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Physical Development in the EYFS

Page Contents

What is Physical Development?

Physical development is one of the three prime areas of learning within the early years foundation stage (EYFS). The EYFS statutory framework states that "Physical activity is vital in children’s all-round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives." The area of learning, Personal, Social, and Emotional Development, highlights that children "will learn how to look after their bodies, including healthy eating". As providers, the statutory framework states that you "must promote the good health, including the oral health, of the children" in settings.

This physical development page has been developed in conjunction with colleagues from the Early Years, Childcare and School Readiness Service, and Public Health. There is a range of resources that will support you to meet statutory and good practice guidance when working with children from birth to 11 years, particularly related to physical development.

Early Years Nutrition Guidance

Many settings provide children, including babies, meals as part of their early years and childcare offer. These meals include breakfast, snacks, lunch and an evening snack or meal. For some children, most of their weekday meals will be consumed in an early years setting, making it important that settings provide balanced, safe and nutritious meals and mealtimes to support children’s growth, health, well-being and development. In other settings, children bring in food from home, including snacks. Within this nutrition guidance section, you will find a range of information sources to help you meet the EYFS statutory areas of learning and safeguarding and welfare requirements.

The Department for Education (DfE) have produced the early years foundation stage nutrition (EYFS) nutrition guidance. This guidance sets the standards that early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn, develop well and are kept healthy and safe. It also contains several relevant links to sources of information that providers will find useful to refer to. In addition to the links within the EYFS nutrition guidance, supplementary information is provided within this learn together page to ensure you have the most relevant and reliable information at your fingertips.

From September 2025, providers must have regard for the EYFS nutrition guidance.

Guidance for food provided by settings

The DfE help for early years providers website has several aspects you need to consider, as well as recipes you can use in your setting.

The following NHS Healthier Families website provides lunchbox ideas and recipes to share with families.

Snacks

The NHS Healthier Families website provides ideas for healthier snacks to share with families.

Registered Nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed provides further suggestions about snacks for toddlers and young children.

Hydration

The British Nutrition Foundation provides information about appropriate drinks and healthy hydration posters* for children aged one to four years.

*Size: 805KB File format: PDF

This NHS guidance shares information on suitable types of drinks and cups for babies and young children.

Expressing milk guidance

The NHS expressing milk guidance will support practitioners with appropriate information about storing and heating breastmilk.

Guidance related to working with children with additional needs/special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Many of you support and work with children with SEND and/or emerging needs. The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children and Young People's Health Services provides advice and guidance on feeding and eating for additional needs.

Mealtime environment and supporting the behaviours of children

The Early Start Nutrition mealtime environment checklist* provides good practice information for settings when preparing mealtime spaces and supporting children’s interactions and learning during meals.

*Size: 2.5MB File format: PDF

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Children and Young People's Health Services provide information related to fussy eating, which can be used to support parents and practice in the setting.

Food Safety and Choking

These pieces of information from the DfE and Kent Safeguarding Multi-Agency Partnership will support you in developing confidence in preventing and managing incidents of choking:

The Food Standards Agency provides food safety advice on choking hazards in settings posters, which can be displayed in settings as a reminder for practitioners and parents.

Allergies

The EYFS states that "Providers must be confident that those responsible for preparing and handling food are competent to do so" and that "before a child is admitted to the setting, the provider must obtain information about food allergies that the child has". The guidance below from the DfE, Allergy UK and the NHS is useful when considering practice in settings when supporting and working with children who may have allergies.

Food storage

In some settings, children will provide their snacks, drinks and lunches to have during the day. Page 27 of the EYFS nutrition guidance provides food safety and hygiene advice. The links below from the Food Standards Agency provide guidance on food safety management for small businesses, including keeping food cool. Safefood also provides further guidance and tips which can be shared with parents:

Developing a food and nutrition policy

It can be helpful to create your own food and nutrition policy, which can support staff, parents and stakeholders to understand your setting’s unique approach to food provision. Page 26 of the EYFS nutrition guidance suggests important points to consider when developing such a policy.

Training

First aid:

Point 3.63 of the EYFS, effective from September 2025, states, "whilst children are eating, there should always be a member of staff in the room with a valid paediatric first aid certificate."

Information about first aid training and a list of appropriate providers in Cambridgeshire can be found in the Professional Development Programme, 12 hour paediatric first aid.

Allergy training:

The Food Standards Agency provides free food allergy training where staff can learn more about managing allergens in a kitchen and how to cater for allergen information requirements. 

EYFS nutrition guidance:

The Early Years, Childcare and School Readiness Service will be delivering ‘Working with the EYFS nutrition guidance’ training in 2025-26. More information can be found in the Professional Development Programme, Curriculum, pedagogy, and practice.

Activity resources

Food - a fact of life (FFL), run and managed by the British Nutrition Foundation, provides free education resources for teaching young people aged three-16 years about where food comes from, cooking and healthy eating, and teacher training. FFL is a comprehensive, progressive education programme, communicating up-to-date, evidence-based, consistent, and accurate messages around food to all those involved in education. The FFL programme meets the requirements of food and nutrition curricula across the UK.