Guidance for Pre-School Settings Receiving Meals from EA Catering - Guidance for Pre-School Settings Receiving Meals from EA Catering

This guide has been developed to support all pre-school settings due to standardise in September 2026.

Register with Environmental Health

Settings must register with their local Council's Environmental Health Office to serve a mid-day meal.
Settings are responsible for their Environmental Health Office registration.
Food Hygiene Ratings should be clearly displayed within the setting.
Settings should follow the Safe Catering Guide.

Training Information

Settings are responsible for ensuring that staff preparing or serving meals are appropriately trained.
Links to essential, minimum requirement training, provided below:
- Safe food for Business - Food Hygiene and;
- Food Standards Agency - Food Allergy and Intolerance Training.
Training Records for all staff involved in meal service should be kept - Sample Training Record - SC6.
Certification updates and renewal of staff qualifications will be an ongoing requirement.
Training advice and guidance will be available.

Special Diets

To guarantee the safeguarding of pupils with allergies, or any other special dietary requirement, it is vital that settings work collectively with pupil, parent/guardian and production kitchen.

Each setting should have a Special Diets Policy.
Settings should adopt and follow EA’s Guidance for the Provision of Special Diets in Schools for the mid-day meal.
Settings are responsible for coordinating with parents/guardians and their production kitchen, to agree arrangements for all special dietary requirements.
Special diet arrangements should be reviewed regularly to ensure they continue to meet individual needs.
Should there be an incident, settings must inform their production kitchen, and all reporting logs must be kept for inspection.
Special Diets Policy must be maintained/updated in line with regulatory changes in a timely manner.
Further guidance on managing Special Diets can be found below.

Managing Special Diets

As detailed within the EA Guidance for the provision of Special Diets, settings hold overall responsibility for a pupil’s health and wellbeing whilst under their care. In relation to special dietary requirements, each setting is responsible for:

Providing parents with the EA Special Diets Application Form.
Facilitating a meeting with the Production Kitchen Catering Manager to agree on suitable arrangements.
Coordinating communications between all relevant parties – these usually being the Parent, the school Catering Service and the School (including supervisors and teaching staff).
Making arrangements to ensure the special diet application process is completed in full, including arranging and participating in the Special Diet Arrangements Meeting.
Communicating to the school’s Catering Service a child or young person’s eligibility to Free School Meals on grounds of having a special dietary need.
Completion of the qualitative risk assessment and sharing this with the school Catering Service.
Ensuring the special dietary needs of children and young people are met throughout the entire school day, e.g. at breakfast club, break time, snacks or during celebrations/events.

When placing the daily meal order, please ensure that all special diet meals are clearly identified, including the relevant pupil name(s).

When meals arrive at the setting, Special Diet meals will be clearly identified with a label stating - the pupil’s name, item description and school name.

Special diet meals should be served first, handled with clean hands or gloves and served using clean utensils.

Think Allergy Poster should be displayed within the setting.

An Allergen Matrix will be provided daily and should be disposed of at the end of each day. Applies to non-statutory settings only.

Menus and Ordering Guidance

Production Kitchen will confirm the cut-off time for daily meal orders.
When placing orders provide - numbers and types of special diets, free school meals, paying pupil and adult meals. *
A Single Choice Menu will be offered under the Pre School Standardisation Programme.
Meals will not be available on EA Non- Operational Days. Alternative arrangements should be put in place.
Settings should share holiday calendar with Production Kitchen. Anticipated start date for meals will be required in June.
Settings can order cleaning products and PPE with their production kitchen as required for the mid-day meal.
EA Menus align with Nutritional Standards for school lunches. For further information see our Nutritional Standards section.
Non-Statutory Settings should ensure meals offered also align with Nutrition Matters Early Years Guidance.

*Orders should be placed daily by phone and confirmed by email.

NOTE: Families of children attending a full-time pre-school should be able to choose as to whether they wish to take a school lunch or bring a packed lunch to pre-school and this choice should not adversely impact the child, including in relation to the duration of their school day.

Meal Service

Production kitchen will confirm an approximate time meals will be ready. Transport of meals will vary by location.
A short video demo detailing PSP meal guidance is available on the PSP Webpage.
Family Service is recommended for pre-school children.
Meals should be temperature probed prior to service and served at the minimum temperature of 63°c. Temperatures recorded on SC8.*
Additional care should be taken when preparing and serving special diet meals.
Should there be issues with meals provided settings should contact their production kitchen.
Food waste should be disposed of appropriately and may be returned to production kitchen.**
PSP Funding may be available for a catering assistant to support the mid-day meal service.

*If meals are to be reheated they should be served at a minimum temperature of 75°c and recorded on SC8.

**All leftover food should be removed from containers, and containers rinsed prior to returning to kitchen. Cleaning cloths can also be returned for cleaning.

Managing Mealtime

Dining Area

It is important to create an appealing dining environment in your setting with age-appropriate equipment and minimal distractions.

Pre-school settings may choose to serve mid-day meals within the classroom or outside the classroom, for example in a dining hall or multi purpose space.

Family Service is recommended for pre-school children. Staff may sit and eat with the children, this is an opportunity to promote positive, real-life experience and develop social and language skills. Staff should encourage children to serve themselves and develop positive conversations around food, e.g. colours and shapes of food, where food comes from and the importance of not wasting food

Meal Set Up and Preparation

Plan snack and mealtimes to avoid offering food too close together. Mealtimes may vary, but aim to last around 30-45 minutes, allowing children time to eat without feeling rushed. Additional care should be taken when preparing and serving special diets.

Ensure you have everything you need before children sit down to eat. Children can become distracted by staff getting up from the table to get bowls, jugs, food, etc.

Children should:

Wash their hands before and after mealtimes.
Understand the importance of sitting down when eating.
Be encouraged to take turns, if self-serving.
Be supported to use appropriately sized cutlery.
Be encouraged to help set up or clear away.
Be supported to learn about the sensory properties of food through touch, taste and smell.