Dear Parents and Carers,
As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting children’s health and well-being, we are up- dating our guidelines for packed lunches in line with the latest recommendations from the Department for Education along with the EYFS changes from September 2025.
We kindly ask for your support in ensuring your child brings a healthy snack each day along with a healthy, balanced lunch each session. The goal is to provide children with the energy and nutrients they need to learn, play, and grow.
Snack – we continue to request that only fresh fruit or vegetables such as carrot /cucumber batons are provided for snack time. Fruit such as grapes etc must be cut ~
What’s Recommended for Packed Lunches:
Please aim to include:
- A portion of starchy food such as bread, pasta etc.
- Fresh fruit and/or vegetables
- A source of protein such as lean meat, eggs, or hummus
- A dairy item such as cheese or yogurt (please avoid high-sugar varieties)
- Drinks ~ it is recommended in the nutritional guidance that children only drink water. We appreciate some children will only drink squash, if this is the case please ensure that it is very well diluted. We offer milk at snack time but will only refill bottles with water throughout the day. An example lunch could include having either sandwiches such as ham and cucumber, tuna etc, rice cakes or crackers with a low fat dip, along with fruit, vegetable sticks and a yoghurt. Any fruit that is included must be suitably prepared and cut.
To help promote healthy habits, we would request that you please avoid packing:
- Sweets items such as chocolate bars, cakes and fruit winders
- Fizzy drinks
- Crisps or similar salty snacks We understand that occasional treats can be part of a healthy lifestyle, but we kindly ask that these be reserved for home. Allergies & Safety Reminder:
Please remember that we are a nut-free setting. Kindly ensure all packed lunches are free from nuts and nut-based products. Please note that popcorn is not to be brought into pre-school as it is no longer recommended for under 4 year olds. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation to ensure your child’s packed lunches are healthy and balanced.