News

Food quality may be hit by 30 hours offer

The quality of food that children eat in their early years settings could suffer as an unintended consequence of introducing the 30-hour childcare entitlement, findings from a
joint survey carried out by Nursery World and the Children’s Food Trust suggest.

Early years providers are concerned that some children signed up to the free hours for three- and four-year-olds will be eating packed lunches as nurseries and childminders struggle to provide enough hot and nutritious food with the funding provided.

The online survey was carried out in October and November last year. A total of 367 responses were received, with the majority answering all the questions.

It reveals that more than four out of ten providers (43 per cent) believe the 30-hour offer will negatively impact their setting’s food provision.

Of these, more than half said they would not have enough funding to provide food for children taking up the 30 hours, and around a third said they would ask parents using the entitlement to provide packed lunches if their children would be attending the setting over lunchtime.

Many respondents were also unclear as to whether the funding for the 30 hours would cover the cost of providing meals for the children (see box).

The majority (64 per cent) were of the opinion that it should cover food costs for all children using the entitlement; and an even higher number, 77 per cent, said they believed that the funding should include the cost of food for the most deprived families using it – that is, children who would be eligible for free school meals.

Around one in five respondents said they would fund food for the most deprived children themselves. One nursery owner said they would use their Early Years Pupil Premium funding to provide food for children from low-income families.

Time was also an issue, particularly for childminders, with one saying they would need to hire a cook, which the funding would not pay for.

On food quality, the cost of ingredients and limited preparation time were cited most frequently as challenges to providing healthy food for children in daycare.

The survey’s report said this was a worry given that it is envisaged the 30 hours will contribute to increased pressure on providers’ time, as well as concerns around funding food for children accessing the offer.

Packed lunches

Views were mixed on the provision of packed lunches. While some settings said that they would be asking parents to provide food, others were less keen because they said parents sent children in with ‘unhealthy lunches’. One respondent commented that they could not have parents sending children in with their own lunches because children with severe food allergies attended the nursery.

Commenting on the findings, Children’s Food Trust head of nutrition Dr Patricia Mucavele said, ‘One of the things we really want to explore further now is the indication that more parents will be asked to send in packed lunches for children taking up the 30 hours entitlement as childcare providers struggle to fund food for those taking up
the offer.

‘That means more children only having cold food during their day in childcare – which is typically less varied and nutritious than a hot meal.’

The trust’s previous 2013 survey suggested packed lunches in early years are less healthy compared with food provided by settings, with four out of ten children being sent in with crisps and a quarter with confectionery.

Food sources

Nearly all respondents (98 per cent) provided some food. Nine out of ten said their setting was responsible for its own catering, including shopping, preparation, cooking and serving food.

Nearly three-quarters provided food on four or more occasions during the day.

Ninety-three per cent of settings said they bought their food from supermarkets, 43 per cent said they used local shops, and eight per cent used a catering supplier.

Over half bought their food from one supplier only, which in most cases was a supermarket.

food-chart

Kitchens

A number of settings also cited concerns that they did not currently have enough kitchen and dining space to cope with providing meals for the number of children expected to take up the 30 hours.

Eight out of ten respondents said that their kitchen was large enough to cope with the
number of children they cared for at the moment, suggesting that they are currently able to provide hot food.

However, a small number felt their kitchen was not big enough for the number of children they cared for currently, which the report said was a concern given the potential increase in demand for childcare.

Liz Roberts, editor of Nursery World, said, ‘The findings from this survey should provide very valuable information for policy-makers as the implementation of the 30 hours of free childcare progresses. Nurseries and childminders have made significant strides in recent years in adopting the early years guidelines and improving their food provision to benefit young children’s health and well-being.

‘However, many have serious concerns about their sustainability if the 30-hour policy is underfunded, and it would be a huge shame if that led to a drop in the nutritional standards of meals and snacks in early years settings.’

Dr Mucavele added, ‘The call from early years providers to make sure funding for free childcare reflects the cost of good food for all children who would otherwise qualify for free school meals also came through strongly. The 30 hours policy is a wonderful opportunity to help many more children get off to a good start with food and to help deliver the Government’s forthcoming childhood obesity strategy. We want to make sure it’s used to its full potential.’

PROVIDERS VOICE THEIR CONCERNS

Food costs

‘We will have to increase the price of providing a lunch if funding rates are not increased.’

‘As an orthodox Jewish childminder, I cater to children for my community who eat strictly kosher food. If the Government chooses to include money towards meals in the funding, that would negatively impact Jewish settings because I would need to fund
the shortfall.’

‘The funding does not cover the cost of meals, and parents may not want to pay top-ups to cover them.’

‘It will be a cost absorbed by the nursery. With a fee for meals.’

‘We will ask parents for a contribution towards their child’s meals. For very deprived families we will use the Early Years Pupil Premium money to help fund meals for the children.’

More staff

‘We will have to employ more
staff to cope with the higher volume of children we would have to cater for.’

Time

‘Currently I mind approximately 25 hours a week, and spend another ten hours cleaning, preparing, planning, talking to parents, keeping up to date with legislation, bookkeeping, etc.

'The list is endless. If I want to provide healthy, nutritious lunches, I’ll need to hire a cook,
and funded spaces don’t allow for that.’



Nursery World Jobs

Senior Nursery Manager

Bournemouth, Dorset

Early Years Adviser

Sutton, London (Greater)

Nursery Manager

Norwich, Norfolk

Nursery Manager

Poole, Dorset