Packed Lunches

[Guest toddleo]

I have noticed on the EYFS literature that we should be seen to liaise with parents about packed lunches ,their contents and safe storage ( p23 of the framework)

 

Do any of you, who do provide a lunch club , send anything out to your parents, to cover yourself over this requirement? if so, what do you Put! Many thanks

[Guest]

As a parent I'm given advice re what to put in my child's lunchbox - school gets its info from a number of places including -

 

http://www.healthylunchbox.co.uk/

 

http://www.northlan.gov.uk/education+and+l...+lunch+box.html

 

Sarahx

[Inge]

Our committee got together and made as suggstions for lunch box list on healthy eating with suggestions like, no new foods, keep it small and managable (you should have seent hte size of some of the rolls they were given, even I could not manage it!) no sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks were the 3 not to supply.

 

Also must put in an ice pack and reasons for such, and parents were told where and how we store the food boxes.

As the committee did this it is in consultation with parents , think they asked about what info parents wanted while waiting with them!

 

Each parent gets a leaflet when booking Lunch club with this info.

 

Inge

[Guest toddleo]

That was very helpful thank you so much, have managed to put together a useful note using that information.

 

Thanks again

[Beau]

Our committee got together and made as suggstions for lunch box list on healthy eating with suggestions like, no new foods, keep it small and managable (you should have seent hte size of some of the rolls they were given, even I could not manage it!)

Inge

 

This is an ongoing problem for us too Inge. Some children come with enough food to feed 2 children. I feel so sorry for them when you see tiny hands trying to manhandle a huge slice of bread or piece of fruit.

[Guest]

We put information in our new parents info sheets about the contents...also because we have no provision for storing lunch boxes to keep cool our admissions policy( i think its that one) has a bit about its the parents responsibility to make sure a cool pack is in the lunch box in the summer....this was something ofsted liked!!!!!!

[Inge]

we have cool pack all year round, not just summer or warm weather, and our lunch boxes then get put into a giant cool bag (from a cash and carry , it holds 12 boxes easily.)

 

Beau, must admit to checking some lunch boxes of known offenders and reducing size of lunches to one I believe to be managable, they then get rest returned to them in box. Worked for one who now puts in better sizes,

but the ones that only send in processed food, that is my real problem at momment...

one child comes every day with chocolate cereal bars, sweet rolls filled with jam or chocolate pre-packed, chocolate biscuits, and occasionally a cheese item, although one day there were 5 different processed cheese items and the chocolate biscuits, plus a drink of some kind, suppose we should be grateful it isnt fizzy.

 

Inge

[Guest]

Although our guide states ice packs sometimes parents forget, or even one year they were near impossible to purchase during a heat wave.

Ofsted picked us up on this, so we ended up with a 'satisfactory' instead of Good for the outcome being healthy.

Ice packs should be provided year round if no refrigeration isavailable. We have sticky labels which we use as reminders, plus have a few spare ice packs if one is forgotten.

 

Peggy

[Guest toddleo]

Thanks for that peggy, a really good tip, will add a note about chiller packs all year round, to my parents, thanks again

[Guest]

This is one of the very few things that Ofsted pulled us up on in February and apparently is a hot topic with them at the moment. We have always made it clear to parents no sweets/fizzy etc but it wasn't enough. We even gave a list of things we thought suitable for lunch boxes on the fridge doors but that wasn't enough either! So two of us have gone on a healthy eating workshop which we then held for our parents (only 8 turned up!) and have handed out loads of menu plan ideas etc etc. We also only let children eat one chocolate bar/cake no matter how many are in their lunch boxes. Its a really hard one to get right. You want to give parental choice, but need to pleased the inspectors. Also none of us want to encourage unhealthy eating but can't be seen to be dissing the parents!

[Inge]

we can advise, and try to educate but it is thre parents decision what they put in the boxes, we cannot make them put in what we feel appropriate.... they will have thier own views on what is deemed suitable food for their child, a bit different if we supplied the food but parents do that...

some will get very 'shirty' if they feel you are judging them and the foods they provide....

 

 

Inge

[Guest]

Can any one give examples of the way they inform parents of what is a good lunch box?

[Guest]

We give each parent/carer a letter with a list of good foods and a list of foods not encourged and a list of definatly NO type foods to put in their childs lunch boxs

If the NO foods appear we put in a note explaing why this type of food is not for their childs lunch

[alis2son]

I bought some from a superdrug like shop in birkenhead, they are the ones with silver foil on one side and clear with blue liquid on other. they were 50p for a pack of 2 instead of £1 and we got enough for the holiday children as they are the only ones who bring a packed lunch. we just keep them in the freezer all the time so we dont forget.

 

Schools dont monitor their packed lunches though do they?

[Guest]

Actually I work in a school where we do monitor packed lunches. I am the Early Years co-ordinator and Healthy schools co-ordinator. We had the same problems as the ones mentioned, portions too big, too much processed food, too much chocolate etc... etc... We got our Healthy Schools status this Year. I formed a food group with staff, parents and govs. We have a termly newsletter with food suggestions, we are working with our school council to produce a lunchbox style recipe book. Most importantly we have involved the children. . Parents are also encouraged to put a cool pack in their child's lunchbox!!