In February this year, the Department for Education (DfE) introduced important updates to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework to strengthen food safety in early years settings, particularly around choking risks, allergies and the introduction of solid foods. You can view the updated guidance for safer eating in early years settings here, on page 30: Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding reforms.

At Nursery Kitchen, we fully support these changes and are proud that our current practices and resources already reflect many of the new EYFS requirements. Keeping children safe at mealtimes has always been a cornerstone of our approach and this will never change.

Our meals are thoughtfully created with child safety, as well as good nutrition, in mind. We follow rigorous ingredient specifications to ensure that the size, shape and texture of foods are suitable for young children, significantly reducing the risk of choking. These standards are monitored at every stage of production so that nurseries can serve our meals with confidence.

The updated EYFS guidance highlights the critical importance of supervision during mealtimes, a message we strongly echo in our own food safety guidance. We advise that children should never be left unattended while eating, and that staff should sit facing children to observe their eating and respond swiftly to any signs of choking or allergic reactions.

We also understand that every child develops at their own pace. That’s why for safer eating in early years settings we emphasise the importance of tailoring food preparation to each child’s stage of development, something that the EYFS now also requires. Our weaning resources and webinars have been created to help practitioners understand and support texture progression during infancy and beyond and we are always on had to offer guidance on adapting meals for individual children if needed. If you haven’t accessed our weaning resources yet, we encourage you to do so. Read more.

Allergies and anaphylaxis are also a central focus in the revised EYFS guidance. While all our meals are clearly labelled and produced under strict allergy management procedures, we know that successful allergy management must happen in partnership with nursery staff and families. That’s why we’ve developed a series of Allergy Factsheets and hosted a webinar with Dr Penny Barnard, a leading paediatric dietitian specialising in allergies. These resources are designed to build your team’s confidence and help you support families in navigating the complexities of food allergies.

At Nursery Kitchen, we’re not just here to help you stay compliant, we’re here to help you create safe, joyful and nourishing mealtime experiences for every child. We’re proud to stand with our partners as the sector embraces these new EYFS standards, and we’ll continue to provide the tools and support you need to thrive and ensure safer eating in early years settings.

Download Food Safety Guidance