our own chef with high quality ingredients. When devising our menus, we work very closely with our local Early Years nutritional teams to ensure that the children are eating a healthy diet supported by menus targeting all the main food groups. We understand the importance of food sustainability as well and try to incorporate this ethos into our menu planning wherever possible.
The menu for children aged 1-5 is based on the following four food groups:
- Starchy foods
- Fruit and vegetables
- Meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
- Milk and dairy foods
Children have up to three meals during their nursery day, depending upon the times they arrive and leave. Water, milk and healthy snacks are also served and the older children are encouraged to help themselves throughout the day from low level refreshment tables. The practice of self-serving is also something we encourage from our toddler room upwards at our nurseries.
Developing the social aspect of mealtimes is also crucial to establish good eating habits, which is why our children and staff always sit down together to have a ‘family-style’ meal to promote good table manners.
Meal times at Dragonfly are about more than simply what our children eat. It is about the understanding of where the food comes from and how we grow it.
We understand some parents have preferences and dietary requirements due to religious beliefs or otherwise, and in line with our inclusion, equality and diversity policies we cater for all dietary requirements and allergies. Dragonfly Day Nursery operates a nut free nursery policy.
