To be pissed 3YO had beans on toast for lunch

[Zachary143]

Annoyed that I pay £2.50 for lunch for LO.

I initially wanted LO to have packed lunch when starting nursery full time however was told that this was not an option and that children had to have nursery lunch however I was reassured that it would all be fresh, wholesome and home cooked.

In the past LO has been given thing like packet noodles and sweetcorn. Pudding is usually angel delight or fruit. Also when it's a child birthday the cake is given as pudding so their not really having pudding that was part of the paid for meal.

The cheap lunches are pissing me off, I can provide him with better quality packed lunches and it'll cost me less.

[Jumpers268]

What about those with SEN and/or SPD? My son is 6 and he would have never eaten beans on toast or noodles at nursery (I can get him to eat beans and toast but separate and that's taken years!). He always had a packed lunch at nursery and does at school now too. I guess you can raise it with the nursery and/or change nursery .

[ellyeth]

I wouldn't be too worried about the beans on toast but the other processed foods would concern me - packet noodles especially.

[NoIDontWatchLoveIsland]

Do you contribute the money to bridge the gap between the (usually insufficient) hourly rate they receive from the government for funded hours (often about £4.20) and their actual hourly rate (probably more like £6-7)? If not where do you think the money comes from to fill that gap.

[NoIDontWatchLoveIsland]

The preschool DS attends is charity/non profit. I'm on the committee and despite being able to run in a parish council facility at cheap rates, we are reliant on donations to stay afloat/pay staff.

[busymomtoone]

I’m curious if you don’t get a menu how you know it’s quick ( instant?) noodles and angel delight? Most children wouldn’t be able to identify these? I honestly can’t imagine this being part of a normal menu for a nursery - there are far more nutritious and cost effective meals - as others have said, perhaps the cook was off or their cooker/ gas was off that day. Beans on toast sounds ok. EYF monitoring dies include healthy eating so would be v surprised if these meals are “ usual”.

[1Morewineplease]

Beans on toast is a starchy vegetable on top of starch.
I would resent paying £2.50 for that, particularly as you're looking at about 20p worth of beans on top of one slice of bread.
I appreciate that you're also paying for staff costs and energy, but even so.
Children in primary school can have a roast dinner for that which has to be well balanced.

I'd look at another provider, if I'm honest.

[Jammysod]

If its because of Allergies, can't they just tell you what they are so you can avoid sending them in?
I'd be pissed off to pay £2.50 for beans on toast too!

Ours occasionally gave tomato soup & bread/toast. Not really an issue until I found out it was a dessert spoon of soup & half a slice of bread!

[Anotheruser02]

I used to pay £2.20 per nursery meal and it was a main cooked meal, shepherds pie/ curry/ roast dinner. I would be pissed of to pay more than £1 for beans on toast.

[Ohtheplacesyougo]

Are you sure it is as it says it is. My daughter user to have beans on toast and angel delight but it was all freshly made. Same with Singapore Noodles! I saw the beans and they weren’t even Haricot ones but a whole selection. £2.50 is very reasonable though.

[RosieRoww]

I pay £2.50 per one meal- that includes proper dinner (eg. sausages, mashed potato, plus desert) also choice of milk or water.

[24GinDrinkingOnceTheKidsInBed]

I’m wondering if your dc is on the same nursery as my dc 👀 same price, similar meals. Often is pizza, beans on toast, spaghetti hoops on toast, the occasional roast dinner to be fair.. most days of the week it’s cake and custard for pudding. I’m not keen on the amount of processed and sweet stuff their giving but one of the nursery staff made a comment when asking about what food she could have at the Christmas party I said I’m fairly laid back and she could have whatever she would eat (meaning, I don’t have anything I’m strictly against as a treat or occasional thing) and she said about how some parents have done absolutely mental in the past about giving their kids pizza and cake. Maybe every day of the week I would too!

If you’re not happy with DC diet I would express that you want more greens and fruit added in.

I’m trying to find the balls to raise it myself though

[SEMPA1234567]

Are you receiving the 30 hours funding? If so you might be able to argue your case for insisting on a packed lunch. This is the department of educations response to a question raised by the NDNA:

1. If children are not having lunch at nursery as parents are opting not to pay, and packed lunches are not allowed, is it acceptable for parents to be asked to pick the child up over the lunch break e.g. morning session 9am-12 noon, lunch break 12-1pm afternoon session 2-5pm?
   

The statutory guidance is very clear on page 14 that “Evidence shows that continuous provision is in the best interests of the child. Where it is reasonably practicable local authorities should ensure that children are able to take up their free hours in continuous blocks and avoid artificial breaks being created throughout the day, for example over the lunch period.” It is also clear, on page 13, that “providers should work with parents to ensure that as far as possible the pattern of hours are convenient for parents’ working hours”. Requiring parents to pay for lunch, or pick up their child in the middle of the day during the lunch hour, is not consistent with this statutory guidance.

