Lunch Club
At Lunch Club we aim for children to enjoy a shared social healthy eating experience with adults and children. Lunchboxes are supplied by parents.
Lunch Club takes place on Tuesday and Friday, 11.45-12.45. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon sessions start with lunch at 11.45, and this can be combined with the morning to provide a full 8.45-2.45 day.
Lunchboxes should contain:
- a sandwich, roll, pasta or other carbohydrate
- a piece of fruit, vegetables or salad
- a drink
- a small treat
Please do not over fill the lunch box or offer too much choice as it can be overwhelming for children. We find that children with fewer items tend to eat better!
Lunch boxes should NOT include sweets. Parents should be wary of processed high sugar snacks labelled as fruit substitutes. (eg fruit worms, fruit strings) These are high in sugar and look like sweets.
It is a good idea to include a small ice pack as we don’t have refrigerated storage.
Lunch should be supplied in a container that the child can manage themselves. Staff are always available to assist, but try to encourage children’s independence.
Adults ensure that children will wash their hands before eating.
Children are encouraged to eat their sandwich (or equivalent) before eating their treat, but this will not be enforced.
Staff will act as role models for healthy eating and encourage quiet, sensible behaviour at the table, whilst engaging the children in conversation. Where possible an adult will be seated at each table, but there will always be an adult nearby to assist the children.
Parents can assist by partially opening any packaging and fruit peel beforehand.
In order to cater for children’s individual dietary requirements and allergies, sharing of food at Lunch Club is not allowed. Staff will explain this to all children.
Children are expected to wait till everyone is seated before they start eating, and remain at the table until most children have finished, when they will be given permission to leave the table.
After lunch the children will have the choice of taking part in an adult led focus activity or free play. During warm weather, we will often have lunch in the garden.