Setting the Table Guidance: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Key findings

Cost implications for ELC settings that are expected to provide a specified amount of fresh, locally sourced fruit and vegetables which are perishable.

Response

The updated guidance advises ELC settings that particular food products e.g. fresh fruit can be provided via canned options.

Cost implications for ELC settings that are expected to provide specific foods, e.g. plain fromage frais which are only available in larger, expensive containers.

Response

The updated guidance provides revised nutritional advice, including multiple menu options, to support settings to source a selection of food products that meet children’s dietary needs whilst giving settings flexibility to adapt their own menus and food and drink policies, e.g. plain yogurt can be purchased in a big container and portioned for each child which avoids additional costs.

Cost implications for ELC settings that are expected to deliver funded provision through the current Scottish Government funding offer.

Response

The Scottish Government provides funding to cover one meal a day for all children as part of their funded 1140 ELC offer, and this position will not change. Settings that are registered with the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme (SMHSS) also receive funding for one snack a day for all children in their care.

Cost implications for ELC settings that are expected to deliver 3 meals and 2 snacks per child whilst they are attending a full day of funded ELC.

Response

The existing guidance already outlines the details of this expectation. Local authorities and both funded and paid for ELC providers are managing this in a range of ways, including by asking parents to provide meals/snacks or charging parents for the costs of additional meals.

Workforce and cost implications for ELC settings that require additional staffing resources, training and/or guidance to plan and deliver various menu and meal options, noting revised nutritional standards and individual dietary requirements.

Response

A small package of support for ELC providers and practitioners has been put in place in respect of the implementation of the updated guidance. This includes plans for a Scottish Government led webinar addressing key elements of the updated guidance, and offering advice on questions the sector might have following publication.

The updated guidance also provides information on how settings can develop their own food and drink policies, including what they should consider and how they can adapt provisions to suit their own setting.

Workforce implications for ELC settings that are expected to prepare food items such as fish cakes which can be very time-consuming.

Response

The updated guidance provides revised nutritional guidance, including multiple menu options that are suitable for meeting children’s dietary needs, and ensuring effective practical implementation.

Sustainability implications for ELC settings that are expected to meet the needs of all children and may incidentally provide a menu that a large majority of children will not eat.

Response

The updated guidance advises providers to consider the nutritional needs of all the children in their care. Providers are advised to communicate with parents and carers at all stages of the menu planning process to ensure that suitable modifications and/or specific menus are developed for individual children’s needs.

Delivery implications for ELC settings providing sweetened baked products at varied intervals across the week, noting that not all services will offer the same items across the same days.

Response

The SACN report provides explicit nutritional advice and information that should be managed on an individual local level by respective ELC settings.

Delivery implications for ELC settings that are expected to change menus twice a year.

Response

The use of the phrase ‘Seasonality’ has been incorporated into the updated guidance regarding menus options in order to provide flexibility, rather than an expectation of full menu changes.

Delivery implications for ELC settings located in islands communities due to the limitations of available food products in local supermarkets.

Response

The updated guidance provides ELC settings with advice regarding the sourcing of particular food products by various means e.g. canned fish rather than fresh fish.

Implementation

A package of support has been put in place to meet the needs of the sector in respect of the implementation of the updated guidance. This includes a webinar and supporting Q&A document addressing key elements of the update guidance, and offering advice on the questions the sector might have following publication. In response to practitioner feedback, we are making an audio recording of the guidance available, as a useful tool to support effective implementation. A letter from the Scottish Government Deputy Director for Early Learning and Childcare will also be issued to ELC Local Authority Leads.

We have set out an extended implementation period in order to provide time for settings to familiarise themselves with the contents of the updated guidance, and to make changes where necessary. The expectation is that the guidance will be fully implemented by 1 August 2025. The updated guidance has been co-produced with sector bodies, including EYS, NDNA and SCMA, who are also supporting implementation plans.