Food is about so much more than filling hungry tummies.
At The Old Station Nursery, mealtimes are a chance to slow down, sit together, try something new, and enjoy conversations with friends. They help children build confidence, practise independence, and develop a positive relationship with food.
Across our nurseries, we provide healthy, balanced, and nutritious meals designed around the needs of babies and young children. Our dishes are cooked from scratch using fresh ingredients, with vegetables, seasonal produce, free-range eggs, and locally sourced food used wherever possible. We also work closely with parents and carers to understand each child’s routines, preferences, allergies, and dietary requirements.
Mealtimes help children learn new words, share ideas, and talk about tastes, textures, and choices.
Serving, pouring, mixing, and choosing food helps children feel capable and proud of what they can do.
Eating together supports turn-taking, sharing, conversation, and a sense of belonging.
Nutritious food gives children energy to play, learn, grow, and develop. Preparing food also builds coordination and fine motor skills.
Food encourages children to explore where ingredients come from, how they change, and what makes each one different.
Trying a variety of balanced, nutritious foods helps children explore new tastes and build positive habits around food.
Our nursery menus give the children plenty of variety while including dishes that feel familiar and comforting. Menus are planned across a rotating cycle and reviewed regularly. This helps us offer a broad mix of ingredients, tastes, colours, and textures rather than serving the same meals week after week.
They may also change with the seasons, feedback from our nurseries, ingredient availability, and the individual needs of the children. The precise menu cycle can vary between nurseries, so parents and carers can ask their chosen nursery to see a current menu.
Young children sometimes need time before they feel ready to taste something unfamiliar. We don’t expect every child to enjoy every food straight away. Instead, we create relaxed opportunities to look, touch, smell, talk about, and taste different ingredients. Children are encouraged and supported, without being pressured to clear their plate.
Sitting with friends can make trying something new feel less daunting. A hesitant taste today can become a favourite meal further along the journey. We’ll also share information with parents and carers about the menu, foods their child has enjoyed, and anything new they’ve tried.
The government’s Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidance says that meals, snacks, and drinks provided by early years settings must be healthy, balanced, and nutritious.
Our approach is shaped by this guidance, wider NHS healthy-eating advice, and the knowledge of our catering team. Our Head of Catering has also completed the Level 3 Early Years Chef Academy qualification, covering the relationship between food, children’s health, development, inclusive menus, and dietary needs.
Within our nurseries, we aim to use as many seasonal ingredients as we can. Educating children about these foods, and the concept of seasonality, provides many benefits for the development of children, expanding their knowledge on other skills, such as time, weather and the seasons. It is important for children to understand that fruit and vegetables naturally grow, ripen and are best eaten during certain seasons each year.
The taste and nutrition value of these foods are at their highest when they are in season, and it encourages children to think about the process of how non-seasonal food makes its way to our supermarket shelves. This provides opportunity for children to have conversations about advanced technology, modern farming and transport links, further cementing their knowledge of our planet and the environment. Eating seasonally also supports local farmers and suppliers and ensures greater variety in our diets.
Every child should feel included at the table.
We can support a wide range of dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan, religious and cultural requirements, food intolerances, and medically required diets.
Where a meal needs to be adapted, we aim to provide a suitable alternative that remains balanced, enjoyable, and as similar as possible to the meal being shared by the other children.
Requirements can differ in detail, particularly around halal food and the preparation or sourcing of particular ingredients. Parents and carers should discuss their child’s needs directly with the nursery before their start date so that the team can confirm the arrangements available at that setting.
Fresh drinking water is available throughout the day.
Milk may also be offered as part of meals and snacks, depending on the child’s age and the nursery routine. Where a child needs an alternative, we’ll agree the right option with their parents or carers.
Government guidance recommends fresh water and plain milk for young children, rather than sugary or sweetened drinks.
Some of our nurseries have vegetable beds, growing areas, or access to a local allotment.
The children might plant seeds, water young shoots, harvest vegetables, or use something they’ve grown during a cooking activity. These experiences help them understand that food doesn’t simply appear on a plate. It grows, changes with the seasons, and connects us to nature and our communities.
