Nutrition and Meal Times

At Playpals, we provide three balanced meals and two snacks every day to keep the children energized and healthy:

Breakfast (8:45am) – Cereal or porridge

Morning Snack (10:30/11am) – Fresh fruit or vegetables

Lunch (12pm) – A hot, nutritious meal

Afternoon Snack (3pm) – Biscuit and milk (oat/soya milk provided where needed)

Tea (4:30/5pm) – Sandwiches, fruit, and vegetables

All meals are prepared fresh on-site by our trained staff, ensuring each child’s safety and nutritional needs are met. We also cater for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), preparing food that’s appropriate to each child’s specific needs and abilities. Whether it’s for portion control, dietary requirements, or food allergies, we ensure every child is supported with the right meals to thrive.

As a breastfeeding-friendly setting, we warmly welcome you to feed your baby in comfort — whenever and wherever you choose.

At Playpals, we believe mealtimes are an important opportunity for children to develop both their independent skills and social confidence. Across all our rooms, we work together to build positive routines that foster these essential abilities.

Daisy Room (0-20 Months):
In the Daisy Room, children begin to explore mealtime routines by sitting together at the table. We encourage them to hold their own spoons and feed themselves, promoting early independent feeding skills and giving them the chance to enjoy social interactions during meals.

Poppy Room (20-30 Months):
Children in the Poppy Room continue to develop their social skills around the table while building on their independence. We encourage them to use a jug to pour their own milk and water, helping them gain confidence and control over their own meals.

Sunflower Room (30+ Months):
Sunflower Room children take their independence to the next level with free-flow snack times, where they can help themselves to snacks and practice skills like peeling and preparing food with adult support. They also practice pouring their own drinks from jugs. We emphasize personal hygiene by encouraging handwashing before meals and wiping mouths and hands afterward, allowing children to gain confidence in caring for themselves.

At every stage, we create a nurturing environment that supports self-reliance and social development, setting the foundation for confident, independent learners.

At Playpals, we believe in introducing children to cooking and food prep early, helping them build a positive relationship with healthy food. Through regular hands-on activities, children take part in preparing simple, nutritious snacks, in line with government nutrition guidelines for nursery settings.

These activities teach essential independent skills, from food handling to understanding balanced diets, while fostering creativity and confidence. By making healthy food fun, we encourage lifelong habits that promote a healthy lifestyle from a young age.

At Playpals, we’re proud to partner with FareShare, a charity that redistributes surplus food to nurseries and community groups. This allows us to provide healthy, seasonal meals to the children in our care while helping reduce food waste.

We have flexible menus that adjust to the food we receive, ensuring the children enjoy a varied and nutritious diet. By working with FareShare, we’re not only offering delicious meals but also supporting sustainability and giving back to our community.

A first aid trained member of staff is always seated with the children at meal times.

Millie's Mark is awarded as a special endorsement to childcare providers that go above and beyond the minimum first aid requirements set in the The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines.

Every member of staff at Playpals has Paediatric First Aid training, which is renewed regularly. This ensures that everything learned during the course is kept alive and in the forefront of practioners' minds so that they are confident, ready and capable.

Your child's safety is always our priority.

At Playpals, we take food safety and nutrition seriously. All our full-time staff are fully trained in food handling, with regular checks to ensure their training is always up to date. We believe that safe, nutritious meals are key to the well-being of the children in our care.

We’re proud to have maintained a five-star food hygiene rating ever since the standards were introduced, reflecting our commitment to the highest levels of cleanliness and safety.

All meals at Playpals are prepared on-site by our dedicated staff, ensuring that each dish is freshly made with care and attention to detail, meeting the nutritional and dietary needs of every child in our nursery.