Nutrition, Food Safety, Oral Health and Active Play Procedure

In this procedure, words in italic text are defined terms used in many of Gowrie Victoria’s policies and procedures, and which have the specific meanings set out in Gowrie Victoria Policies and Procedures – Definitions and Abbreviations.

Additional defined terms used only in this procedure are healthy eating, nutrition, oral health, and sometimes/discretionary food and drink. Definitions of these terms are included at the end of this procedure.

Purpose Statement

This procedure outlines how Gowrie Victoria ensures safe and healthy practices around nutrition, oral health and active play in alignment with the Victorian Child Safe Standards.

In accordance with national regulations and Child Safe Standard 2, the service embeds health and safety into everyday practice by ensuring all food storage, handling, preparation, serving and disposal are carried out safely.

• Meals are provided in an environment that supports healthy eating habits and social interaction, while menu planning reflects the dietary, developmental and cultural needs of children and families, supporting equity and inclusion under Child Safe Standard 5.
• Oral health practices and opportunities for active play are consistently promoted, contributing to a safe physical environment as required by Child Safe Standard 9.

These procedures form part of the service’s documented commitment to child safety and wellbeing under Child Safe Standard 11, ensuring transparency, consistency and accountability in providing a safe, health-promoting environment for children, staff and families.

Scope

This policy applies to all Board members, staff members, volunteers, students on placements, parents/guardians, children and contractors/labour hire employees at Gowrie Victoria.

Procedure

Resources

Each Early Learning Manager must ensure that they have the facilities, equipment and qualified staff members required to:

• purchase and prepare food for children
• store food, including breast milk and infant

Food safety program

Each Early Learning Manager must ensure that:

• the service has an up-to-date Food Safety Program complying with Standard 2.1 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, as required by Standard 3.3.1
• all food storage and food handling processes are carried out in accordance with the Food Safety Plan
• all equipment used to store and prepare food is tested for safety and functional performance each year.

Training

Each Early Learning Manager must ensure that:

• the Kitchen Supervisor holds a current Food Safety Supervisor Certificate and has knowledge of nutrition for children under the age of 6 years the Kitchen Assistant holds a current Safe Food Handling Certificate
• Educators successfully complete training in safe food handling and good hygiene practices annually. Staff are also supported to access professional development and resources to enable them to deliver healthy eating and oral health education.
• Staff members complete refresher and further training as required, including the delivery of healthy eating, active play and oral health education for children

Staff members are supported in consuming healthy foods. Children with food allergies which may cause anaphylaxis or other reactions.

Each Early Learning Manager must ensure that the Medical Conditions Procedure is followed.

An Early Years Leader who has a child in their group with anaphylaxis or other medical condition which may be triggered by particular foods must:

• ensure that the child’s risk minimisation and communication plan is followed and implemented
• ensure that all the child’s food is individually prepared by the service kitchen staff and clearly labelled including food required while on excursions.

Children with cultural or religious food requirements

Each Early Learning Manager must ensure that:

• the enrolment records of all children are checked to identify those who have cultural or religious dietary requirements
• discussions are held with each child’s family to ensure that the service understands and takes account of the family’s preferences
• the service provides food for these children which meets their specific needs and complies with other nutrition requirements set out in this procedure.

Bringing food into the service

Families are encouraged to provide a single piece of fruit or vegetable per day into the shared fruit basket in their child’s room.

Only children’s lunchboxes (where required by their program), fruit and infant formula will be brought into the early learning program areas. Foods requiring heating should be avoided in children’s lunchboxes. Where lunchboxes are required, families will be encouraged to provide food that is consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines and is focused on developing respectful relationships and supporting a family’s choice.

Early Years Leaders and Educators will ensure that lunchboxes do not contain any high-risk allergens, these will be removed from the children’s program. Children are requested to bring a drink bottle with water that is taken home each evening to be washed

Ensure staff and educators are supported by having healthy food options for staff meetings and for professional learning

Food planning

Each service will provide breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and late snack to children. Together these meals must provide 50% of the recommended daily intakes for the five main food groups as set out in the Australian Dietary Guidelines, taking account of children’s differing ages.

Menus must:

• be developed by the staff member with primary responsibility for food preparation at each service
• ensuring the service menu has been assessed by the Healthy Eating Advisory Service’s Food Checker tool and meets the criteria determined
• be planned on a minimum 4-week cycle
• take account of children’s special cultural or religious requirements
• take account of any feedback or suggestions originating from children and families
• give children the opportunity to try new foods
• avoid foods which are potentially detrimental to oral health
• be reviewed in consultation with the Early Learning Manager
• ensure that a weekly menu is displayed in a location accessible to parents/guardians, and that it accurately describes the food and drinks to be provided by the service each day

Each meal should be presented to include a variety of textures, tastes and colours.

Serving food and beverages to children

Hygiene requirements

Early Years Leaders for each group of children will ensure that:

• Educators always wear aprons when preparing food in the kitchen
• Educators wash their hands before preparing breast milk or infant formula, touching any plates, bowls, eating or drinking utensils, or any food
• children wash their hands before setting tables or eating.
• all surfaces which will be used for eating are cleaned before use
• if Educators are feeding children, they wash their hands after each child is fed ensure that babies are held when feeding from

Responsive mealtimes

Early Years Leaders and Educators for each group of children will:

• ensure that children have access to drinking water (preferably tap water) at all times, both indoors and outdoors, and encourage children to drink water throughout the day, including at snack and lunch times
• ensure that children can readily access their own clearly labelled drink containers
• encourage children to help with preparation of tables and other appropriate routine tasks
• ensure that children with special dietary requirements receive their correct meals and do not share food from other children
• encourage children to eat healthy food to recognise when they are hungry or full
• when children are serving food from shared plates at mealtimes, educators ensure the use of appropriate utensils (to minimise the risk of cross-infection)
• ensure that children do not share eating or drinking utensils
• ensure that Educators sit with children and are modelling, implementing and reinforcing healthy eating and nutrition practices encourage healthy eating options and understanding of sometimes/discretionary food and drink.

