Food Hygiene and Safe Mealtimes

Learning purpose: Staff should understand the importance of hygiene routines before, during and after food activities.

JLK practice standard: At JLK, safe food routines protect children's health and show professional care. Hygiene must be consistent, not rushed.

Key staff expectations:

• Wash hands before food preparation and serving.
• Support children to wash hands before eating.
• Clean tables before and after meals.
• Use appropriate cleaning products.
• Wear PPE where required.
• Report poor hygiene practice immediately.

Practical scenario: Children return from outdoor play and snack is ready. Staff must not serve snack until children and adults have washed hands and tables are clean.

• I wash my hands before preparing or serving any food
• I support children to wash their hands before eating, every time
• I report poor hygiene practice immediately rather than ignoring it

Learning purpose: Staff should understand safe storage, temperature awareness and careful serving routines.

JLK practice standard: Food must be stored, handled and served safely. Staff must follow site procedures and never take shortcuts.

Key staff expectations:

• Store food correctly.
• Check expiry dates where relevant.
• Keep hot and cold food safe.
• Serve correct portions safely.
• Never leave food unattended.
• Check allergies and dietary requirements before serving.

Practical scenario: A child's packed lunch contains food that needs refrigeration but has been left in a bag. Staff must follow site procedure, inform the manager and manage the risk appropriately.

• I check expiry dates and storage temperatures before serving food
• I check allergies and dietary requirements EVERY time before serving
• I never leave food unattended where children could help themselves

Learning purpose: Staff should understand how to manage cooking, baking and food-based play safely.

JLK practice standard: Food activities are valuable learning experiences, but safety comes first. Planning must include hygiene, allergies and supervision.

Key staff expectations:

• Risk assess food activities.
• Check ingredients.
• Supervise closely.
• Avoid cross-contamination.
• Record and report concerns.
• Inform managers of any illness, reaction or unsafe practice.

Safer eating — what changed in September 2026. The framework is now specific about how children sit at a meal and how adults watch them, and the reason is its own sentence: “Choking can be completely silent.” You cannot rely on hearing a child in trouble.

• Children are always within sight and hearing while they eat. Not nearby with your back turned — in sight.
• Sit facing the children wherever you can. This is a decision about where you put your chair. Facing them is how you see a child struggling, see food being passed along the table, and see a reaction starting.
• Seated safely — a highchair, or a low chair of a size that suits that child.
• A designated eating space, with distractions kept down.
• A paediatric first aider in the room for the whole of every meal and snack.

Preparing food to prevent choking now follows the DfE guidance Food safety — Help for early years providers, which is the document the framework names. It covers which foods to avoid and how to cut and prepare the rest.

Textures are a conversation, not a calculation. We must talk to parents about the stage their child is at with solid foods and what textures they are used to at home. The framework puts it bluntly: “Assumptions must not be made based on age.” A birthday tells you nothing about what a child can chew.

If a child chokes and it needs intervention: record where and how it happened and tell the parents — and those records are now read back periodically to look for patterns, as part of the monthly quality walk.

Practical scenario: During a baking activity, a child puts flour-covered fingers near another child's snack. Staff intervene, clean hands, review supervision and consider allergy risks.

• I risk assess food activities and check ingredients against allergy records before starting
• I supervise closely throughout and step in early to prevent cross-contamination
• I inform the manager immediately of any illness, reaction or unsafe practice
• I sit facing the children at mealtimes and keep every child in sight while they eat
• I ask parents about textures rather than assuming from a child's age