Lunchbox guidance

"Where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious"

Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, section 3.48


We ask parents to please provide their child with a packed lunch which supports us in complying with this requirement.

Experience has shown that children respond best to familiar foods in small quantities - too much choice can be overwhelming.


Our guidance is that a healthy lunch box should aim to include:

  • One portion of fruit and one portion of vegetable

  • A starchy food such as bread, pitta, plain cracker, pasta, rice, noodles

  • A portion of meat, fish or other source of protein such as egg, hummus, quorn etc

  • A portion of milk or dairy food such as milk, cheese or yoghurt

  • One small treat (for example a small packet of crisps, a fruit scone or portion of malt loaf, a small cake or biscuit)

  • An ice block to ensure the contents remain fresh

Lunch eaten at Pre-school must NOT include

X Nuts or seeds as we have children with allergies

X Chocolate (including products containing chocolate such as cookies, chocolate yoghurt etc)

X Sweets (including processed fruit snacks)

X Fizzy drinks or ready made fruit drinks


We aim to make our lunch time a positive learning experience by:

  • Encouraging healthy eating

  • Ensuring all children wash their hands before their meal

  • Sitting children at a table with their friends

  • Encouraging the children to unpack their lunch onto a plate/into a bowl and to use appropriate cutlery

  • Encouraging the children’s independence by asking them to manage packets and containers by themselves as far as possible.

  • Encouraging children to eat all or try to eat most of the food provided in their lunch box

  • Asking children to take leftovers from lunchboxes home to enable parents to see what their child has eaten

  • Encouraging independence by providing jugs of water and cups for the children to pour their own drinks


For some parents this will be the first time packing a lunch box for your child, the following links have some suggestions