Holloway Cluster Food Policy May 2014

Transcription

1 1 Holloway Cluster Food Policy May 2014 Aim: As a cluster of healthy Children s Centres we want to ensure that we promote the health and well-being of the whole children s centre community though all aspects of food and nutrition and provide consistent messages to children, parents and staff. Objectives To show children and parents why a balanced diet is important To develop children s positive experiences of eating with others To provide appealing, balanced and nutritious healthy food options To model a positive approach to good hygiene practices To encourage responsibility of all in offering healthy options to children To respect the different dietary, cultural, religious and health needs of our children Key Messages: Every child should: Eat breakfast every day Eat 5-7 portions of fruit and vegetables daily Avoid snacks and drinks with a high sugar content Drink plenty of water to avoid becoming dehydrated Be physically active every day Brush teeth twice a day and visit the dentist regularly Children s Centre Community Responsibilities Staff team All staff are aware of the policy and know the importance of providing positive role models for children as they learn to live healthy lives. Staff members model behaviours for health and positive body image when within sight or hearing of children. Staff encourage other early years providers to adopt healthy eating practice. Staff working with children Staff involved in food preparation and mealtimes have an understanding of the Voluntary Guidelines for Food and Drink in the Early Years setting in England, including an understanding of how to encourage healthy food choices and knowing about appropriate portion sizes for the age of children attending the centre. Staff with a responsibility for, or oversight of, food and cooking skills hold the Level 2 food safety certificate and have the skills to teach children simple food preparation. They ensure that all staff involved in teaching food preparation have basic food safety knowledge to prepare food safely and teach the children about safe food preparation. Staff involved in food preparation hold the Level 2 food safety certificate and staff serving food have either an awareness of basic food safety or ideally Level 1 food safety certificate. Staff working with parents and families

2 2 Staff organise practical cooking sessions to support families to do the best for their children. These sessions include healthy eating based on the government advice. A variety of food is provided at parent sessions so that parents can make healthy choices. Parents Parents follow the guidance provided by the centre around food brought in from home. Parents provide medical information in relation to allergies, special diets and religious, social and ethical food preferences. Parents engage with the centre around the food their child eats; for example by taking part in feedback on the centre s menu, attending events and when invited to have a meal with their child at the centre. Parents ensure that their child either eats a healthy breakfast at home or takes part in breakfast at the centre. The centre s vision for food meets the Voluntary guidelines for food and drink for early year settings in England (Appendix 1) This means that the type and amount of food served meets the nutritional requirements of the children who eat with us. Meals and snacks are scheduled at regular times Either a meal or a snack is offered to children at least every 1½ 3 hours as children have small stomachs and high nutrient needs to grow and develop, and to play and achieve. Snacks served are mini-meals, with components as healthy as mealtime choices. Children are seated when eating meals and snacks. Portion sizes are age appropriate Staff serve small portion sizes as it is better for children to ask for seconds then to serve them too much. This helps children to recognise when they are hungry and when they have eaten enough. Mealtimes are relaxed, calm and with shared conversation Staff eat with the children at mealtimes and they eat the same food. Staff can easily offer help, role model good manners and eating behaviour, direct conversation, and create a calm and relaxed eating environment. At the same time they can supervise the children eating. This is important because choking is quiet and help needed quickly. Children decide which foods they will eat from the foods offered All food served is healthy so whatever the child chooses will be healthy. Children are trusted to know how much they want to eat and allowed to say no to foods. Food is not used as a reward or punishment. Children are involved in food preparation, setting of the table, serving the food and clearing the table as much as possible Food is used to support the development of children and they are given opportunities to explore food. Children have the opportunity to be involved in food preparation, such as simple cold dishes: sandwiches, dips, salads and so on. Children are encouraged and helped to be successful in whatever self-feeding and self-serving they are capable of doing. Food is served in a form that young children can eat with minimum assistance and without choking. The texture of food is progressive from soft mashed food to normal adult texture at the age of 1 year. Parents are given information on the meals and snacks provided Staff will tell parents how well their child ate during the day and foods they particularly enjoyed or tried. The centre supports parents to do the best for their children

3 3 The centre will expect food brought from home to meet the voluntary food and drink guidelines for early year settings in England (Appendix 1). Staff will encourage eligible pregnant women and mothers with children under 4 to register with the Healthy Start scheme, and tell them where and how they can obtain free vitamins (Appendix 2). The centre aims to provide suitable food for all children Children with special needs have their nutrition needs taken into account. Foods served reflect the ethnicity and cultures of all children using the centre. Parents are asked for advice to ensure the needs of all children are met and we learn from parents experiences and suggestions. For detailed policy on severe allergic reactions and food policy see Appendix 3. Special occasions and birthdays are celebrated with mostly healthy foods or with non-food treats Staff promote non-food celebrations and non-food treats, which are pleasant alternatives to birthday sweets. If food is used for celebrations, it forms part of a balanced meal provision and does not replace healthy foods. Only healthy drinks are provided Water and milk are the best drinks for children s teeth and bodies. We provide full fat milk for children under-2; the centre does not serve skimmed milk for children under 5. If juice is given it is diluted 1 part juice with 10 parts water and only served as part of a meal. Drinks are offered in an open cup from 6 months and bottles discontinued at one year. The centre follows DOH hygiene instructions when preparing a formula drink. (Appendix 4) There is a supportive breastfeeding environment for mothers Breast milk is the ideal source of nutrition for infants for at least the first year of life. There is refrigerated storage space for expressed breast milk which has been clearly labelled with name and date. Mothers are welcome to breastfeed and a space will be provided for this. Staff can direct mothers to where they can access further breastfeeding support. All centres adhere to the Islington and Whittington Health Infant Feeding Policy (Appendix 5). Individual Centre s Food Policies Paradise Park, Willow and Hungerford Children s Centres each have different service provision and food providers. Each centre s own food policy is available at the sites, and menus are displayed on noticeboards in communal areas. Willow: In The Handbook, visible in reception area Paradise Park: In the Policies Folder available from the centre office Hungerford School: in the online policy folder, available to all parents Appendix 1: Schools Food Trust Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings Appendix 2 Healthy Start Vitamins Appendix 3 Severe allergic reactions and food policy Appendix 4 A Step by Step Guide to preparing a powdered formula feed Appendix 5 Infant Feeding Policy link Appendix 2: Healthy Start vitamins

