Nourishing Little Tummies – Seymour House

Nutrition

Sarah Wightwick — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 09:41:00 +0000

Meals are provided to each setting by our central Nursery Kitchen, so we can ensure the best quality foods for your child to support their growth, development and learning. The food children eat affects every aspect of their lives, their mood, behaviour, growth, and their ability to concentrate; with this in mind our professional chefs, who are passionate about early year’s cuisine, prepare and create all of our meals, which are then delivered fresh to the nurseries and cooked at each setting. Our menus are designed by nutritionists who ensure each dish is age appropriate, nutritionally balanced and delicious. Menus include a range of flavours to stimulate taste buds as the tastes a child encounters in their early years can influence their dietary habits and preferences for the rest of their life.

What food is at nursery?

The nursery menu includes breakfast for children arriving before 8.30am, a mid-morning and a mid-afternoon snack, a cooked meal served at around midday, and for those children staying after 4pm a tea. Fresh drinking water is always available throughout the day for children of all ages.

Meals are served in small groups with supervision from the team. Social skills and independence are developed, with older children encouraged to help themselves.

For children under one, the Key Person will work closely with you through the weaning process which we will begin in accordance with parent wishes from 6 months plus of age, in line with the latest guidance from the Department of Health and the Food Standards Agency. Pureed food is available. The Key Person will support older babies to attempt to feed themselves promoting independence, for example by encouraging babies to hold a spoon while being fed.

If you would like a copy of the full menu, please speak to your child’s Key Person.

Please note: for safety reasons we do not serve nuts at any age, and ask parents not to bring in food from home as we cannot be sure of the ingredients.

Nourishing Our Future

Sarah Wightwick — Fri, 21 May 2021 10:30:41 +0000

We’re incredibly proud to be a part of the Nourishing Our Future programme, it’s just one of the many ways we’re committed to helping children build healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Healthy habits are at the heart of everything we do. From their very first day with us, children enjoy delicious, nutritionally balanced meals prepared by our fantastic team at Nursery Kitchen, with our menus nutritionist approved. Our varied menus introduce children to a wide range of flavours and ingredients, making mealtimes both enjoyable and nourishing.

Learning about food is part of our everyday. Through regular food education sessions, children explore where food comes from and how it’s used. In our outdoor Kitchen Gardens, we plant, grow, and harvest vegetables, herbs, and plants, caring for them each day, and developing a real sense of connection to the food we eat. These hands-on experiences help inspire positive choices.

We’re just as passionate about supporting parents too. We offer access to expert advice on all thing’s nutrition, helping families feel confident and informed. From helpful webinars on topics such as food refusal, to insightful blogs like Encouraging healthy eating for toddlers and preschoolers as well as practical guidance on managing allergies, we’re here to provide support whenever it’s needed.

What is the NOF Award?
The NOF (Nourishing Our Future) Award supports early years settings across Essex to implement the Department for Educations EYFS Nutrition Guidance, helping to build strong, healthy food foundations for young children and their families.

The award has been co-created in response to the Nourishing Our future research (2025), led by Anglia Ruskin University and commissioned by Essex county Council Public Health, in partnership with local early years settings.

There are three levels to the NOF Award:

Rooting – make your commitment
Sprouting – engage with the community
Blooming – become a leader of practice

We’re currently working towards the NOF Award and look forward to sharing updates on our progress

For more information visit Nourishing Our Future | Supporting Early Years Nutrition

Breast and Bottle Feeding

Sarah Wightwick — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 09:49:00 +0000

Bottle times are much more than meeting a child’s nutritional needs — they are special moments for comfort, connection, and nurturing relationships.

Breastfeeding is encouraged and we warmly welcome mothers who wish to visit throughout the day to breastfeed their baby. If preferred, you are also welcome to provide expressed breast milk for our team to feed to your child during their time with us.

For babies who are formula fed, we ask families to provide ready-to-use formula cartons wherever possible. We ask that all formula brought in, either bottle, carton or box be sealed so we know when it was opened. This helps us maintain the highest standards of safety and consistency when preparing feeds.

Our team recognises that feeding is an important opportunity for one-to-one interaction and relationship building. Babies are always cuddled and held during bottle feeds, allowing them to feel safe, secure, and comforted while enjoying valuable time with their Key Person or a familiar member of the team.

At nursery, we provide all bottles and teats. However, if your child has a particular preference, families are most welcome to bring in their own. Equipment is cleaned and sterilised in accordance with current government guidance as part of our daily procedures and individually labelled for each child during their time with us.

Where required, bottles are gently warmed using bottle warmers to ensure feeds are prepared safely and appropriately for your child.

By working closely with families and responding to each baby’s individual feeding needs, we create a nurturing environment where children feel comfortable, cared for, and ready to thrive.

Severe Allergies

Sarah — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 09:44:00 +0000

Special consideration is given to the needs of babies and children with special dietary requirements or food allergies. It is parent’s responsibility to inform the nursery of any allergies or dietary requirements.

If your child has a severe allergy that will result in anaphylaxis, a member of the Management Team must be informed. In consultation with the child’s Key Person, the Nursery Manager or HoEYP will carry out a risk assessment at the settling in visit. An emergency plan and procedure will need to be agreed based on the medical information given to us. For children with severe allergies the Key Person will issue a wrist band for your child to wear whilst at the nursery. As parents it is your responsibility to ensure that your child is wearing their wrist band when in attendance.

Whilst menus are available for children with most specialist dietary, nutritional or religious requirements, if a child has a severe allergy (that could lead to closure of an airway) to staple foodstuffs that are commonly found in the nursery (such as milk, egg, meat, fish, fruit, or wheat) it may be impossible to safely meet the child’s needs in a group setting.

Oaty Banana Cookies

Sarah Wightwick — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:17:00 +0000

Bake these delicious Oaty Banana Cookies with your little chefs at home.

Download the recipe here: Oaty Banana Cookies