Our Managing Director, Jonathan Player spoke to Nursery World about the importance of early Years nutrition.

'The early years is the critical window to lay the foundations for a healthier, happier generation. Nutrition during pregnancy, infancy and the pre-school years significantly impacts development, physical health, emotional wellbeing and even long-term academic and economic achievement. These formative years are where we have the greatest potential to close health inequalities and to embed behaviours that will last children a lifetime.'

Read the full Nursery World blog, HERE.

A new report calls on the government to expand free school meals into early years settings, stressing that good nutrition from the start is vital for healthy growth, learning, and long-term wellbeing. The report highlights rising food insecurity and poor diet quality among toddlers and urges action to ensure all children receive healthy, balanced meals from an early age.

Read the full Nursery World blog, HERE.

A new report from the Cross-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood calls for urgent action to address poor nutrition in babies and toddlers. It outlines nine key recommendations, including:

• Introducing a national nutrition strategy covering preconception, pregnancy, and postnatal periods.

• Implementing mandatory nutrition composition, marketing, and labelling standards for commercial baby and toddler food and drink products.

• Extending free school meals to early years settings.

• Making oral health training mandatory for all early years educators and healthcare professionals.

Read the full Network Health Digest blog, HERE.

A new report from the Cross-Party Group on A Fit and Healthy Childhood warns that poor nutrition in babies and toddlers is fueling a looming public health crisis. It calls on the Government to act now by introducing tighter mandatory standards for commercial baby and toddler foods, as well as better training and monitoring systems for food served in nurseries.

Read the full Sustain blog, HERE.

A new report highlights the urgent need to tackle poor diets, low breastfeeding rates, food insecurity, and misleading toddler food marketing—all of which are fuelling health inequalities from the very start of life.

Early years professionals have the power to drive change. By updating menus in line with new EYFS nutrition standards, promoting positive mealtime experiences, engaging families with practical advice, and advocating for stronger policies, practitioners can lay the foundations for healthier, happier futures.

Read the full eden training solutions blog, HERE.

A new cross-party report warns that poor toddler nutrition is driving a future health crisis. It urges government to extend free school meals into early years settings so that children don’t start life at a disadvantage.

The report also calls for better nutrition training for staff, stricter standards on early years food, and a national supervised tooth-brushing programme to tackle rising oral health problems.

Read the full Nursery Management Today blog, HERE.

A new report reveals that 92% of infant snacks carry health claims, yet only 18% meet low-sugar criteria, misleading parents and jeopardising children's health. With 65% of parents concerned about sugar in baby breakfasts, UK legislation must urgently tighten standards.

The report calls for mandatory nutrition composition, marketing, and labelling standards for commercial baby and toddler food and drink products.

Read the full Action on Salt blog, HERE.

A new report warns that today’s youngest generation could face shorter, less healthy lives unless urgent action is taken. Rising obesity, ultra-processed diets, and shocking dental health statistics highlight a looming public health crisis—hitting disadvantaged families the hardest.

The report calls for a national nutrition strategy, stricter standards on early years food, better training for early years staff, and an expansion of free school meals into early childhood.

Read the full early years alliance blog, HERE.

With recent guidance from the Department for Education (DfE), nurseries now have greater flexibility when it comes to meal provision, allowing them to set their own policies on whether to charge for meals, allow packed lunches, or reduce costs for families.

But what does this mean for children’s nutrition and overall wellbeing? Our Early Years Nutritionist, Catherine Lippe, shares her views on the impact of this change and highlights the benefits of nurseries working with specialist early years caterers.

Read the full Connect Childcare blog, HERE.

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Nursery school leaders are urging an incoming government to create food standards for early years education.

The call comes after a report by food provider Nursery Kitchen found 70% are unaware that there are no nutritional and quality regulations in place for early years settings.

Nursery Kitchen has stressed the importance of early nutrition as a foundation upon which primary and secondary schools are reliant.

It also highlighted how increasing access to free childcare means more and more parents rely on early years settings to provide nutritious meals.

The provider is campaigning on behalf of 150 early years institutions across the UK to engage the new government on regulation.

A joint letter sent to 19 political representatives last week urged electoral candidates to revise the early years foundation stage statutory focus.

“We’re disappointed that political parties haven’t included a focus on improving food standards in early years settings within their 2024 manifestos,” said Nursery Kitchen MD Jonny Player.

“The Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservative parties have included encouraging pledges dedicated to improving child welfare. But none of them have put any focus on early years nutrition, which is a huge oversight.

“The health of our children must become an important discussion in parliament. Early years settings are becoming increasingly responsible for feeding young children and ensuring Britain’s next generation lead healthy and happy lives.”

Sarah Steel, chair of the Old Station Nursery, added: “We are proud to get behind this campaign which we know will only improve our children’s long-term health, providing we all work together to face these challenges head on.

“Our children deserve to have the very best start in life and that must begin with good nutrition – a basic but fundamental part of early development. We are coming together as an industry with a view that we can achieve real change for the better.”