Safer eating in nursery: choking, allergies and mealtime supervision

Children must always be within sight and hearing of a member of staff while they eat, and there should always be someone with a full paediatric first aid certificate in the room. Where possible, staff should sit facing the children. Food must be prepared in a way that prevents choking, and at every meal and snack someone must be clearly responsible for checking that each child’s food meets their dietary and allergy needs.

The safer eating section was in the September 2025 frameworks (see what changed in September 2025) and is carried into the frameworks in force from 1 September 2026 with only a small wording change: the named person now checks food and drink. It is paragraphs 3.64–3.71 for group and school-based providers and 3.63–3.70 for childminders. This guide is for settings in England.

From September 2026 Ofsted has said inspectors will look at whether settings follow the statutory requirements on safer weaning and eating, as part of the welfare and wellbeing judgement and leadership. Poor practice here can now affect how inspectors view safeguarding.

What does the EYFS say about supervising children while they eat?

• Sight and hearing, always. Children must be within sight and hearing of staff while eating. The framework’s reason is blunt: choking can be completely silent.
• Sit facing them, where possible. So you can see how each child is eating, stop food being shared, and notice an unexpected allergic reaction.
• A paediatric first aider in the room. The framework uses “should”, which it defines as something you must follow unless you have a good reason not to. It must be a full course certificate meeting Annex A of the framework (a course of at least 12 hours), not a shorter emergency course.
• Seated safely. Babies and young children should be in a highchair or a low chair of the right size, ideally in a dedicated eating space with few distractions.
• One named person per meal. You must be clear, at every meal and snack, who checks that the food and drink given meets each child’s requirements.

The failure point is predictable. It is the lunch hour, when staff breaks overlap, a child needs changing, and the paediatric first aider is the one who goes. Build mealtimes into the rota first, then fit breaks around them.

Choking: how should you prepare food?

The framework requires you to prepare food to prevent choking and points to DfE’s food safety guidance. It also says you must not assume what a child can manage based on age. Talk to parents about which textures their child is used to, and move them on at a pace that suits the child.

This table is drawn from DfE’s food safety guidance for children aged five and under.

Food	How to prepare it
Grapes, cherry tomatoes, strawberries (small round foods)	Cut lengthways and then into quarters
Raspberries	The DfE nutrition guidance lists these with small fruits to cut lengthways and quarter
Melon and other large fruit	Cut into slices, not small chunks
Raw apple, raw carrot and other hard fruit or veg	Cut into slices, not chunks. For babies from around 6 months, soften and remove skins at first
Fruit with stones or pips	Remove all stones and pips
Sausages	Thin strips, not chunks, with skins removed. DfE also advises avoiding them because of salt
Cheese	Strips, not chunks
Bread	Cut into strips for very young children. Wholemeal or toasted may be better, as white bread can form a doughy ball
Meat and fish	Remove all bones
Raisins	Not as a snack under 12 months; chopped within a meal is fine
Nuts and peanuts	No whole nuts for under-fives. Crushed or ground nuts and smooth peanut butter are fine from around 6 months unless there is an allergy
Seeds	No whole seeds for under-fives
Popcorn, hard sweets	Do not give
Marshmallows, jelly cubes from a packet	Do not give, including for messy play

What do you record when a child chokes?

When a choking incident needs intervention, such as back blows, the framework says you should record where and how the child choked and make sure the parents know. You should then review those records from time to time for patterns, and act on what you find.

A useful choking record captures: the child, date and time, the food and how it was cut, where the child was sitting, who was supervising, what intervention was needed, how the child was afterwards, and when the parent was told. The pattern review is the part that protects the next child. Three incidents with the same pasta shape tells you something about the menu, not about three children.

If a choking incident needs resuscitation, causes loss of consciousness or leads to severe breathing difficulties, it is also a serious incident to notify to Ofsted. See accident and incident records.

Allergies and dietary requirements: what you must collect

Before a child starts, you must get information about any special dietary requirements, preferences, food allergies and intolerances, and any special health requirements. This has to reach every member of staff who prepares or handles food.

For known allergies and intolerances, you must work with parents, and health professionals where appropriate, on an allergy action plan, keep it up to date, and share it with all staff. The framework says you should refer to the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology (BSACI) action plan.

All staff must know the symptoms and treatment of allergies and anaphylaxis, the difference between an allergy and an intolerance, and that children can develop a new allergy at any time, especially while being weaned. A child may try a food for the first time in your care.

The DfE nutrition guidance says that if a child shows signs of anaphylaxis you should use their auto-injector if they have one and call 999, then use a second auto-injector after 5 minutes if they have not improved. A child with signs of anaphylaxis should not be walked anywhere; carry them if they must be moved away from the allergen.

The 14 allergens

It is possible to be allergic to anything, but the DfE nutrition guidance lists 14 common allergens. DfE also notes that since 2014 all food businesses, early years settings included, have been legally required to give details of the allergens in the food they provide. The 14 are:

1. Celery
2. Cereals containing gluten (wheat, barley, oats and some flours)
3. Crustaceans (prawns, crab, lobster)
4. Eggs
5. Fish
6. Lupin
7. Milk
8. Molluscs (mussels, oysters)
9. Mustard
10. Peanuts
11. Sesame
12. Soya
13. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (often in dried fruit)
14. Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, Brazil and macadamia nuts)

Children can be allergic to foods outside this list too. Put the allergen content on your menus and share them with parents; the nutrition guidance recommends it.

Mealtime supervision checklist

Use this at the start of every meal and snack, including in the garden and on outings.

• A member of staff with a full paediatric first aid certificate is in the room, and will stay until everyone has finished.
• The person responsible for checking each child’s food at this meal has been named.
• Allergy and dietary list is up to date, visible to staff and not visible to visitors.
• Each child’s plate has been checked against that list before it is put down.
• Food is cut for each child’s stage, not their age. Round foods are quartered lengthways.
• Children with allergies are seated where cross-contact is least likely, and their cups and plates are clearly theirs.
• Every child is seated in a highchair or suitable low chair. No eating while walking or lying down.
• Staff are seated facing children where possible, and nobody is supervising with their back turned.
• Nobody leaves the room without handing over, and the first aider is not the one who leaves.
• Auto-injectors and allergy plans for children in the room are within reach.
• Food brought from home has been checked for allergens and cut safely.
• Fresh drinking water is available.

Other rules that sit alongside safer eating

• Meals, snacks and drinks you provide must be healthy, balanced and nutritious, and you must have regard to the EYFS nutrition guidance.
• Everyone who prepares or handles food must be trained in food hygiene, and you must be confident they are competent.
• Food poisoning affecting two or more children must be notified to Ofsted or your childminder agency as soon as reasonably practicable, and within 14 days. Not doing so without reasonable excuse is an offence.
• Childminders will find the Food Standards Agency’s Safer food, better business for childminders pack useful for hygiene.