well, have handed notice in at nursery and then have just written said snotty letter to the owner. we have the choice to 2 nurseries that i really like now - one is very local and cooks better food than last nursery on the premises and other has packed lunches. dh will visit both on friday and we'll make up our minds from there. Here is the letter:
"Dear Mrs Nugget (not real name)
I am writing with further to a conversation I had with [your manageress] on Thursday 23rd September, the result of which she was going to discuss with you. As you know, I had voiced some concerns I had with the food being served at [nursery], which I do not consider to be as balanced and nutritious as it could be.
I had asked when dd started [nursery] in September 2003 that she not have meat and also that she not have food which is what I call processed food: high in salt, sugar, fat and/or additives. I was told that this would not be a problem. I was uncomfortable with dd being given biscuits at morning break every day but I did not speak up formally at this time as I did not want to ?rock the boat? nor to make dd feel different to the other children in any way. I did say at the time that I was not very keen on dd eating jelly and other processed desserts. I told staff that fresh fruit would always be a welcome alternative to these types of puddings.
More recently, though, I have noticed that jelly seemed to be featuring quite regularly when staff told me what dd had been eating for her lunch. This time I asked that jelly not be given to dd. After this, on a day that jelly had been served to the other children, I was told that dd had been given mousse, which contains just as much gelatine, sugar and additives as the jelly. I appreciate that staff were trying to accommodate my wishes in the best way they saw fit, and I have to say that they have always been helpful and pleasant when I have made enquiries about the food, but I do think that there seems to be a basic lack of knowledge about what constitutes healthy and nutritious food at the nursery.
I then asked to see a menu planner and was dismayed to see that, even though your meals are prepared by a cook at the nursery, there were very few fresh vegetables on offer and fresh fruit only available on certain days, the alternative to this on other days being tinned fruit or cake. At this point I went in to speak to [manageress] and she was very understanding of my concerns and said that she would speak to you about them. I had hoped that, with an Ofsted inspection coming up, and with the current Government?s concerns into school meals and the education of the young about healthy foods, that you might at least have considered the validity of your current menu. However, I was told by [manageress] a week later that dd could have fresh of tinned fruit for her puddings from now on and that you had no intention of reviewing your menus. I am very disappointed that you chose this course of reply to my concern.
I teach in a state school and I get paid whether parents choose our school or not; yet it is common practice to get together with parents as soon as concerns are raised, either by telephone or, preferably, face-to-face. Even when I know the outcome of a meeting will not result in the way the parents initially hope for, due to school policy for instance, it is common courtesy to explain the process and reasons to the parents. Parents of children who attend [your nursery] are paying for the care of their children, and that should entitle them to have some say about the way they are fed and the way concerns are dealt with, without a casual dismissal. Obviously the fact that we are paying for dd?s nursery education gives us some choice and so we are, reluctantly, exercising that choice in changing dd?s nursery.
My husband and I have been very pleased with the level of care in all other aspects that dd has received from all your staff at [nursery], and we shall be sorry to say goodbye in many ways. However, we would rather that dd spend the next year before pre-school at a nursery where we are not felt as if we are being unreasonable for caring about what our daughter eats.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Moomin"
wotdya think?