Our Cookery Enhancement gives the children further opportunities to mix, measure, pour, prepare, and taste. Along the way, they build early maths, communication, coordination, and practical life skills.
Every child’s relationship with food is different. Some love trying new things, while others need a little more time. We’ll work with you to understand your child’s routines, preferences, and dietary needs. Your child’s key person will also keep you updated on what they’ve eaten and enjoyed at nursery.
Find your nearest nursery to see the current menu or talk through your child’s dietary requirements.
My daughter has been coming to hdc Kingsteignton for six months now and it's the highlight of her week, she absolutely loves it. She has made some special relationships with other children and has a good relationship with the lovely staff. They're great at communicating via the app and keeping us up to date with her development with pictures and regular developmental reviews. If we have any worries they always help to ease them! They also provide an excellent variety of healthy food. I would one hundred percent recommend this nursery to anyone.
The nursery provides a variety of enrichment and fun activities for the children. It is great that they also have a qualified teacher who helps plan interesting learning activities. The weekly football, yoga, rugby and dance sessions ensure that there are regular group exercise activities. The staff are all friendly and knowledgeable. They take a keen interest in child development and ensuring the space is welcoming and safe for everyone. The meals provided are varied and nutritious - allowing the children to experience healthy food options and the opportunity to pick how much of each thing they eat. I could not ask for a better nursery for my son.
My son (now two and a half) has been at Sunhill since he was 4-months-old and they have done a terrific job at looking after him. I was so worried initially about leaving him there when he was a baby as he suffered terribly with severe silent reflux and a milk allergy. The staff worked with us as best they could while we got to the route of his health issues and adhered to our guidelines whilst trying to get him into a routine. Fast forward to now, and he is thriving! Despite being on a very restrictive diet (no gluten, dairy, soya or citric acid), he is still provided with a variety of healthy food and doesn't miss out on anything. He's very sociable and happy there and has formed close bonds with some of the careers and his peers. I would definitely recommend Sunhill.
Food is included within many of our nursery sessions, although the meals provided can depend on the session times booked and the arrangements at your chosen nursery.
Your nursery’s Fee Schedule will explain what is included. The nursery team can also talk you through the meals and snacks your child will receive.
Our meals are freshly prepared for the children, with food cooked from scratch wherever possible.
The exact catering arrangements can vary between nursery locations. Some nurseries have their own on-site cook and kitchen, while others may follow a different approved preparation arrangement. Your chosen nursery can explain where its meals are prepared and show you the current menu.
Menus usually follow a rotating cycle so that the children experience a good variety of meals, ingredients, tastes, and textures.
The length of the cycle may differ by nursery. Menus are also reviewed and updated to reflect seasonal ingredients, nutritional guidance, feedback, and the needs of the children.
Yes. We can support vegetarian and vegan diets and will work with parents and carers to understand their child’s individual requirements.
Suitable alternatives are planned so that the child continues to receive a balanced and enjoyable meal.
We support religious dietary requirements, including halal, across our nurseries.
The exact provision can vary depending on each nursery’s kitchen and sourcing arrangements, so please speak to your chosen nursery to confirm the halal options available.
We collect detailed allergy information before a child starts and keep it available to the relevant nursery and catering teams.
Meals and snacks are checked against each child’s requirements, suitable alternatives are provided, and procedures are followed to reduce cross-contamination and prevent children from sharing food.
Yes. Please ask your chosen nursery for its current menu when you visit or during your child’s settling-in sessions.
The team can explain what is served, how dishes are adapted, and how your child’s dietary needs will be supported.
We’ll take time to understand the foods your child currently enjoys and work with you to support them.
The children are gently encouraged to explore different foods, but they’ll never be pressured to eat. If your child doesn’t eat the main meal, we’ll offer a suitable alternative and keep you updated on how they’ve eaten during the day.
Yes. We support babies through their weaning journey, working closely with parents and carers to understand what has already been introduced at home.
Food is adapted to each baby’s stage of development and prepared in suitable textures, sizes, and shapes to help reduce the risk of choking. We’ll also work with you around any allergies, dietary requirements, or concerns.