4 4 Healthy Start vitamins contain appropriate amounts of the recommended vitamins for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children aged from six months old. Children who are given infant formula won t need to take vitamin drops until they are drinking less than 500ml (about a pint) of infant formula a day. Women s tablets contain vitamins C, D and folic acid Children s drops contain vitamins A, C and D All pregnant or breastfeeding women and all children up to the age of four resident in Islington are eligible for free vitamins (this includes both those families which are eligible for Healthy Start vouchers and those who are not). Each bottle provides an 8-week supply. It is recommended that breast-fed children be given Healthy Start vitamins from around six months of age. However, if the mother took no vitamin supplementation during pregnancy, babies can be started on healthy start from one month. Vitamin D Although we can get enough vitamin A, C and folic acid when eating a healthy diet, we will only get about 10% of vitamin D from our diet as our bodies convert this vitamin from sunlight. The amount of sun you need to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D is different for every person but is less than the amount that causes tanning or burning. Pregnant, breastfeeding women and young children are particularly at risk of vitamin D deficiency. Babies get vitamin D from their mother during pregnancy and from their mothers breast milk, which is one of the reasons why it is really important for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to have adequate vitamin D levels of their own. Formula milk is fortified with vitamin D. What happens if we don t get enough vitamin D? Vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium, which in turn keeps bones and teeth healthy. Small children and babies who don t get enough vitamin D can get softened bones which can lead to rickets. Pregnant and breastfeeding women need to get enough vitamin D to keep their bones healthy and to provide their baby with enough vitamin D. Where can families pick up Healthy Start vitamins? Vitamins can be picked up from: Children's Centres: Health Centres: Other: Ambler CC Finsbury HC Bingfield Health Visiting Archway CC Goodinge HC team Bemerton CC Highbury Grange HC Hanley Health Visiting Golden Lane CC Holloway Community HC team Hornsey Road CC Hornsey Rise HC Looked After Children New River Green CC Northern HC Team Willow CC River Place HC

5 5 Appendix 3 Some schools and settings have a policy of asking parents to exclude certain foods containing key allergens from their children's lunchboxes and any food brought in. This has become a standard precaution in many schools and settings with children who have severe nut / peanut allergies. It becomes more difficult to extend this exclusion to foods which carries a warning about traces of nuts and schools cannot presume to be 100% nut-free. This means that even when schools have guidance asking that foods containing nuts are not brought in due diligence will need to be carried out at all times: nut-free packed lunches will need to be continually re-enforced and staff will need to be consciously looking out for signs and symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction. Schools or children s centres do not need to be nut free if none of the children / young people attending have a nut allergy. Nuts are a nutritious food and very useful source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. Whole nuts should not be given to under 5 s though because of choking hazard. It is much less practical to ask parents to exclude other allergen foods such as milk, egg, fish, wheat or soya. Therefore it is important to concentrate on prevention. Children need to understand why they should not share food, and simple precautions need to be in place such as throwing rubbish in a bin, washing hands before and after eating and keeping tables free of debris. The most common allergens are: Cereals containing gluten such as wheat and rye Crustaceans Egg Milk Fish Peanuts Nuts (tree nuts) Soya Mustard Celery Sesame Sulphites (used as a preservative on dried fruit)

6 As some of the foods are quite broad and cover whole food groups it is not feasible for non-allergic children to cut out these foods. Therefore the general advice is that schools and settings should not try and ban those foods but there should be staff easily available who have received training in anaphylactic shock and the use of adrenaline injections (epi-pen). The paediatric first aid certificate (which is one of the requirements of the EYFS Framework) includes how to respond to anaphylactic shock. Parents might not know if their baby or toddler is allergic to foods as they may not yet have been exposed to the foods. Therefore there is a higher chance of a severe allergic reaction at settings working with younger children. Extra care needs to be taken during practical cooking lesson to make sure that staff are aware of any allergies, seek permission from parents for their children to take part in cooking and tasting and ensure that recipes are suitable for the group taking into account any allergies. There are a number of reasons why it might be better not to ban any types of food (with the exception of nuts) even if a child attending may have a severe allergic reaction to a food: 1. It is better for the child to be careful with foods so that they are prepared for the wider world where they have to think for themselves and be very aware of potentially allergenic foods. 2. Some of the foods are whole food groups; including those of which the advice is to increase consumption of (for example fish and milk) to make our diet healthier, and it would be unfeasible to cut them out. 3. A wide variety of people might be involved in preparing food that is brought in to schools or settings: parents / carers, siblings, other family members, or friends. Sometimes these people may have very little contact with the setting/school and prepare an item of food once because they are looking after the child for a short time only. Therefore even if the setting/school has a policy banning a certain food, it cannot be certain that this is followed by all families all the time. This will give a false sense of security to children who suffer from severe allergic reactions. For more information, visit

7 Holloway Cluster Food Policy Appendix Four

8 March 11. Produced by COI for the Department of Health. Photographs reproduced with permission from the Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland. Crown Copyright 2011