"The safety and wellbeing
of the children and staff
is our number one priority"
Andy Morris, CEO and Managing Director
of the children and staff
is our number one priority"
Andy Morris, CEO and Managing Director
FAQ's
Could you rotate the menus day-by-day rather than week by week?
We do not rotate our meals daily, but do try to give variety within the menus for children attending on set days. We encourage the Nurseries to work with parents so that children who may only attend one or two days a week can eat a variety of meals. If this is a concern for any parents they would need to speak to the Nursery and we can then vary the meals offered to these children.
Not sure children at my sons nursery are offered breadstick/oatcakes at snack time? Also would be good to see either ready brek or porridge on offer particularly in winter- don't think I've ever seen it served!
Breadsticks and oatcakes have just been added into our menus for snack times. They were not previously included so it is understandable that many parents would not have seen them offered until now. Likewise, Ready Brek and Porridge have also been added for the winter menus.
Why are the David Lloyd nurseries offering a different menu and why is it on a 3 week rather than 4 week cycle? The tea menus for the nurseries at David Lloyd seem to have less variety - is there a reason for this?
The menus offered to our David Lloyd Nurseries has increased to a 3 week cycle from 2 weeks for these new menus. Unlike our standalone Nurseries we do not have our own kitchens in these sites so have to share the facilities that David Lloyd have. Space is a premium and we are limited in the amount of storage we have so cannot hold stock to support a 4 week menu as yet. We also have to share the cooking equipment which can be difficult at times due to some David Lloyd sites being extremely busy over the lunch and evening meal periods. Therefore we developed a menu which accommodates all of these constraints and we are continuing to work closely with David Lloyd to identify areas where it may be possible to expand our menus further.
The evening menus have to work within the same constraints but the sites are predominantly busier and we tend to have a more limited time to use the equipment.
Do we serve Halal meat in our Nurseries?
All of our stand alone nurseries who cook from fresh are able to use a range of Halal meats. They are fully traceable products and can be ordered along with the weekly food orders as standard.
What brand and variety of yogurts do you use?
We use yogurt in several of our dessert recipes and on their own. It is important to ensure that the sugar content is kept within the required standards and so we have several yogurts that we use. These are:-
We do not use Strawberries or Kiwi fruits in any of our nurseries, however, we have introduced raspberries into a couple of the desserts.
Do Asquith no longer provide breakfast to children in full day care? One part of the site says breakfast is not provided and yet cereal, toast and milk are on your menus.
Asquith will be continuing to provide breakfast to children in full day care. The confusion has arisen from our Nutritional standards information where we have not included Breakfast in our figures as not all children have breakfast.
We are sorry to have caused this concern and we are in the process of making sure that the article is reworded so as to avoid the confusion.
Why are fluids not included in the Food information?
All of our nurseries offer Milk and water to drink during the day. It is not included as part of the food and nutrition information as it needs to be looked at separately due to its importance.
There is no restriction on fluids. Hydration is vitally important and in no way would the salt content be causing this as we do not use any salt in our recipes and only use products where the salt levels are extremely low and comply with the National standards.
What is a portion size?
The portion sizes we are working to are illustrated in the Information section of our Food and Nutrition pages.
Please follow this link to see the details >
What is the provision for children who are vegetarian?
We provide a vegetarian option for every meal time in all of our nurseries. It is not always possible to detail all of the dishes or variations on offer which is why we complete specific dietary requirement sheets for the children. We would specify that any vegetarian diets are what we would call a preference diet where all of the specific preferences in order to follow that diet are listed. The cooks then have a list of recipes and foods to be able to provide vegetarian dishes.
Can you offer a more substantial tea as my toddler is often hungry by the time he gets home?
The tea provided is not a full meal but rather a 'top up' for the children. It is a lighter option which is provided to give the necessary daily requirements of nutrients.
Is the meat used in the menus free range?
Our meat is not all free range.
Traceability, sustainability and provenance are key and our suppliers are committed to this as well as to animal and farm welfare assurance schemes supporting British farmers wherever possible. The majority of our meats bear the Red Tractor mark that guarantees that the produce meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Is there any emphasis on fruit and/or yoghurt based desserts and less on cakes, biscuits and puddings?
The new menus include some new desserts whose ingredients include a higher proportion of fresh fruits and yogurt but a reduction in sugar. Fruit is also offered at snack times and number of different yogurts with low or no sugar content are used in the meal recipes.
There is less of an emphasis on cakes and biscuits but again where these are offered we have changed the recipes to cut out the sugar.
Do we use any organic fruit and vegetables?
We do not use organic fruit and vegetables. Our suppliers have full traceability for all of the produce we use and on a weekly basis we receive a crop and quality report detailing the fluctuations in supply and quality.
