A GUIDE FOR OUR FAMILIES
The LEAD Difference-Nourishing Children Safely
Nutrition, Allergies & Anaphylaxis at LEAD Early Learning Centres
What if nutrition education in early childhood was about much more than what was served on the plate?
What if children could plant a seed, watch it grow, harvest the food, bring it into a cooking experience, learn how it nourishes their body — and then discover how the scraps can return to the garden?
What if, at the same time, children were learning that their friend’s body may respond differently to a particular food — and that keeping one another safe is simply part of belonging to a community?
At LEAD Early Learning Centres, this is how we want children to experience nutrition. Our approach connects nutrition, cooking, sustainability, gardening, food education, allergy awareness, anaphylaxis management, inclusion and children’s wellbeing rather than viewing them as separate parts of the day.
We call this the LEAD Difference.
Nutrition Is About More Than What’s on the Menu
Good nutrition is fundamental during childhood, when bodies and brains are developing rapidly and children’s attitudes and behaviours around food are beginning to form.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines encourage children to enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods and specifically recommend frequently offering toddlers and preschool-aged children vegetables and fruit with different colours, textures and tastes.
Importantly, nutrition education doesn’t need to happen through formal lessons. For young children, some of the most meaningful learning happens through doing. At LEAD, food and nutrition can become part of children’s everyday curriculum through:
mealtimes • cooking • gardening • sustainability • sensory exploration • science • conversations • caring for animals • growing food
Rather than simply telling children “Vegetables are healthy,”
we can invite them to experience food. What does it smell like?
Where did it grow?
What happens when we cut it?
What happens when we cook it?
What does it do for our bodies?
Why might my friend eat something different?
These are the conversations that begin to build children’s food literacy.
From Garden to Table- Making Nutrition Visible
Young children can easily think that food simply comes from a supermarket. At LEAD, our herb and vegetable gardens help children see something different. Food begins somewhere. Children can participate in planting seeds, watering plants, watching them grow and change, investigating insects and weather, harvesting produce and exploring the smells, colours and textures of fresh herbs and vegetables.
This provides opportunities for learning across many areas at once. A garden can become a science laboratory, as children investigate what plants need to survive. It becomes a place for mathematics, as children count, measure and compare. It supports language and literacy, as children learn new vocabulary and communicate their observations. It develops responsibility, as children discover that living things require ongoing care. And importantly, it makes nutrition tangible. Instead of food simply appearing on a plate, children begin to understand its story.
Exposure Before Expectation
One of the beautiful things about growing and preparing food with children is that eating doesn’t have to be the first interaction.
Consider a child who is unsure about spinach. They might not be ready to eat it today. But they can plant it. Water it. Watch it grow. Touch its leaves. Smell it. Harvest it. Wash it. Help prepare it. See it incorporated into a cooking experience. And eventually they might choose to taste it.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recognise the importance of frequently offering young children a variety of vegetables and fruits with different colours, tastes and textures. At LEAD, we can support this through positive, developmentally appropriate exposure rather than making food a source of pressure. Food education can begin long before the first bite.
Cooking Classes-Where Nutrition Meets the Curriculum
Our LEAD cooking classes are another important part of this philosophy. Yes, children are learning about food. But look a little closer and there is much more happening. When children measure ingredients, they are exploring mathematics. When they follow a recipe, they encounter literacy, sequencing and comprehension. When ingredients melt, dissolve, combine or change with temperature, children are investigating science and cause and effect. When children scoop, pour, knead, stir, spread and mix, they strengthen fine-motor skills and coordination. When they cook alongside their peers, they practise communication, cooperation, patience and turn-taking. And when something they have grown in the garden becomes part of a cooking experience, children can begin connecting the entire journey:
Grow it → Harvest it → Prepare it → Cook it → Explore it → Taste it.
That’s what makes cooking such a rich learning experience. But at LEAD, there is another layer. Before we cook, we also need to consider: Is this experience safe for everybody? And this is where nutrition education meets allergy awareness.
Different Bodies Have Different Needs
For some children, food isn’t simply about preference. A food allergy occurs when the immune system reacts to a food that would normally be harmless to most people. Common food allergens include:
peanuts • tree nuts • milk • egg • wheat • soy • sesame • fish • shellfish
Allergic reactions can vary in severity. For some children, exposure to an allergen can result in anaphylaxis — a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction requiring an immediate response. This means that in early childhood education, nutrition cannot be considered without also considering individual children’s medical and dietary needs. And we believe there is an important educational opportunity within this. Children can learn very early that different bodies need different things.
Allergy Aware — Not Simply Allergen Bans
Current Australian best-practice guidance supports an Allergy Aware approach within Children’s Education and Care services. The 2026 guidance from Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia and the National Allergy Council explains that Allergy Aware means having multiple strategies in place to reduce the risk of an allergic reaction, while also ensuring people can recognise and appropriately respond if a reaction occurs.Importantly, current guidance identifies strategies such as not sharing food, handwashing and educating staff and children — rather than relying solely on banning foods that children are allergic to.
