23 Jan 2026
Donna Comfort, Deputy Head of Woodlands Nursery at Beechwood Park School near Markyate, explains how they ensure children get the most out of their lunchtimes…
Many parents often ask, “Have they eaten their lunch today” to which the usual reply would be “Yes, all of it”. “How do you do it?” they reply.
When starting nursery, it is quite usual for parents to state ‘my child struggles to eat much’. This can be due to many reasons, however, during children’s nursery sessions, it can be very different.
In Woodlands, the structure to our day means children are always kept busy and active.
We follow a pictorial daily routine, which the children get to know well throughout their time with us. Lunchtime is an important part to our day and is around midday every day.
The children are prepared for their lunch by taking care of their personal hygiene tasks before approaching the table (this would mean they have used the toilet and washed their hands ready for sitting at the table – meaning less disturbances during eating).
Once the children are prepared and calm then we enjoy a quiet story time together, whilst a staff member is busy laying the table. Each child has their own named dinner mat (which helps with phoneme and name recognition) and their cutlery placed in the correct position.
As every child has their own water bottle in school, with water being readily available for top-ups during the day, the children are encouraged to fetch these before identifying their place at the table. Most children can identify their placemats within their first few weeks of attending Woodlands which makes lunch serving extremely straightforward.
As staff, we ensure each child is seated around the table where staff can support and engage with them well.
Lunch consists of a nutritional hot meal, something appealing to our small children. It will be well balanced with a variety of vegetables used across the week as well as the fresh crudités on offer every day. We always find a roast dinner to be a particular firm favourite.
For us, lunchtime is a very sociable time, where we sit together talking about what we have been doing all morning and what we will continue to do in the afternoon. You would not believe the conversations and the vocabulary used, which lead to great learning opportunities whilst eating lunch! Children observe adults and children around them eating and this encourages everyone to do the same. Some children will need a little help with eating but that is fine, we are there to help and encourage the children to eat as much as possible.
As part of the initial relationship building, when children join us, we as staff, very soon get to know children’s likes and dislikes and these are taken into consideration when serving up food.
Those children preferring a smaller portion can be offered this initially with more being provided if required.
There is nothing worse than offering a child a big plate of food which they know they cannot manage, so therefore being ‘put off’ by the amount in front of them.
Upon finishing our lunch, the children can display their practical skills whilst scraping their own plates (which makes them feel important and gains independence in clearing away) before dessert is served.
This can be fresh fruit fingers or a sugar free pudding.
Both are popular with our children and bring our lunchtime together to an end.
We do enjoy this time of day with the children as it is a time for getting their full attention whilst they are sat at the table.
It makes this a positive experience for the children whilst encouraging communication skills as well as strengthening their sense of belonging and well-being. At Woodlands, we recognise that mealtimes are not just about nutrition – they’re an opportunity to nurture independence, confidence, and connection.
With everyone having a full tummy, we are then ready for a fun-packed afternoon of learning.
Top tips for parents:
- Encourage children to stay sitting at the table whilst eating, no getting down until they have finished their meal.
- Lunchtime or dinnertime should be a social occasion (if possible). If you can and time frames allow, always try to sit as a family around a table together. It is a great time to talk about the day and discuss what might be happening tomorrow.
- Always ensure foods such as sausages are cut up small to avoid choking at home.
- Use a placemat (which the children could decorate in their favourite character stickers or draw a picture on) This will help to bring the child to the table and encourage them to stay in their seat.
- Try to limit screen time before meals and no screens to be taken to the table.
- Involve the children in setting the table and serving the food, cutlery laid out correctly and a drink available.
- Limit the water intake, as this will make the child feel full quicker.
- Offer a variety of different foods, children’s taste buds change all the time.
