Later this year, a significant reform to the ‘Early years foundation stage statutory framework’ will be introduced. These changes emphasise the importance of child safety during meal and snack times while recognising the critical role that food plays in early childhood development.

As with many framework changes, these amendments are designed to enhance child safety and wellbeing by covering multiple areas – such as safer eating practices, staff training, stricter emphasis on healthy eating, weaning guidance, and a heightened focus on allergy management. These changes come under the new ‘Safer eating’ section of the EYFS framework – a broad term covering a range of new requirements around safer eating practices.  There is also a welcome nod to the wider impact of nutrition on early childhood development and how settings demonstrate their understanding of this in menu planning, snack provision.

In this blog, we’ll break down the key headings, looking at their implications, and what settings need to do to prepare for 1 September 2025 and beyond.

There are two distinct areas the new changes fall into: food safety and mitigation of risk; and nutrition comprehension and implementation. As with many frameworks, you may find the language somewhat ambiguous. Making changes could seem daunting, and it may be tempting to hold off for the time being, but it may be best to carry these out well in advance. There’s nothing worse than a last-minute panic ahead of September!  

Furthermore, while this blog breaks down the most important details of the framework and offers suggestions for how to implement any changes, it is recommended you look at the links and resources provided here and review the new framework for yourself.

Food safety and mitigation of risk

Firstly, we will examine food safety. These changes primarily stem from tragic and avoidable incidents such as choking and allergic reactions, prompting stricter control surrounding this area. These changes not only safeguard children, but also protect your staff from traumatic incidents and owners from potential catastrophic consequences. Now, what are the main changes outlined under food safety and what implications might they have for your setting? 

Allergen management

The guidelines have been strengthened to ensure that children with allergies are kept as safe as possible. You may well already have the suggested measures in place; in which case, great! If not, however, you may need to tweak your policies and review your record-keeping to ensure compliance. Here is what you need to know about these important changes and how they impact your setting.

Policies

Settings will be required to show robust allergy management policies, meaning they should outline procedures for identifying children with allergies (including prior to taking a new child into THE setting), show an understanding of food allergies and their consequences, and explain how they minimise risk by preventing exposure to allergens.

Training

Staff members will be required to undergo training to recognise the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. Training must cover emergency responses and the administration of adrenaline auto-injectors, ensuring that members of staff can respond with the correct training, saving valuable reaction time.

On selecting a training provider, the guidance states: “Providers are responsible for selecting competent training providers, with no hierarchy among approved bodies.” This basically means that you can choose from any training body that is recognised and approved by the UK government, but there’s no requirement for one to be considered ‘better’ or ‘higher’ than another. All that is required is that the training body meets established standards and can competently deliver paediatric first aid courses. The most important factor is affordable, appropriate training to ensure every setting can comply. 

Individual healthcare plans (IHPs)

Settings will also be required to have an individual healthcare plan (IHP) for each child with a known allergy. This plan must clearly outline the child’s specific allergies, any symptoms of a reaction, their individual emergency response plan (such as a prescribed adrenaline auto-injector), and their emergency contacts.   

Emergency preparation and response

Along with outlining clear emergency procedures in your policies, settings are advised to maintain a supply of spare adrenaline auto-injectors, where appropriate, to be used in emergencies. Settings should also hold regular drills and review emergency procedures. As part of ongoing staff training, early years providers must also ensure staff are trained to recognise anaphylaxis symptoms and correctly administer adrenaline auto-injectors, such as EpiPens, whenever necessary.

Minimising choking risks and weaning enhancements

This section covers training, supervision at meal and snack times, and kitchen-specific safety measures for food preparation. There have also been reforms to the approach to weaning and the introduction of solid foods to a child’s diet.

Increased mealtime supervision

Children must always be within sight and hearing of a staff member whilst eating. This may be a small change to the framework, but it can have a huge impact on both child-safety and room management. It is possible for children to choke silently and quickly, so consider how you’ll implement this safety measure. Further steps include monitoring for signs of distress and children’s eating habits, as well as preventing food sharing to avoid allergic reactions.  

Seated area

Try to keep your designated eating area free of distractions, and ensure all children are safely situated on age-appropriate seating.

Record keeping

Settings should record details of any choking incidents requiring intervention, including where and how the incident occurred, to enable any common factors or patterns to look out for as prevention measures.

Training

Whilst children are eating, there should always be a member of staff in the room with a valid paediatric first aid (PFA) certificate.

Food preparation to minimise choking

While your setting likely has measures in place already, the DfE has now introduced further guidance on food preparation to minimise choking risk. It is recommended to provide very clear guidance on your setting’s recipe methodology. Instead of ‘chop or dice vegetables’, be explicit in what size and shape any items should be cut to, including photos if possible. Try to leave as little as possible up to interpretation.

Introduction of solid foods and weaning guidance

There will also be a greater emphasis on weaning, and more specifically, the introduction and preparation of solid foods. There should be an individual approach to this based on both age and stage, and assumptions should not be made on food readiness based solely on the child’s age. For example, do not presume certain foods are okay for a child to eat simply because they have been weaning for nine months. 

Communication

Settings must engage in ongoing discussions with parents and carers to understand the specific stage their child is at with regards to the introduction of solid foods. A two-way process showing insights into the textures and types of foods the child has both at home and in your setting is helpful for both parents and educators.

Safe food preparation

This is related to kitchen safety but also weaning. All foods should be prepared in a manner suitable for the child’s developmental stage. This can apply to the size and shape of foods given, but also to the level and accuracy of blending dishes. There will always be a stray lump or two when using a hand blender; for maximum efficiency, you can use a sieve after blending to fully eliminate any lumps for children who need food of a smooth consistency.

Nutrition comprehension and implementation

The second set of changes relate to the impact of food on early childhood development and the increased emphasis on nutritional awareness. How will you be able to demonstrate the implementation of food knowledge in your menu planning for maximum nutritional impact on the children in your care?

There are several enhancements coming to ensure that settings can demonstrate an understanding of early years nutrition and display the thought and planning that has gone into menu planning for childhood development. 

Enhanced menu planning

You should be able to demonstrate how items on your menu support early childhood development. Every single item on a menu should be on there for a reason – such as supporting brain development or boosting immunity. Menus should be nutritionally balanced for childhood development – but what exactly does this mean? Early childhood is not only a time for laying down biological foundations, but also when we shape our food preferences and behaviours. For example, if you provide a pudding every day on your menu, children will form the connection that pudding must always follow a meal, leading to a food behaviour – and in the worst cases, possibly even a food addiction. 

Variety

You should be able to demonstrate a colourful, balanced menu, including a variety of foods and more plant-based dishes. Try to prioritise whole foods over processed meat.

Cultural appropriateness

The updated guidance aims to be more culturally appropriate and relevant to diverse communities. Consider how your menu suits the community you serve.

Snack provision

Snacks should be well-thought-out and nutritionally balanced, providing about 10 percent of daily energy requirements. Be sure to check the nutritional information on the packaging for any snacks you consider providing for the children in your setting.

Summary

In summary, the proposed reforms to child safety and nutrition are welcome changes, for both their safeguarding benefits and their wider impact on child health. These enhancements will not only protect children, but also staff and employers. A deeper understanding of how food shapes children is greatly needed, so this nod to increased nutritional awareness for menu planning is entirely appropriate given the current and predicted health landscape for this generation of children. We owe it to children to understand both the biological and emotional connections we are forming for them via the foods we introduce to them, to set them up for a healthy life.