Scallywags Nursery Chelmsford

Healthy eating

We believe that healthy eating from an early age is extremely important as it is a time for growth and a time to develop positive attitudes towards food. This is why at Scallywags we ensure mealtimes are happy, social times, where all children and staff sit down together.

All our meals are prepared on the premises by our experienced cook and carefully planned to meet a healthy balanced diet offering fresh fruit and vegetables daily. Parents and children get involved in planning the menus to incorporate their likes and dislikes where appropriate.

Children are encouraged to partake in our weekly cooking activities and to get involved with the preparation of their food at snack time and meal times where appropriate. We also incorporate healthy eating within our play experiences and discuss with the children the rationale behind healthy eating, the effects of exercise on our bodies and self-care routines.

We regularly have visits from dentists who speak with the children about hygiene and healthy eating. From this, we introduced teeth brushing after lunch time into our preschool routine.

Preschool and toddlers rooms help to serve their own dinners and wash up their own plates and cutlery when they are finished.

Every week the preschool children also prepare healthy dinners for the homeless.

Our menus are rotated over a three weekly cycle and are updated frequently often with ideas from our children and parents. To view our sample menu please click the link. Our menus are written alongside the guidance from the Under 5's Food Standards.

Vegetarian meals and special diets are not a problem and if your child has a food allergy or intolerance, we’ll accommodate it with an alternative menu.