Updating nutrition policy in the early learning sector

Collaborative advocacy in action

Over the years, nutrition guidance in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings may have unintentionally contributed to practices or advice that feel restrictive or confusing for many children, families and educators. To combat this, Amie Bast and Kayla Di Maio from our Health Promotion team recently led a comprehensive review of Early Learning Association Australia’s (ELAA) Nutrition, Oral Health and Active Play Policy. Through extensive consultation with paediatric dietitian Dr Kyla Smith, The Embrace Collective’s Dr Zali Yager, state health promotion programs and several key experts, the policy was strengthened to align with best-practice evidence in responsive feeding, developmentally appropriate mealtimes, size-inclusive approaches, neuroaffirming practices and inclusive language. This policy reform builds on their broader mealtime expectations work across the ECEC sector, supporting educators to create mealtimes that are relaxed, respectful, and responsive to each child’s individual needs.

Why nutrition policy matters in early childhood

Given that most children in Australia attend and consequently are exposed to half of their daily meals at ECEC settings, nutrition policy can have a significant effect on their relationships with food. ECEC nutrition policies play a critical role in shaping positive, developmentally appropriate food and mealtime environments. Evidence demonstrates that responsive feeding practices, respectful educator-child interactions, and inclusive approaches are essential for fostering children’s wellbeing, agency, and positive relationships with food.

Policies must provide clear, actionable guidance to educators on creating relaxed, respectful, and inclusive mealtimes, while also providing guidance on food provision. The framing, language, and structures embedded in these policies directly influence how educators approach food and mealtimes, shaping children’s experiences.

Navigating the complexity of nutrition policy in practice

ECEC settings are guided by key legislation, frameworks and regulatory bodies that set the standard for food provision across the ECEC sector. These require approved providers, supervisors and family day care (FDC) educators to ensure adequate health and hygiene practices (Regulation 77), access to safe drinking water (Regulation 78), provision of food or beverages that are nutritious and adequate in quantity (Regulation 79) and weekly menu is displayed and accessible (Regulation 80).The balance of creating a policy that captures the provision of nutritious and diverse foods (as per the regulations above) yet also supports children to build a positive relationship with food is less supported by regulatory guidance.

Within the National Quality Standards 2.3.1 the guidance is to “Promote Healthy Eating”. We know that the framing of healthy eating within ECEC policies, similar to that within school settings, has the potential to inadvertently promote an improper binary view of foods. Identifying foods as ‘everyday’ or ‘sometimes’ foods, similar to ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’, “relies on a narrow biomedical understanding of food that fails to incorporate cultural aspects of foods and ignores household barriers”. This is the interpretation we see so clearly across ECEC settings.

Through deep reflective practice with educators and families (as part of the Better Health Network’s Mealtime Expectations project) and in consultation with the wider sector, the interpretation of “limit discretionary foods” or “promote healthy eating” has become a harmful practice in food surveillance, food policing, restrictive feeding practices and inappropriate food learning for pre-school aged children.

Partnering with Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA), to review their Nutrition, Oral Health and Active Play Policy played an integral role in shifting the policy landscape to better reflect developmentally appropriate mealtimes and food provision in a non-stigmatising way.

“Before Mealtime Expectations, we were known as a ‘strict with food’ kindergarten and notes would go home to families in the child’s lunchbox if food was from the ‘discretionary’ list.” – Director

“When my daughter was just shy of 4, her room leader decided to teach the kids about “healthy and unhealthy” foods…that cheese isn’t that healthy and should only be a “sometimes food”. My poor girl cried at dinner because she was so sad and conflicted between eating the cheese that she loved. She said ‘I want to eat my cheese mum but I can’t because I had cheese at morning tea and it’s only a sometimes food’.” – Parent

What has now changed in the policy

Through extensive consultation, we reviewed the policy to ensure alignment with best practice evidence for responsive feeding, developmentally appropriate mealtimes, size inclusivity, neuroaffirming practices and language. Strong partnerships with a diverse cross-section of the sector including health promotion, research, dietetics, early childhood education and care, and state-based health promotion programs, led to a deeply collaborative piece of work, resulting in a comprehensive review and supplementary evidence document.

By prioritising evidence-informed, responsive and strengths-based language, the revised Nutrition, Oral Health and Active Play policy moves beyond compliance to actively create positive food environments for children.

Key amendments made include:

Updated the regulations and standards referenced in the policy

Shifted the terminology and negative framing of food by removing ‘limit discretionary’ or ‘sometimes food’

Replaced ‘healthy eating’ with ‘nutrition’ or ‘nutritious’

Provided explicit guidance in developmentally appropriate mealtimes (e.g. language, role modelling, feeding differences).

Updated evidence and sources to reflect current evidence and practice

Ensured the policy does not discriminate against ability, culture, access to food or neurodiversity

Streamlined the policy

These shifts are particularly important in early learning environments, for children who are actively soaking up messages about bodies, food, and movement from the world around them. Australia is leading the way in creating this shift towards implementation of food neutral, body inclusive environments that help children develop a positive relationship with food.

“At ELAA, we strive to support best practice across the Early Childhood Education and Care sector. Our PolicyWorks Catalogue is informed by current research and developed in collaboration with subject matter experts to ensure it reflects contemporary evidence and practice. Partnering with Better Health Network has been a valuable journey. We have learned a great deal through this collaboration and it has strengthened our shared commitment to supporting educators and improving outcomes for young children.” – ELAA

“The update to the ELAA Nutrition, Oral Health and Active Play Policy is well-timed and supports Early Childhood Education and Care Educators to deliver consistent messaging across nutrition and food related activities from a positive lens while fostering inclusive environments around eating.” – Dr Kyla Smith PhD, APD, AN

This policy reform demonstrates the power of evidence-informed advocacy to create meaningful, system-level change in Early Childhood Education and Care. By partnering across the sector and centering children’s wellbeing, we have helped shift nutrition policy toward genuinely supportive food environments for children. Advocacy in this space matters, because the language embedded in policy shapes everyday practice, and everyday practice shapes children’s lifelong relationships with food.

Amie Bast and Kayla Di Maio from our Health Promotion team will now facilitate two webinars – one designed for service providers and managers, and another tailored to educators – to help translate the updated policy’s insights into practical, day-to-day application.

If your kinder or daycare centre is experiencing tricky mealtimes, or wants to reflect on mealtime practices to create a calmer, more supportive environment for both children and educators, please reach out to Amie and Kayla at [email protected]