How we create our nursery menus — and why it matters
Food and nutrition are an important part of Partou nursery life. Learn how we develop our menus using expert knowledge and DfE guidance and how we support children to make mealtimes enjoyable.
Food & nutrition
Food & nutrition
The benefits of providing young children with nutritious meals extends far beyond their early years. It creates lifelong healthy eating habits whilst enabling the development of strong minds and bodies.
When developing our food and menu options, we listened to feedback from families, team members, governing bodies and independent nutritionists to ensure that we could offer healthy, balanced meals that children love.
As a result, every Partou nursery adopts a menu that is highly nutritious and full of flavour.
Learn more about how we develop our nursery menus with one of the UK’s leading early years nutrition experts and in line with Department for Education guidance.
Rotating menus
Evidence shows regular exposure to foods helps children to develop their taste for them.
However, we still want to offer variety and choice to children. Plus, families have told us they want their children to experience a diverse range of healthy food options.
So, we offer a menu system which rotates on a three-to-four-week basis, offering the perfect balance between exposing children to new foods yet allowing them to become familiar with flavours.
Our menus are also seasonal. We offer summer and winter menus to allow children to try different recipes throughout the year.
A focus on lunchtime
Whilst full-time children are provided with at least three meals per day, each Partou nursery prioritises lunch as a time where children can enjoy their food.
There is a social aspect to all lunches and, where possible, children are encouraged to take an active interest in the food they eat.
This not only helps to foster positive relationships with healthy foods but also prevents snacking to maximise playtime.
Fresh food everyday
We serve children fresh food every day and accommodate many different dietary requirements.
In preparing our menus, we lean into the expertise of highly experienced nursery chefs who are skilled at preparing meals that even the fussiest of eaters enjoy.
We have procedures in place to protect children with food allergies and offer different meal options including vegetarian alternatives plus a weaning menu too. If your child has a dietary requirement, simply let us know as part of our registration process and we’ll make sure we meet the needs of your child.
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