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Every Meal Matters: How we make Nutrition & Safety Second Nature at Kindred Nurseries
Your child's nutrition and safety is our top priority. Join us as we take a deep dive into everything food-related at Kindred Nurseries: from providing varied, home-cooked, nutritionally balanced meals to the safety procedures that build trust.
Learn about our annual policy reviews, expert-approved menus, and how we foster healthy eating habits from the very first spoonful.
As a parent, few things are more important than knowing your child is safe, well-fed, and developing healthy habits with food. Choosing a nursery that prioritises nutrition and rigorous safety standards can help give you peace of mind.
At Kindred Nurseries, we are passionate about providing home cooked meals that are varied and nutritionally balanced. We believe that introducing healthy eating habits from an early age is key to setting a strong foundation for lifelong healthy attitudes towards food, diet, and overall wellbeing.
Nutrition You can Trust: Our Menu Accreditation
We work hard to ensure that all our meals are accredited by nutritionists and comply with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) welfare requirement. This requirement mandates that all meals, snacks, and drinks provided must be 'healthy, balanced and nutritious’1
A New Partnership for Nutritional Excellence
We are excited to share that from November 2025; we will be partnering with The Early Start Group. Their team of expert registered nutritionists have been working closely with us to ensure our new Autumn-Winter menus are fully compliant with the latest EYFS Nutrition guidelines.
Why does this accreditation matter to our parents?
- 37.8% said it was a huge reassurance and the key reason they trust the food provided
- 43.2% said it was nice to have, adding an extra layer of trust2
This commitment, combined with the hard work of our chefs, ensures your child receives varied and nutritionally balanced, home-cooked meals everyday.
Rigorous Food Safety Training and Review
At Kindred, our commitment to safety is backed by mandatory, regular training for every member of our nursery teams, ensuring every mealtime is a safe and enjoyable experience.
Robyn Smith, our Area Manager and Policy Coordinator, explains our commitment to staff expertise:
"We require all team members to complete their Level 2 Food Hygiene and Allergy Awareness Training, which is refreshed regularly. This ensures that every staff member is fully equipped to manage the safe preparation, handling, and serving of food, minimising risk at every step."
This diligence extends to our standards. Our food safety policies are dynamic, constantly evolving based on feedback from our nurseries, new legislation, and updated guidance. Robyn confirms that to ensure compliance, these policies are reviewed and updated at least annually.
More than a Meal: The Kindred Approach to Eating
Mealtimes at Kindred are designed to be a complete dining to be complete dining experience; We encourage happy and social occasion that promotes learning, independence, and connection.
Building Independence and Social Skills
- Mealtimes are social: We encourage a happy, social atmosphere where children and adults share good conversation whislt they enjoy their meal.
Even our parents enjoy seeing the experience we cultivate at mealtimes: "Going to collect my child to find them sat around a table enjoying a meal with their friends warms my heart." - Stacey C, Kindred Durrington (daynurseries.co.uk review)
- Encouraging independence: Our older children are encouraged are encouraged to help with tasks like setting the table, pouring drinks, and serving their own food. This is a great way to build their independence and help prepare them for school.
- Exposure and respect: We introduce our children to variety of food and approaches to mealtimes from a diverse range of cultures to help build appreciation and respect.
Promoting Healthy Habits
Our approach is guided by listening to and understanding a child's natural appetite regulation:
- We ensure a good, balanced diet from the four main groups.
- We continuously offer new foods alongside familiar favourites, recognising that a child's preferences can vary daily.
- We encourage children to eat but never force them if they are not hungrym respecting their natural ability to regulate their own appetite.
- We also never disguise, hide, or trick children into eating foods.
The Essential Role of our Chef's
Our chefs are vital to our menu development. We don't just hand them recipes; we involved them closely:
- We create a working group where all nursery chefs collaborate to develop varied and nutritionally balanced menus and recipes/
- Chefs provide invaluable feedback on which recipes are loved by the children, as they are the ones who breathe life into these recipes every day.
Developing our Menus: An Interview with Caroline Winterton
At Kindred Nurseries, our menus are crafted through collaboration, passion, and a personalised understanding of what our children enjoy eating. Leading that process is Caroline Winterton, Area Manager and Menu Coordinator.
Caroline is passionate about healthy eating and plays an integral role behind the scenes, bringing together input from our chefs, parents, and nutritionists to create menus that are not only tasty but also fully compliant with EYFS nutritional guidelines.
We sat down with Caroline to talk about how menus come to life, why accrediation matters, and what makes Kindred's approach to food so unique.
Q: What's the process for creating Kindred's menus, and how are our chefs involved?
"When designing a new menu, we hold a 'Chef's Club' at our head office with chefs from across all our nurseries. They help design and write the menu based on what they know their children love. Once that's complete, we compare it against EYFS guidelines to make sure it meets the requirements. Then it's over to the nutritionists at The Early Start Group to begin the accreditation process."
Q: Why is menu accreditation so important to Kindred?
"We always want to make sure we follow all EYFS nutritional guidelines. But beyond that, we're passionate about providing healthy, varied foods that help cultivate positive relationships with food and eating early in life."
Q: What inspires the recipes on Kindred's menus?
