Focus on the Safer Eating Changes - EYFS September 2025

Following on from member questions, we thought it would be useful to take a deeper dive into the safer eating changes you will see when the EYFS Sept 2025 is published.

Supervision

Children must be in your sight and hearing when eating.
Change – this means that you or an assistant / staff member will need to be in the room with the children every meal and snack time.

• Do you need to rearrange your dining area so you can see and hear children while they are eating?
• Do you need to adjust adult / child ratios, so you are always in ratio when children are eating?

Paediatric first aid

Someone with a valid paediatric first aid certificate must be in the room when children are eating.
Change – this is a new requirement.

• Do you need to put assistants or lunch cover staff through first aid training before September? Childcare.co.uk offers gold members discounted training through Tigerlily. https://www.childcare.co.uk/firstaid

Record keeping – special dietary requirements

From September, you must ask parents about their child’s special dietary requirements, preferences, food allergies and intolerances before they start in the setting and share the information with all assistants / staff. The new nutrition guidance from DFE also notes celiac as a risk factor and you might want to add that to the ‘special dietary requirements’ section of your paperwork. Nutrition guidance for early years providers
Change: intolerances have been added to the special dietary requirements.

• You might need to review and update your intake forms to ensure they include a question about intolerances as well as allergies.
• The required information is requested from parents on the Childcare.co.uk ‘All about me’ form. New Parents - Learning & Development paperwork
• Do you need to update any care plans with intolerance information? The allergy page of the Childcare.co.uk care plan has been updated to include space for information about any food intolerances. Care Plan
• Think about how you ensure food being placed in front of a child is suitable for their needs – for example, do you use different coloured plates for children with allergies?

Checking food

You must nominate someone to check each child’s food before it is served to them.
Change: this is a new requirement.

• Think about how you will arrange this – for example, ideally, you will ensure the child’s key person is checking their food, but you will need to consider occasions when the key person is on holiday or unexpectedly absent.
• How will you ensure each child’s key person and other assistants / staff in the setting are kept up to date about each child’s allergies, intolerances and special health needs.

Keeping updated

You must keep updated with information from parents about their child’s dietary needs.
Change: this is a new requirement.

• Think about how you will manage this – you might, for example, plan in your diary to speak to parents every term about any changes to their intake / ongoing dietary information.
• The Childcare.co.uk free childminder organiser has space for you to record reminders. Free childminder organiser

Allergy action plans

If children need them, you must put allergy action plans in place to manage known allergies and intolerances and you must keep them updated. DfE suggest using the BASCI plan which will come with the child from their allergy practitioner / doctor.
Change: using the BASCI allergy action plan will standardise paperwork across settings.

• Think about how you will work in partnership with parents and other agencies and professionals to ensure children’s allergy needs are met.
• You should replace your current allergy plans in the child’s care plan with the BASCI plan, provided by the parents.
• You will need to diary a reminder to update children’s allergy action plans at least termly and when there are changes.

Training

You and any assistants / staff must be able to recognise the symptoms of allergies and anaphylaxis and know how to treat them – for example, using an auto injector to treat anaphylaxis.
Change: this is now set out in the EYFS. Training is included in paediatric first aid courses.

• You might want to do some update training. There is some training available from Childcare.co.uk, Online Training Courses
• There is more allergy training from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). https://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/
• The NHS allergy guidance, which will be useful for you and any assistants / staff to read for professional development, is signposted from the EYFS. NHS Food Allergy Guidance
• You might want to review your auto injector and allergy mediation storage – it must be accessible to all assistants / staff when needed, while being out of sight and reach of children.
• How do you manage expiry dates and requests for new medication from parents?
• You might want to add a reminder to ask questions about allergies, intolerances and reactions to allergies and anaphylaxis to assistant / staff supervision meetings and staff meetings.

Weaning

You must recognise that allergies can occur at any time, especially when weaning.
Change: this is a new requirement.

• The EYFS signposts the NHS Start for Life weaning guidance which will be useful for you and any assistants / staff to read for your professional development. You might also want to share the information with parents. NHS baby weaning information
• There should be an allergy information page in your Safer Food Better Business file. Do you need to update your copy? Safer Food Better Business for Childminders

Weaning continued

You must support weaning in stage (not age) appropriate ways, working closely with parents to ensure food is prepared in a suitable way for their child to prevent choking and using textures they have eaten at home. Change – you must move weaning babies on at the right pace for the child.

• Do you need to review how weaning is managed in your setting? For example, think about how well you keep parents updated about what their child is eating with you – and how often you ask them for updates about their child’s weaning journey at home.
• The NHS Start for Life weaning guidance is signposted from the EYFS. You and your assistants / staff might want to read it as part of your professional development. NHS baby weaning information
• There is further food safety guidance on the DfE Help for early years providers website, including advice on food and drink to avoid, how to reduce the risk of choking and links to other useful resources. Food safety for early years providers

Safe seating

You must ensure babies and young children are seated safely when eating. The EYFS will advise that they are seated in a highchair or ‘appropriately sized low chair’ in a designated area for eating where distractions are minimised.
Change: the EYFS does not currently suggest seating expectations.

• Do you need to review seating arrangements for babies and young children in your setting? DfE has confirmed to Childcare.co.uk that this requirement does not preclude picnics or mean children have to sit in silence, but they must be sitting down and monitored at mealtimes.
• How do you ensure children stay at the table during mealtimes? Do you need to speak to parents and ask them to support their child to get into good habits at home?
• You might find it useful to look at possible distractions in your dining area. Do you need to, for example, remove posters and signs, move children away from toys and games or reduce auditory distractions?

Sitting with children

You must sit facing the children when they are eating to monitor them for, for example, choking (which can be silent) and allergic reactions (which can happen at any time) or swapping food to which they might be allergic.
Change: this is a new requirement. However, it has always been best practice with sit with children when they are eating.

• You should explain the change to parents – they should also be encouraged to sit with their child at home, for the same safety reasons.
• You must speak to parents about food they sent into the setting. For example, if you have a child or staff member with a peanut, you might state that you are a nut free setting.
• DfE advise in their funding guidance you have a Packed Lunch Policy to support funded parents if they are sending in food for their child. Free sample packed lunch policy

Choking

You must prepare food to prevent choking. This will mean, for example, monitoring lunch box contents for possible choking hazards as well are carefully preparing food you supply.
Change: this is a new requirement, following Child Safeguarding Practice Review findings.

• Think about how you will address concerns about choking - for example, by reminding parents to cut up food from home, which will reduce the risk.
• The Food Standards Authority (FSA) has produced a choking poster to share with parents. Food Standard Authority Chocking Poster

Record keeping – choking

You must record any choking incidents, and parents must be made aware. As with any near miss incident, your records should be reviewed ‘periodically’ to identify any common issues that need to be addressed.
Change: this is a new requirement.

• You might want to add a reminder to your diary to review choking incident records for ‘trends or common features of incidents that could be addressed to reduce the risk of choking.’
• The Childcare.co.uk incident report can be used for record keeping. Statutory Record Keeping Forms for Childminders

What next?

Think about what you need to do to be ready for the changes. For example, do you need to print this action plan to guide you?
You might also want to review your menus to include the latest information in the DfE Nutrition Guidance which will be signposted from the EYFS Sept 2025, in place of the 2024 EYFS menu guidance. Nutrition guidance for early years providers
If you want more detail about the changes, Childcare.co.uk has a webinar on the nutrition changes which is available to watch again for gold members. www.childcare.co.uk/webinarplayer