Spotlight on…Wendie Mason

WHY DID YOU APPLY FOR THE AWARD?

It was really spearheaded by me and the kitchen. We always felt parents didn’t know enough about what we did, although we do open days and so on. I went online to see what accreditations were out there and was shocked to find there is no legal requirement to serve wonderful food in nurseries. You can serve whatever you want. The award recognises high quality and standards of food, which I was convinced we had.

HOW DID THE APPLICATION PROCESS WORK?

You have to work through a huge book, with lots of assessments to fill out on topics such as food quality, food leadership and culture, food education, community partnerships and parental engagement.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THE PROCESS?

It makes you question everything, like what suppliers you use and where they get their supplies from too. It was a huge learning curve for me, and for all the staff. I was so glad we weren’t found wanting. The small things that were flagged, like putting up posters about the benefits parents could be entitled to for fresh fruit and veg, could be put in place straight away.

We learned we didn’t always promote ourselves for being as good as we are. We had to have at least 75 per cent of our food handmade from scratch, and our total turned out to be 98 per cent. Our practitioners do a lot of work with children on food, not just cooking, but teaching them to look after themselves, talking about nutrition and using food for play and drawing, as well as eating together and teaching beautiful table manners.

HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN RECEIVING THE AWARD?

We were so excited, and the owner brought us in a bottle of Champagne. We had a placard made for the front of the building. It really was a whole-nursery effort. If more nurseries got involved in the award it would be a great way to ensure good-quality food is on offer. It is scary that there is no legal framework to ensure food standards in nurseries. Little ones are so vulnerable, and a good start in life is so important.