Why is this important? Because no single rule can remove every possible risk. An Allergy Aware culture instead creates layers of protection. At LEAD, this thinking can be embedded throughout everyday practice:
- Knowing the child
- Knowing their individual requirements
- Careful food handling
- Checking ingredients
- Preventing food sharing
- Hand hygiene
- Cleaning practices
- Thoughtful supervision
- Planning cooking experiences carefully
- Communicating with families
- Ensuring medical information is current
- Knowing where prescribed medication is located
- Ensuring educators know how to respond
These seemingly small practices collectively create a stronger safety culture.
Allergy Awareness Can Teach Empathy
There is another important reason we believe allergy awareness belongs within children’s education. It teaches empathy.A young child doesn’t need to understand the complexities of the immune system. They can understand: “Our friend’s body needs something different to keep them safe.” That’s an incredibly powerful lesson.
When children learn not to share food because it could make another child unwell, they are considering someone else’s wellbeing. When they accept that another child’s meal might look different, they are learning about diversity. When an ingredient in a cooking experience needs to be changed so that another child can participate safely, children experience inclusion in practice.Different doesn’t have to mean excluded. At LEAD, that is an important distinction.
Cooking Classes Become Lessons in Inclusion
This is where our cooking program and allergy awareness naturally come together. Before a cooking experience occurs, educators need to consider the children participating.
Are there known allergies?
Are there dietary requirements?
What ingredients are being used?
Is there a potential cross-contact risk?
What modifications may be required?
How will the experience be supervised?
These aren’t reasons to remove meaningful experiences. They are reasons to plan meaningful experiences thoughtfully. Children can observe educators checking ingredients and adapting recipes. They learn that hygiene matters. They learn that food shouldn’t be shared. And they begin understanding that inclusion sometimes means making thoughtful changes so that everybody can participate.That is a life lesson extending far beyond the kitchen.
Anaphylaxis- Awareness Must Be Backed by Preparation
While allergy education can be positive and empowering, anaphylaxis must always be taken seriously.The 2026 Best Practice Guidelines for anaphylaxis prevention and management in schools and Children’s Education and Care services, developed through the National Allergy Council partnership between ASCIA and Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia, promote an Allergy Aware approach and provide practical strategies for reducing risk.The updated guidance also includes resources relating to staff anaphylaxis drills, general-use adrenaline devices and off-site activities such as excursions and sporting experiences. This reinforces an important principle: preparation matters.
Educators caring for children at risk of anaphylaxis need to understand individual medical requirements and be able to recognise and appropriately respond to an allergic reaction. The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) provides evidence-based anaphylaxis education, Action Plans and training specifically for schools and Children’s Education and Care services.Allergy management isn’t simply knowing that a child is allergic to something. It’s knowing what to do about it.
Individual Planning Matters
Australian education and care requirements also recognise that medical-condition management must be individualised. Under the Education and Care Services National Regulations, services must have policies addressing medical conditions including asthma and children diagnosed as being at risk of anaphylaxis.For a child with a specific healthcare need, allergy or relevant medical condition, requirements include a medical management plan and the development of a risk-minimisation plan in consultation with parents.Importantly for nutrition and cooking, ACECQA specifically identifies consideration of safe food handling, preparation, consumption and service where relevant. This connects directly with what happens every day within an early childhood service.Medical management isn’t separate from the curriculum. It needs to be considered when we plan:
mealtimes • cooking • celebrations • gardening • excursions • special events • food experiences
That’s why knowing each individual child matters.
Families Are Essential Partners
A strong Allergy Aware culture cannot exist without families. Families know their child’s medical history, previous reactions, dietary requirements and healthcare recommendations. Educators know what is happening within the child’s educational environment. Bringing those two sources of knowledge together supports safer, more individualised care.Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia recommends that parents inform their Children’s Education and Care service about their child’s allergy and provide the most recent relevant ASCIA Action Plan, as well as the child’s prescribed adrenaline device and other required medication where applicable.
Families should also communicate when something changes. That might include changes to:
allergies • triggers • medication • action plans • dietary requirements • medical advice • emergency information
This isn’t paperwork for the sake of paperwork. It is information that helps protect a child.
Why Educator Knowledge Makes a Difference
A medical-management policy sitting in a folder doesn’t recognise an allergic reaction. An informed educator can. A procedure doesn’t notice a sudden change in a child’s breathing or behaviour. An attentive educator can.That’s why educator knowledge is so important. ASCIA’s anaphylaxis education for Children’s Education and Care services provides evidence-based training in the recognition, emergency treatment and prevention of anaphylaxis, and its CEC e-training is approved within Australia’s National Quality Framework.The updated 2026 Best Practice Guidelines also include resources for anaphylaxis drills. Training needs to become practice. Educators need to understand not only what to do but why it matters.