[Wally1983]

I think this is acceptable. At £62 a day for nursery (I don’t ask for breakdown of hours and lunches etc but I’d imagine I’m £10 a day for meals) as long as I know it’s varied meals/snacks I don’t mind what they feed him. Varied being the word that I think any nursery would use. This week he’s had, breakfast (weetabix/crispies) snack (oatcakes/toast/fruit/crackers) lunch (meatballs/beans on toast/cottage pie) snack (melba toast/fruit/yoghurt) and tea (sandwich/soup/fish pie) fruit offered at each main meal too.. varies on a 6 week rota. Next week might see noodles/fajitas/pasta/baked potato - some things will be cheap and cheerful to make, others it’ll be more expensive so I think it all balances out :)

[cherish123]

Yes. I agree. This is crap.

[MayorGoodwaysChicken]

No way would I be ok with this. Our nursery has a chef onsite who cooks wholesome fresh meals every day. Tea is sometimes beans with veggie fingers but that’s after something like a fresh cottage pie for lunch. Packet noodles and beans for the main meal is awful

[Oblomov21]

Seems the norm these days to overcharge for lunches, to make up for other areas.

[Toomuchtrouble4me]

@HarrietHardy

£2.50 is a rip-off for a slice of bread and what, half a tin of 30p beans?

£2.50 is ok for beans on toast, plus a dessert.
It’s not just the cost of the food, it’s planning, shopping, prepping, serving, supervising, clearing and cleaning.
Beans on toast is healthy, filling, suits vegetarians, most kids like it.
Sounds fine to me.
If they gave desert and BD cake somebody would complain.

[Nanny0gg]

[quote Zachary143]@MrsTophamHat
Its because of allergies as pp mentioned.

What I dont quite get is what about people on low income[/quote]
I don't understand the 'allergies' bit

Schools just tell you what's not allowed - definitely no nuts and they may add other things if a child has a particular issue

Can't see why nursery can't do the same

[dramaticpenguin]

are you aware that the rate of funding for 3 year old is a whole pound less an hour than for 2 year olds? in some areas its 3.75 an hour... that's not alot. So I guess it depends whether you are paying privately for the childcare or not. I often do beans on toast for my little childminding crew because one of the 4 year olds is so fussy that it's the only meal I know he'll eat. I follow it up with fruit or yoghurt but when I've tried giving them things like homemade crumble and custard etc it gets rejected too! But I charge £3 a day to cover meals and snacks for the funded 3-4 year olds because whether they eat it or not, I've still bought it, made it, served it.

also slightly different from a nursery, but I can't have some on packed lunch and some on food with me because then snack time comes around and everyone wants what I'm giving or vice versa.

[Whatevertrevor19]

I wouldn't be happy with that my LO was actually given beans on toast at nursery today but it was the afternoon snack not lunch. I have no idea how much of my fees cover the food but LO has 2 snacks, lunch and sometimes will also have a second breakfast when she gets in. All meals always sound lovely

[riceuten]

@MrsTophamHat

Beans on toast, fine.

£2.50 is a rip off.

I don't understand the logic behind no packed lunches.

The reason given usually is that they could contain something other children are allergic to, and could therefore be dangerous.

The real reason is they make a mint out of it.

[Pebbledashery]

My daughter sometimes has beans on toast or sandwiches at tea time, and at least once a week there is some kind of cake.. But, breakfast is always wholesome and lunch is almost always a hot cooked meal with a vegetable starter or a fruit pudding.. I'd be fuming if she was getting beans on toast all the time with packet noodles! The nurseries menu should be verified by an NHS registered dietician.. I would be removing my child from the setting the the menu is like that every day.

[Anotheruser02]

@dramaticpenguin

are you aware that the rate of funding for 3 year old is a whole pound less an hour than for 2 year olds? in some areas its 3.75 an hour... that's not alot. So I guess it depends whether you are paying privately for the childcare or not. I often do beans on toast for my little childminding crew because one of the 4 year olds is so fussy that it's the only meal I know he'll eat. I follow it up with fruit or yoghurt but when I've tried giving them things like homemade crumble and custard etc it gets rejected too! But I charge £3 a day to cover meals and snacks for the funded 3-4 year olds because whether they eat it or not, I've still bought it, made it, served it.

also slightly different from a nursery, but I can't have some on packed lunch and some on food with me because then snack time comes around and everyone wants what I'm giving or vice versa.

But the child/ adult ratio changes from 4:1 to 7:1 at age 3 in a nursery so the cost of them being there genuinely reduces, there can be almost twice as many DC per staff member.
If it's a top up for other things then the nursery should be transparent. I don't understand all of the "it's for supervising/ tidying/ having to prepare" I was a nursery nurse for a few years we did not get paid more when we were doing those things, any more than we were paid less when children were sleeping. I would be shocked if a nursery cook was making these instant or snack meals the nursery staff were probably taking turns for these kind of meals.

[Grapewrath]

I visited a costly nursery for dd (now 16) who told me they provided freshly cooked food each day- this sounded great until I spotted a pile of toad in the hole Tesco value meal boxes in the kitchen.
I don’t think the cost is outrageous for your child’s lunches, but they shouldn’t lie about it being freshly prepped wholesome food

[Candycane57]

When DD was at nursery the food provided was included in the cost and they were still the cheapest childcare provider in the area. Lovely homemade good food by a trained chef with years of experience. I'd complain and either send her in with a packed lunch or change nurseries.