"Our chefs come from a wide range of backgrounds and regions, which means out menus are wonderfully diverse. But most importantly, our children inspire us. Our Chefs rely on the children's feedback to see which recipes are loved the most; it's a real partnership between chef and child!
Q: What excites you most about the new Autumn-Winter menu?
"Our new menu is full of nutritious and tasty food that I'd be proud for my own child to eat. There's a great variety of flavours and textures to help cildren explore and expand their palates. We've also added clear vegetarian options for every meal, something we know our parents will appreciate.
Weaning with Confidence: Safety and Support
We understand that the weaning process is a significant transition for families. Our weaning policy is devised in line with the latest "Best Start in Life" NHS Guidance.
Our Weaning Partnership with Parents
We work closely with you to ensure we follow your preferences while adhering to NHS guidelines.
- Depending on the stage of weaning, your child will be offered food from menu in a liquidised or mashed form.
- You are welcome to provide your own food if you prefer.
- We ask that new foods are first tried outside of the nursery before we offer it.
Weaning Safety Do's and Don'ts
Our staff adhere to a strict set of safety guidelines to ensure you baby is safe and supported while eating:
| Do's | Don't |
|---|---|
|
Tie hair back, wash hands, and clean surfaces thoroughly before each meal. |
Never leave a baby or young child alone while feeding. |
| Wash the child's hands before each meal. | Do not feed more than one baby at a time. |
| Sit baby up straight and facing forward before beginning to feed. |
Do not try and over-feed a baby; they will let you know when they are full |
| Wait for baby to open their mouth when spoon feeding and feed at child's pace | We discourage food sharing between children. |
| Encourage the baby to touch the food and start feeding themselves with their fingers as soon as they show interest. |
Strict Weaning Safety Guidelines
- Only soft fruits are given to children under 12 months.
- For children aged 12 months to 2 years, they must be closely supervised when eating hard fruits, and the skin of hard fruits must be removed.
- We do not offer sausages, grapes, blueberries, other small round berries, or any nuts.
- Honey and citrus fruits must not be given to children under 12 months.
- Raw carrots must be shredded finely or cut into thin strips.
- We do not allow children to go to bed until 20 minutes after they have finished eating.
Robust Procedures for Managing Allergies & Special Diets
At Kindred, we are dedicated to ensuring we can meet all dietary requirements and have robust procedures in place for those with allergies, intolerances, and cultural and dietary preferences.
One of our Kindred parents note "They have excellent procedures in place for those with allergies and intolerances which are reviewed on a regular basis." - Z.H., Kindred Hainault (daynurseries.co.uk Review)
Understanding our Colour-Coded Placemat System
We use a colour-coded mealtime placemat system to identify each child's dietary requirements at every meal. Each placemat includes the child's name, photo, and detailed information abou their diet.
| Colour | Dietary Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| RED | Allergies | A condition has been diagnosed by a GP, and the child has medication and symptoms. |
| AMBER |
Preferences Intolerances |
No medication is required. This category also includes Vegetarian, Vegan, and religious diets. |
| GREEN | Standard | No known allergies or special dietary requirements. |
All allergy and dietary information are recorded in your child's "All About Me" booklet and added to the Kindred Satchel App before they officially start. For severe allergies, we may sometimes ask parents to provide a safe food list.
Quick Takeaways
- Accredited Menus: Our menus are checked and approved by registered nutritionists in accordance with EYFS guidelines, giving our parents reassurance.
- Trained Team: All practitioners complete their Level 2 Food Hygiene and Allergy Awareness Training, refreshed regularly.
- Regular Policy Review: Food safety policies are reviewed and updated at least annually to ensure compliance.
- Safety First: We adhere to a strict NHS-aligned weaning policy with strict guidelines on high-risk foods like grapes, nuts, and honey.
- Clear Allergy Management: We use a RED, AMBER, GREEN colour-coded placemat system to clearly and visually manage allergies, intolerances, and preferences for every child at every meal.
- Empowering Mealtimes: We encourage our children to feed themselves and experience all the different textures of food. We never force them to eat, promoting a healthy relationship with food.
- Chef Involvement: Our expert chefs collaborate directly on our menu development and provide practical feedback on recipes that are proven to be popular with our children.
The Kindred Promise
At Kindred Nurseries, our approach to food and safety is rooted in professional guidance, proven experience and diligence in our kitchens and dining rooms.
This commitment means your child is not just well-fed; they are building a healthy, positive relationship with food, guided by expert-accredited menus and cared for by passionate chefs and staff. We are proud to be able to give our parents that peace of mind that their children are eating safe and well whilst in our care.
Ready to see the Kindred Difference?
If the peace of mind that comes with our accredited menus and robust safety measures sounds right for your family, we invite you to take the next step:
We look forward to partnering with you on your child's nursery journey.
Footnotes
1Department for Education, Early Years Foundation Stage Nutrition Guidance, May 2025: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6839b752210698b3364e86fc/Early_years_foundation_stage_nutrition_guidance.pdf
2Results taken from our poll with parents from Kindred Tring and Kindred Shortlands. Participants were asked “How does our menu accreditation factor into your peace of mind regarding your child's diet?”. We received 31 responses to this question.