By Craig, Nursery Chef Fintry Mains
The Care Inspectorate’s updated Setting the Table came into force in August, the guidance provides a framework for how early years settings in Scotland can create positive food and mealtime experiences for children from birth to age five. It recognises that what, and how, children eat in their earliest years can shape lifelong health and wellbeing.
As the Chef in Dundee I’ve been looking at the guidance and creating new menus to ensure that our early learning and childcare settings are all set to Set the Table.
At its heart, the guidance ensures that children are offered balanced, age-appropriate nutrition. Meals and snacks should provide the right energy, vitamins and minerals, while reflecting children’s developmental stages — from first weaning experiences to confident self-feeding.
We often forget that food is more than fuel and that mealtime experiences give children an opportunity to learn social skills, explore tastes and textures and build healthy eating habits.
In our settings children are encouraged, with support from our team, to serve themselves – the process of scooping, pouring, and handling utensils, helps to develop fine motor skills, build confidence and gives children a sense of control over their own choices.
Every child should feel included and respected at mealtimes, this means catering for allergies, intolerances and cultural preferences, while also supporting children with additional needs.
The changes I have made include introducing a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as reducing salt and opting for snacks with less sugar.
These changes align with the updated guidance for the age groups in each room, ensuring they reflect and support the children’s developmental stages.
My main suggestion for other chefs or childcare providers would be to visit the rooms during lunchtime and engage with the children to learn about their likes and dislikes.
Whenever I see parents in the nursery or outside of work, they often tell me how much the children enjoy my food. Many of them even ask me for my recipes!
All in all, Setting the Table asks early years settings to view food as both a health priority and a powerful part of children’s learning. It calls for mealtimes that are nutritious, inclusive, safe, and nurturing, something we can all do and something that will give the little ones the best start in life.
