Packed meals???

[SparklingGems]

Hi Everyone

Just need a little bit of advice. I have decided not to do meals as I have a small baby of my own and think it will be such a struggle so I'm going to ask parents to provide a packed lunch.

I know that ofsted like us to provide healthy meals how can I get the parents to provide healthy meals for their child with out being patronising? I know that some parents will always provide chocolate buscuits- would I get downgraded at my inspection for this?

I had an idea- what if I gave parents a healthy packed lunch ideas sheet?

What types of things should I avoid on it?

Thanks

[MissTinkerbell]

Have you got Annabel Karmels Favourite Family Foods cookbook - she does a great list of ideas for lunchboxes?

I remember reading on another thread that they had parents who sent choc bars and stuff and what she did was put items on a plate so that they had sandwiches, etc first and Ofsted commented on this as good practice.

As long as you send out a newsletter highlighting 'healthy' choices for lunches along with a healthy eating policy I don't think Ofsted can mark you down if the parents don't stick to it - after all you can't really dictate to parents what they can put in their children's lunchboxes only make suggestions.

I'd probably put something along the lines of:

"I am no longer able to provide meals for your children and would ask you if you could send your child with a packed lunch. As part of the requirements laid down by Ofsted I am required to ask that you provide a healthy and balanced lunch and to provide you with a copy of my Healthy Eating policy.

I realise that it can be difficult to provide an interesting and varied packed lunch on a daily basis so have put together a list of suggestions to help you in deciding what to provide for your children

sandwiches/pitta breads/wraps with healthy fillings
cheese cubes with or without crackers or cheese biscuits
flasks of soup on cold days
pasta or rice salads
dried fruit/fruit bars and cereal bars
chopped salad vegetables such as celery, carrot sticks, cucumber, cherry tomatoes
chopped fruit
yoghurts or fromage frais

These are of course just suggestions and you may have many more of your own. I do ask that in order to comply with my healthy eating policy that you avoid sending in snacks that are high in sugar or salt.

If you would like to talk to me further about this please feel free to arrange a suitable time to discuss this further."

[venus89]

The dairy council publish some free guidelines for menu ideas for under 5s

http://www.milk.co.uk/publications/default.aspx