A strong relationship with parents is vital to ensuring children develop healthy attitudes to food and nutrition, according to staff at Each Peach Forest School in Newhaven, East Sussex. The setting was the Food Award winner at last year's Nursery World Awards and was praised by the judges for its work with families.
Joelle Bergin, who manages the nursery one day a week, says, ‘Society is filled with images of food, people and lifestyles which don't always promote healthy living. At nursery, we can provide a consistent influence and education for families and friends that promote things like sustainability, healthy relationships with food and positive body image.’
Initiatives include ‘Take Home Bakes’ where children make dough for bread rolls, scones or spring rolls at the setting and then taking it home to be baked with their family. ‘Sharing nursery recipes with parents is like passing on a baton,’ Bergin says. ‘It builds bridges between nursery and home, enriching learning as children are able to teach their families about what they have learned.
‘Food provokes conversation, and taking bakes, snacks and soups home from nursery can help encourage families to cook with their own children. Recipes are a bonus as they can give parents a starting point.’
COST OF LIVING
Staff provide a recipe of the week with money-saving suggestions to try at home, while termly cooking classes for parents encourage healthy eating, budgeting and portion sizes.
Bergin explains, ‘Sadly, the unhealthier options are more readily affordable in supermarkets so it is really key we do the very best we can to ensure children are consistently getting healthy, balanced meals.’
The setting has introduced a mandatory breakfast club to ensure all children attending the early session are getting a healthy start to their day, and provides ingredients for home cooking activities.
Staff prefer to promote cooking with children rather than offering sensory experiences through playing with food. Nursery manager Fay Sandalls says, ‘It just feels ethically wrong to hold onto food for play when so many are struggling to feed their children. You can get the same results from actually cooking with children as you can from food play.’
As a result, the setting has a strong ‘no play’ policy with food, and will not use any foodstuff in activities.
‘If any of the tomatoes spoil on our allotment, for example, we might cut them up and look at what's happened, but we think it is really important that nothing is wasted,’ Sandalls explains.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Set in an area of deprivation, the nursery caters for many children who may not have access to outdoor space. Luckily, its three acres of land offers plenty of opportunities for parents as well as children to enjoy the outdoors and investigate food from ‘seed to table’.
As a Forest School, the nursery also promotes exploration of the connection between nature and food through foraging, cooking outdoors and investigating food cycles and the natural environment.
‘Children get to experience the outdoor environment in its raw form before it reaches factories or supermarkets,’ says Bergin. ‘That helps us teach children to think about choices and how to live a healthy lifestyle from a young age.’
INSIDE THE NURSERY
On-site chef Sherrie Vogel-Field works with children to promote messages about healthy eating.
‘Our chef is not only proactive in her interactions with the children, she is dedicated to children's nutrition and what that entails,’ says Bergin. ‘Sherrie talks about her process a lot with groups of children and explores the types of skills she needs to do her job at nursery. Children participate in similar practices with the nursery teachers, using their own knives and chopping boards to help prepare meals.’
As well as increasing CPD provision for staff on topics relating to food and nutrition, having a chef on site means an easier way to keep on top of all the children's allergies and dietary requirements, special requests and favourites when building menus.
A large canteen and kitchen area allow Vogel-Field to engage directly and regularly in conversation with children about recipes, ingredients and cooking processes.
‘Our dining room is a hive of activity,’ says Bergin. ‘The room is spacious but not overwhelming. It is striking as you walk in as our chef is central in her enclosed kitchen island, where she is able to see and engage with everyone around her.
‘Produce is on display as she cooks, so children are able to see the ingredients that she is using to make her meals, making them curious and sparking conversation about new things they have not seen or experienced before. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also on display and accessible so children can choose to make healthy choices independently.’
INDEPENDENCE
Promoting independence is a priority at the setting (see box, overleaf), as children are encouraged to serve themselves at mealtimes.
‘We’ve had a real drive with our children to self-serve their food, which makes them aware of how much and what they’re eating,’ says Sandalls. ‘There's nothing worse than seeing a child being dished up a plate of food and just looking overwhelmed at what is on there.
‘Serving themselves really helps with food waste too, as we have very little food left over. It's a really good skill to give them at that age and as they go through life. That autonomy is really beneficial.’
Involving children in every element of food growing, preparation and serving is a great way to promote positive attitudes towards healthy eating and trying new foods, Sandalls adds.
‘Here, the children see the whole journey, from sowing seeds to growing tomatoes, and then using them in snacks and cooking,’ she explains. ‘A lot of the children's palates have grown from trying new foods that they wouldn't necessarily try at home because they haven't felt involved in that whole process.’
TOP TIPS
Sandalls says even smaller settings can quickly and cheaply involve growing and cooking food in their practice with children.
She explains, ‘Herbs in guttering can be done quite easily in tiny spaces. Things like tomatoes on windowsills also grow really well. You can still do cooking, of sorts, in the tiniest spaces too. No-bake recipes are a really good place to start. Things like fruit salads don't necessarily need cooking. Ultimately, it's about quality over quantity.’
Encouraging independence through food
Tips to encourage children's independence skills through food include:
- Involve children in the entire growing, picking, cooking and eating process, starting with choosing seeds to grow from the local garden centre.
- Allow children to choose their own snacks. Have options available for a period of time so that children can also choose when they would like to help themselves.
- Let children peel and chop their own snacks, such as fruit.
- At mealtimes, provide small, light jugs to allow children to pour their own drinks.
- Involve children in putting tablecloths on tables and laying cutlery and cups.
- Self-service systems allow children to decide how much they have on their plate, regulating their own needs.
- After mealtimes, children can wash their hands and face, clear their own plates and wash them up, helping them to learn about hygiene and cleanliness as well as waste and compost.