Statement of intent
Frederic Chopin Integrative Saturday School in Bath regards snack times as an important part of the setting’s session/day. Eating represents a social time for children/young people and adults and helps children to learn about healthy eating.
Aim
At snack time, the children eat the food that is provided by their parents in a packed lunch, it meets the children’s/young person’s individual dietary needs.
Methods
- Before a child/young person starts to attend the setting, we find out from parents/carers their children’s dietary needs and preferences, including any allergies.
- We record information about each child’s/young person’s dietary needs in her/his registration record and parents/cares sign the record to signify that it is correct.
- We regularly consult with parents/carers to ensure that our records of their children’s dietary needs – including any allergies – are up to date.
- We display current information about individual children’s/young people’s dietary needs so that all staff and volunteers are fully informed about them.
- We implement systems to ensure that children/young people receive only food and drink that is consistent with their dietary needs and preferences as well as their parents’/carers’ wishes. (Packed lunch provided by parents)
- We take care not to provide food containing nuts or nut products and are especially vigilant where we have a child/young person who has a known allergy to nuts.
- Through discussion with parents/carers and research reading by staff, we obtain information about the dietary rules of the religious groups to which children/young people and their parents/carers belong, and of vegetarians and vegans, and about food allergies. We take account of this information in the provision of food and drinks.
- We require staff to show sensitivity in providing for children’s/young person’s diets and allergies. Staff do not use a child’s/young person’s diet or allergy as a label for the child/young person or make a child/young person feel singled out because of her/his diet or allergy.
- We organise snack times so that they are social occasions in which children/young people and staff participate.
- We use snack times to help children/young people to develop independence through making choices, serving food and drink and feeding themselves.
- We have fresh drinking water constantly available for children/young people. We inform children/young people about how to obtain the water and that they can ask for water at any time during the session/day.
- We inform parents/carers who provide food for their children about the storage facilities available in the setting.
- In order to protect children/young people with food allergies, we have rules about children/young people sharing and swapping their food with one another.