Age-specific portion guidance. A formal "provide, limit, avoid" food framework. Strengthened allergen protocols. Tighter drink rules. If your food provision policy hasn't been reviewed since before September, it's out of date. Not arguably out of date. Actually out of date.
What Does the EYFS Actually Require?
The statutory requirement hasn't changed: meals, snacks and drinks must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. Fresh drinking water must be available and accessible to children at all times.
That's the floor. The September 2025 DfE nutrition guidance raises it considerably — and here's the bit that catches managers out. The guidance isn't technically statutory. But settings are expected to follow it unless there's a good reason not to. "Good reason" is a high bar. Ofsted knows the guidance exists. "We weren't aware of it" has never gone down well in an inspection, and it won't start now.
The guidance introduced four things that matter operationally.
A "provide, limit, avoid" food framework. Three categories. Every item on your menu sits in one of them. If you're not sure which, that's the first problem to fix.
Age-specific portion sizes and textures. Not vague guidance — specific, by age group, with sample menus attached. Your caterer should be able to map their menus against this. If they look at you blankly when you ask, that tells you something useful.
Breastfeeding guidance, included for the first time. Settings are now expected to have a policy supporting breastfeeding families, including safe storage of expressed milk. Minor operational point for most full-day nurseries. Still a documented gap if Ofsted looks for it and finds nothing.
Meal charge rules, tightened. Charges for meals during funded hours must be voluntary. Parents must be permitted to send food from home. This doesn't change your food quality obligation — it changes your ability to mandate your own provision. If you haven't reviewed your fee structure against this, it's worth ten minutes of your time.
The Drink Rules Most Settings Get Wrong
This section exists because it keeps coming up. The rule is genuinely simple. Most settings still bend it.
Fresh tap water and plain milk only. That's the complete list.
No fruit juice. No smoothies. No squash. No fizzy drinks — including the diet versions, which someone always asks about. No flavoured milk. No diluted anything.
Plant-based drinks can be offered from 12 months, but only unsweetened and calcium-fortified. The oat milk with added maple syrup does not count.
The most common pushback is that diluted juice encourages children to drink. The EYFS framework is unmoved by this argument. Juice — even diluted — contains enough sugar to contribute to tooth decay and displace appetite for more nutritious food. The guidance is explicit on this point.
If your kitchen is adding cordial to water, stop today. If your catering supplier is including juice at snack time as a default, change the brief. This is one of the easiest compliance wins available and one of the most consistently failed checks.
Allergen Management: Where the Real Consequences Live
Drink policy is a quick fix. Allergen failures are where settings face serious consequences — and where the EYFS requirements are most detailed.
Before a child starts: Dietary requirements — including every allergy and intolerance — must be collected and recorded before the child attends. Not on their first morning. Before their first morning. That information must be kept current through ongoing conversations with parents. Not just captured at induction and filed.
At every mealtime: A named member of staff must personally verify that the food served to each child meets all their dietary requirements. This isn't a general supervision responsibility. It is a specific check, for each child with a dietary need, at each meal. If this is happening informally and undocumented in your setting, it needs to be formalised.
In the room: The EYFS requires a member of staff with a valid full paediatric first aid certificate to be present whenever children are eating. Present in the room. Not in the building, not next door. If that person leaves mid-lunch, you have a compliance gap. The thing to check here isn't your training register — it's your actual rotas.
If you use an external caterer: Allergen information must travel from their kitchen to your staff at every service. A laminated allergen matrix in a folder is a document. It is not a system. The check needs to be live, per meal, per child with a known requirement.
Bottom line: if your allergen protocol lives on paper but doesn't change behaviour at the serving point, it isn't doing the job.
Foods the EYFS Says Not to Serve
Worth reviewing with your catering team once a year. If you use an external supplier, share this list and confirm compliance in writing — then keep the email.
| Avoid | Reason |
|---|---|
| Unpasteurised milk, soft blue-veined and mould-ripened cheeses (uncooked) | Listeria and food poisoning risk |
| Shark, swordfish, marlin | Mercury levels affect developing nervous systems |
| Raw shellfish | Food poisoning — all shellfish must be fully cooked |
| Whole nuts for under-fives | Choking hazard |
| Added salt in food prepared for under-ones | Kidney risk |
| Honey for under-ones | Infant botulism risk |
A note on oily fish, because it comes up: the guidance recommends oily fish at least once every three weeks — but no more than twice a week, due to low-level pollutants. If your supplier includes salmon or mackerel more frequently than that, the menu needs adjusting.
On choking: stones and pips out of all fruit before serving. Whole grapes, cherry tomatoes and large pieces of raw vegetable should be halved or quartered as standard. If this isn't already written into your food service protocol, it takes about three minutes to add.
Your EYFS Food Compliance Checklist
Use this before an inspection. Use it now if you haven't recently.
Documentation
- Dietary requirements collected and recorded before each child's start date
- Allergy and intolerance records kept current — not just captured at induction
- Written mealtime protocol documenting how dietary needs reach serving staff
- Breastfeeding and expressed milk storage policy documented
- Meal charge policy reviewed against September 2025 funded-hours guidance
Menu and Food Standards
- Current menu reviewed against the DfE "provide, limit, avoid" framework
- Drinks: tap water and plain milk only — no juice, squash, cordial, or flavoured milk
- All "avoid" foods removed from menus and catering briefs
- Oily fish frequency: at least once per three weeks, maximum twice per week
- Portion sizes and textures matched to age-specific DfE guidance
Staffing
- Paediatric first aid certificate holder present in the room at every mealtime — check the rotas, not the register
- All regular food handlers hold Level 2 Food Hygiene as a minimum
- Named staff member assigned to allergen checks at each mealtime — named, not assumed
Supplier Management
- External caterer provides allergen information per menu item, per service
- Supplier menus reviewed against September 2025 DfE nutrition guidance
- Supplier FSA hygiene rating checked directly on the FSA database — don't take their word for it
Finding Suppliers Who Already Meet the Standard
The most efficient route to EYFS food compliance is working with a supplier who has already done this work.
That means caterers with allergen matrices in formats your staff can actually use at the point of service. Caterers who know the Caroline Walker Trust nutritional guidelines and can show their menus against them. Caterers who treat the "provide, limit, avoid" framework as a production brief — not a sales talking point.
Not every supplier in this sector can do all of that. The Nurture Kitchen website lists nursery catering suppliers by region and category, including verified suppliers who have been assessed for EYFS alignment and food hygiene standards. It's a reasonable place to start a shortlist.
Browse the Nurture Kitchen supplier listings — filtered by region, category, and compliance status.
Find EYFS-compliant nursery food suppliers
Verified suppliers with allergen documentation, FSA-rated hygiene, and menus aligned to the September 2025 DfE nutrition guidance.
Browse Suppliers →The Bottom Line
September 2025 moved the benchmark. The DfE nutrition guidance is live. Ofsted is aware of it. Your food policy should reflect it.
Review your menus against the "provide, limit, avoid" framework. Check your drinks provision. Audit your allergen protocol — not the documentation, the actual mealtime behaviour. Verify your supplier's FSA rating before your next inspection, not during it.
If you haven't looked at any of this since August 2025, this week is a good time to start.