We do not rotate our meals daily, but do try to give variety within the menus for children attending on set days. We encourage the Nurseries to work with parents so that children who may only attend one or two days a week can eat a variety of meals. If this is a concern for any parents they would need to speak to the Nursery and we can then vary the meals offered to these children.
Not sure children at my sons nursery are offered breadstick/oatcakes at snack time? Also would be good to see either ready brek or porridge on offer particularly in winter- don't think I've ever seen it served!
Breadsticks and oatcakes have just been added into our menus for snack times. They were not previously included so it is understandable that many parents would not have seen them offered until now. Likewise, Ready Brek and Porridge have also been added for the winter menus.
Why are the David Lloyd nurseries offering a different menu and why is it on a 3 week rather than 4 week cycle? The tea menus for the nurseries at David Lloyd seem to have less variety - is there a reason for this?
The menus offered to our David Lloyd Nurseries has increased to a 3 week cycle from 2 weeks for these new menus. Unlike our standalone Nurseries we do not have our own kitchens in these sites so have to share the facilities that David Lloyd have. Space is a premium and we are limited in the amount of storage we have so cannot hold stock to support a 4 week menu as yet. We also have to share the cooking equipment which can be difficult at times due to some David Lloyd sites being extremely busy over the lunch and evening meal periods. Therefore we developed a menu which accommodates all of these constraints and we are continuing to work closely with David Lloyd to identify areas where it may be possible to expand our menus further.
The evening menus have to work within the same constraints but the sites are predominantly busier and we tend to have a more limited time to use the equipment.
Do we serve Halal meat in our Nurseries?
All of our stand alone nurseries who cook from fresh are able to use a range of Halal meats. They are fully traceable products and can be ordered along with the weekly food orders as standard.
What brand and variety of yogurts do you use?
We use yogurt in several of our dessert recipes and on their own. It is important to ensure that the sugar content is kept within the required standards and so we have several yogurts that we use. These are:-
- Elm farm very low fat yogurts
- Ubley low fat yogurts
- Ubley thick and creamy yogurts
- Muller fromage frais
- Muller Healthy Balance smooth peach yogurt
- Greek style yogurt
- Low fat natural yogurt
- Alpro soya yogurt
We do not use Strawberries or Kiwi fruits in any of our nurseries, however, we have introduced raspberries into a couple of the desserts.
Do Asquith no longer provide breakfast to children in full day care? One part of the site says breakfast is not provided and yet cereal, toast and milk are on your menus.
Asquith will be continuing to provide breakfast to children in full day care. The confusion has arisen from our Nutritional standards information where we have not included Breakfast in our figures as not all children have breakfast.
We are sorry to have caused this concern and we are in the process of making sure that the article is reworded so as to avoid the confusion.
Why are fluids not included in the Food information?
All of our nurseries offer Milk and water to drink during the day. It is not included as part of the food and nutrition information as it needs to be looked at separately due to its importance.
There is no restriction on fluids. Hydration is vitally important and in no way would the salt content be causing this as we do not use any salt in our recipes and only use products where the salt levels are extremely low and comply with the National standards.
What is a portion size?
The portion sizes we are working to are illustrated in the Information section of our Food and Nutrition pages.
Please follow this link to see the details >
What is the provision for children who are vegetarian?
We provide a vegetarian option for every meal time in all of our nurseries. It is not always possible to detail all of the dishes or variations on offer which is why we complete specific dietary requirement sheets for the children. We would specify that any vegetarian diets are what we would call a preference diet where all of the specific preferences in order to follow that diet are listed. The cooks then have a list of recipes and foods to be able to provide vegetarian dishes.
Can you offer a more substantial tea as my toddler is often hungry by the time he gets home?
The tea provided is not a full meal but rather a 'top up' for the children. It is a lighter option which is provided to give the necessary daily requirements of nutrients.
Is the meat used in the menus free range?
Our meat is not all free range.
Traceability, sustainability and provenance are key and our suppliers are committed to this as well as to animal and farm welfare assurance schemes supporting British farmers wherever possible. The majority of our meats bear the Red Tractor mark that guarantees that the produce meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene, animal welfare and environmental protection.
Is there any emphasis on fruit and/or yoghurt based desserts and less on cakes, biscuits and puddings?
The new menus include some new desserts whose ingredients include a higher proportion of fresh fruits and yogurt but a reduction in sugar. Fruit is also offered at snack times and number of different yogurts with low or no sugar content are used in the meal recipes.
There is less of an emphasis on cakes and biscuits but again where these are offered we have changed the recipes to cut out the sugar.
Do we use any organic fruit and vegetables?
We do not use organic fruit and vegetables. Our suppliers have full traceability for all of the produce we use and on a weekly basis we receive a crop and quality report detailing the fluctuations in supply and quality.
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