No child should be forced to eat a meal if they do not wish to. Food and drink must not be used as an incentive or reward in recognising children as active participants in their own learning, children should be encouraged to make meaningful decisions about elements of their own education and care. Incorporating responsive mealtimes into the educational program allows children to choose to eat when they are hungry, rather than according to a timetable. Children can gather in small groups to enjoy meals together, without interrupting the needs and play of others. This also encourages more social and meaningful interactions at mealtimes and allows for a smoother flow throughout the day. Children can make decisions based on their own needs and can be supported to access food and water throughout the day by educators/staff, who actively participate in mealtimes.

Children transitioning from and being introduced to foods

Early Years Leaders for each group of children will:

• discuss plans with each child’s family to ensure that the service meets the family’s requirements
• ensure that all new foods introduced to a child are first tried at

Children who have not started weaning

Families who wish to breastfeed their children at the service will be actively supported, including providing space and privacy while feeding.

If families bring breast milk for their children Early Years Leaders and Educators will ensure that:

• it is stored in containers clearly labelled with the child’s name and date of expression
• the containers are placed in the child’s room’s refrigerator on arrival
• families provide preparation instructions if needed
• families bring in an extra container above the amount usually

If families are using formula feeding, families will provide:

• enough bottles with water to the required measurement, labelled with the child’s name
• an unopened tin of formula (NB formula milk will be made up in accordance with instructions on the package if a tin is provided)
• or a container with the formula measured out individually for each bottle.

Early Years Leaders and Educators must follow the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC’s) guidelines when feeding infants. In particular:

• all milk and formula will be warmed in a bottle warmer
• only warm the milk once, discard any warm milk that has not been used
• all bottles will be cleaned after use
• cups can be introduced from approximately 6 months old and children should be supported to transition fully from a bottle to a drinking cup at by12 months old.

Safety

To reduce the risk of choking Early Years Leaders will ensure that:

• all children are seated while eating
• for all children under 3 years old, raw foods such as carrots and apples are either pureed, steamed, mashed, grated or thinly sliced
• meals are cut into age-appropriate pieces
• all children are actively discouraged from sharing food

infants are not settled or sleep while drinking from a bottle. This ensures safety and prevents tooth decay. To reduce the risk of anaphylactic or other allergic reactions, the Early Learning Managers must ensure that no nut products will be used at the service.

Encouragement of good and safe eating habits

The formulation of good eating habits is critical for children aged 0-6 years. Educators must:

• talk with children about food in a positive way
• endeavour to increase the children’s awareness of food and nutrition by including food education as part of regular planned programs (learning experiences about healthy eating and oral health)
• cooking experiences with children are included in the program and these promote healthy eating and knowledge of nutrition
• involve children in the growing of vegetables and herbs in the service’s vegetable gardens
• talk with children about the risks of eating unsafe foods or sharing foods, particularly for children with anaphylactic or other allergic reactions
• use opportunities to promote healthy eating to children’s families, including by the provision of information
• not use food or drink as an incentive or

Encouragement of good oral health practices

 Early Years Leaders and Educators will take opportunities to educate children about good oral health as part of learning about food.

As part of promoting oral health awareness, consideration should be given to:

• visits by dental practitioners to check children’s teeth and oral health who may also provide information about accessing dental services
• the establishment of partnerships with relevant organisations to support healthy eating and oral health.
• the provision of oral health information to families
• Oral hygiene practices are promoted and undertaken at the service where appropriate.

Encouragement of physical activity and active play

Active play develops a strong and healthy body, builds motor and co-ordination skills, creates a sense of wellbeing and helps protect children from disease. Active play is about moving, being and doing.

Early Years Leaders and Educators will take opportunities to educate children about the importance of active play and consideration should be given to:

• ensuring children are not sedentary or inactive for more than 1 hour at a time, except for sleeping
• planning and providing active play and movement experiences that are age-appropriate, inclusive of diversity and abilities and support children to develop fundamental movement skills
• considering opportunities for children to be physically active indoors using and promoting local parks, bike paths and recreation facilities, where appropriate, to encourage physical activity.

Authorisation

Approved by	Executive Manager
Name	Alison Smith
Signature
Date	17 December 2025

References

Definitions used only in this procedure

Healthy eating: describes eating patterns that provide all the recommended nutrients for growth and development, and good health and wellbeing, now and in the future. It also refers to preparing, serving and eating food in a way that recognises its importance as a social and cultural activity.

Nutrition: the process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth

Oral health:  the absence of active disease in the mouth. Oral health is fundamental to overall health, wellbeing and quality of life. A healthy mouth enables people to eat, speak and socialise without pain, discomfort or embarrassment.

Sometimes/discretionary food and drink: food and drink items that are high in fat, sugar and salt, and that contain minimal vitamins, minerals or fibre. These can also be referred to as ‘sometimes’ foods and drinks. Examples of discretionary food and drinks include:

• chocolate, confectionery, jelly
• sweet biscuits, high fat/salt savoury biscuits, chips
• high sugar/high fat cakes and slices
• cream, ice cream
• deep fried foods (e.g. hot chips) and pastry-based foods (pies, sausage rolls and pasties)
• most fast food and takeaway foods
• some processed meats (e.g. sausages, frankfurters/hot dogs, salami, strasbourg, devon, some commercial chicken nuggets, and fish fingers)
• soft drinks, fruit juice and fruit drinks, cordial, sports drinks, energy drinks, flavoured milk and flavoured mineral water.