Food and Nutrition
We take great pride in our commitment to healthy food and nutrition. The quality of food is essential to our well-being, and we regard the responsibility of nourishing your child with the utmost seriousness. We advocate for organic where possible and fair trade practices while consciously opting to exclude refined sugars and processed foods from our offerings.
The children will always sit down to eat lunch and tea in ‘family’ groups. We will always eat with them, encouraging them to try new things and supporting them to learn independence and good table manners. Meal times provide opportunities for us to converse and reflect with them on the events and activities of their day as well as discussing the importance of nutrition.
At One World Montessori we believe that mealtimes should be happy, social occasions for children and staff alike. We promote shared, enjoyable positive interactions at these times. Parents provide packed lunches for their children. We provide parents with guidelines for nutritious content and signpost to the NHS packed lunch guidance (https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/healthier-lunchboxes/). We provide appropriate storage in allocated fridges or request parents use ice packs. Children’s lunch boxes are checked prior to giving the contents to the children to ensure any risks from potential allergens or choking hazards are managed.
We want to teach children more about healthy lifestyles and encourage the adoption of healthy eating. Understanding the importance of nutrition is easier if children have been active participants in food preparation from a young age and if allowed to take opportunities to ask questions about what constitutes a healthy balanced diet. That's why we do cooking lessons at One World Montessori.
Our policy and we advocate to parents to:
Avoid refined sugars, but use molasses or fruit as natural sweeteners
Consider carefully the amount of sweet foods we are offering to children
Cut back on the amount of grain we offer children each day
Increase the ratio of vegetables to fruit
Use only fruit, vegetables, cheese and vegetable dips for Snack
Use fresh food not frozen
Avoid processed foods
Use organic where we can
Promote the drinking of water and cow’s milk (or preferred alternatives)
Favour free trade foods where economically viable
Champion locally sourced foods where we can
Offer meat, vegetarian and fish dishes to our omnivores
Provide excellent vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options
Promote composting
Avoid excess food waste
Consider packaging waste