Free school meals - nursery

If your child is in Nursery and aged 2 - 5

Family mealtime dining experience

All ELC settings in Perth and Kinross are encouraged to provide all children with a "Family Meal Time" dining experience in line with national guidance. The aim in this is to offer a lunchtime meal in a warm, welcoming and nurturing environment that gives children a key opportunity for quality learning time and supports language and communication, the development of social skills and encourages healthy food choices and positive eating habits. We also believe that mealtimes are valuable for building relationships and supporting inclusion.  To explain more about how the Family Mealtime Experience works, we created a video for parents to view.

The menu in our ELC settings supports this approach by providing a balanced and nutritious meal that all children can enjoy together, with a choice of sides that they can serve themselves, with support, to promote independence. The menu offered has been carefully planned to suit the tastes of most children, based on feedback from the Council's own ELC staff, who are guided by the children they care for, to ensure there is a wide variation of meals offered. Staff also encourage children to try new foods and develop healthy eating habits in a relaxed way.

Alternative options are available for those children who require substitutions due to food allergies or intolerances, or for cultural/religious reasons. In addition to this all children in ELC have access to milk and a healthy snack during their session.

As part of the phasing of the expansion of ELC, the Care Inspectorate supported our pilot "Family Meal Times" within settings and stated its appreciation for the high-quality interactions taking place with the children. Now that we have moved to full implementation of the expansion of ELC, all children will experience the "Family Meal Time" dining experience.

Significant preparation of staff has taken place prior to the introduction of the Family Meal Time experience, so we would encourage you to raise any questions you may have about how the new menu operates with them. Staff in our ELC settings are ready to work with you as parents/carers to ensure your child(ren) can enjoy their snack and meal time.

Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme

All children accessing an early learning and childcare setting are also entitled to a funded portion of milk and a healthy snack (a portion of fruit or vegetables) every day. This includes children who are not accessing funded hours.

Parents and carers with further questions about the scheme, or Care Inspectorate-registered childcare providers looking to register to receive the scheme's funding, should please email ELC@pkc.gov.uk.

Further information is available from Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme - Maternal and child health - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).