Sometimes Safety Is Found in the Smallest Moments
Effective allergy management isn’t always dramatic. Often, it’s almost invisible. It’s an educator checking an ingredient. A child washing their hands. A table being cleaned thoroughly. A reminder not to share food. A cooking experience being adapted. An educator reviewing a child’s medical information. A conversation with a family. Medication being stored where it needs to be accessible. An educator knowing exactly what to do if something changes.Individually, these actions may seem small. Together, they create layers of protection around the child. That’s the difference between having an allergy policy and creating an Allergy Aware culture.
Our Chickens Are Part of the Story Too
So, what do chickens have to do with nutrition and allergy awareness? For us, they are part of children’s broader understanding of food.Our chickens provide children with opportunities to investigate questions such as:
Where do eggs come from?
What do chickens eat?
What do animals need to stay healthy?
How do we care for another living thing?
How does an egg become an ingredient we recognise in food?
Through caring for and observing our chickens, children can develop responsibility and empathy while building an understanding of food systems and the relationship between animals, people and the environment.There is also an interesting connection with allergy education. Egg is a common food allergen. For children, understanding that foods and ingredients come from different sources contributes to their developing food literacy.As children grow, these foundations can support increasingly sophisticated conversations about ingredients, nutrition and why certain foods may be safe for one person but not another.
Sustainability Brings the Story Full Circle
Our sustainability program allows children to explore another important question:
what happens to food before and after it reaches our plate?Children can grow produce. Harvest it. Participate in cooking experiences. Explore food waste. Compost appropriate scraps. Care for plants and animals. Observe natural cycles. And begin again.
Seed → Garden → Harvest → Kitchen → Plate → Compost → Garden.
Sustainability becomes something children can participate in, rather than simply something adults talk about. These experiences can support children’s understanding that their choices have consequences and that even small actions can contribute to caring for their environment.
And Where Does Asthma Fit?
Our philosophy of individualised health and wellbeing extends beyond allergies. Asthma is specifically recognised within Australia’s medical-condition requirements for education and care services.Just as no two children’s allergies are necessarily identical, children’s asthma symptoms, triggers and medical-management needs can also differ.
Children should be supported to participate in childhood. Running outdoors. Gardening. Playing sport. Dancing. Exploring. Caring for our chickens. Participating in physical experiences.The goal is not to unnecessarily restrict a child because they have asthma. It is to know the child, understand their medical management requirements and be prepared to respond appropriately.Again, the principle is the same: inclusion supported by knowledge and preparation.
So What Really Is the LEAD Difference?
It isn’t simply that we offer cooking classes. Or that we have vegetable and herb gardens. Or that children can learn alongside our chickens. Or that sustainability is part of our curriculum. And it isn’t simply having policies relating to allergies and anaphylaxis.
The LEAD Difference is how we connect it all.
Nutrition connects to cooking. Cooking connects to mathematics, literacy and science. Cooking connects children with ingredients. Ingredients connect to allergy awareness. Allergy awareness connects to safety. Safety connects to inclusion. Inclusion connects to empathy.Food connects to our gardens. Our gardens connect to sustainability. Our chickens connect children to animals, responsibility and food systems. Sustainability connects children to their environment.And everything comes back to the individual child.Growing Healthy, Knowledgeable and Compassionate Children
Ultimately, we don’t just want children to know that vegetables are healthy. We want them to understand that food has a story.We want them to know that food can be grown. That living things need care. That cooking can be science. That measuring can be mathematics. That our bodies need nourishment. That different bodies can need different things. That food allergies are something to understand and respect. That we don’t share food when doing so could place another person at risk. That looking after our environment matters. And that keeping another person safe is something we can all contribute to.At LEAD Early Learning Centres, nutrition isn’t just what’s on the plate. It’s part of our curriculum, environment, sustainability program, cooking experiences, relationships, health and safety practices and partnerships with families.
And our approach to allergies and anaphylaxis follows exactly the same philosophy. Know the child. Understand their individual needs. Educate with purpose. Minimise risk. Be prepared. Include rather than exclude.And help children understand how to care for themselves, each other and their world.Resources for Families
Our approach is informed by recognised Australian guidance and evidence. Families who would like to explore these areas further can access:
- Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia — Childcare and Allergies: Current Australian guidance for families and Children’s Education and Care services, including the Allergy Aware approach, risk minimisation and Best Practice Guidelines.
- National Allergy Council — Allergy Aware: Best Practice Guidelines and practical resources for preventing and managing anaphylaxis in Children’s Education and Care settings.
- Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA): Evidence-based information, ASCIA Action Plans and anaphylaxis education and training resources for Children’s Education and Care services.
- Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA): Information regarding Quality Area 2, children’s health and safety, medical conditions, allergies, anaphylaxis and risk-minimisation requirements.
- Australian Dietary Guidelines: Evidence-based Australian recommendations supporting varied, nutritious diets and frequent exposure to a variety of vegetables and fruits throughout childhood.
This article provides general educational information and does not replace individual medical or nutritional advice. Families should seek advice from their child’s doctor, allergy specialist, dietitian or other appropriately qualified healthcare professional regarding individual allergies, anaphylaxis, asthma, nutrition or medical management.
