As expectations around nutrition rise, so too does the need for nurseries to balance compliance, quality and practicality. For any childcare provider, that’s no small task.
Here, Grace Cole, Managing Director of Monkey Puzzle Day Nurseries, shares the details of their recent collaboration with Registered Nutritionist Laura Matthews – a partnership designed to raise the bar for children’s health and give franchisees something truly valuable: a menu combining insight, compliance and child appeal in equal measure.
When the Department for Education (DfE) released its updated early years nutrition guidance earlier this year, we didn’t want to simply meet the new standards; we wanted to exceed them. Nutrition has always been central to our ethos, but we recognised that our franchisees needed more than good intentions – they needed confidence, consistency and support.
That’s where our partnership with Laura came in. Her background in both nutrition and nursery consultancy meant she could help us develop a menu that was nutritionally balanced and realistic for busy early years settings to deliver.
Working together, we created something that reflects the very best of what franchising can achieve – central expertise and local implementation, perfectly aligned.
For our franchisees, this collaboration is a genuine advantage. The expert-led, fully compliant menu removes uncertainty, builds confidence and reinforces the trust families place at the door of every one of our settings.
One of the biggest challenges in nutrition is staying up to date with evolving guidance while keeping operations smooth and consistent. Our new menu takes that burden away. Every recipe has been expertly developed and nutritionally approved, giving our franchisees full peace of mind that they’re meeting DfE standards. That means less time spent on paperwork and menu planning, and more time focused on the children in their care.
It also strengthens our brand promise. Families choosing Monkey Puzzle can trust that, wherever they are in the UK, their child is receiving the same high-quality, nutritious meals that support growth, wellbeing and learning.
Of course, this isn’t just about food – it’s about shaping the experience we offer. The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical for building positive relationships with food, and the meals served in nursery play a major part in that.
As Laura often reminds us, nutritious meals don’t just support physical growth; they help develop adventurous palates, confidence and healthy long-term habits. For us as a franchisor, ensuring that our network contributes to those outcomes is an enormous point of pride.
And the response has been incredible. Parents appreciate the care and transparency behind every dish, while our teams love how easy it is to deliver. It’s colourful, balanced and, above all, child approved.
For me, this project represents exactly what a strong franchise model should deliver – the central team taking on the complexity so franchisees can focus on what they do best. By providing a DfE-compliant, expertly crafted menu, we’re giving our network a tangible advantage. It’s a tool that enhances quality, simplifies operations and reinforces the trust families place in the Monkey Puzzle name.
And we’re not stopping here. The menu will be reviewed every six months to reflect seasonal ingredients, including spring and summer and autumn and winter menus over the next few years, and feedback from our nurseries, parents and children. That commitment to evolution ensures we continue to lead the way in early years nutrition.
Our partnership with Laura has shown what’s possible when expertise meets purpose. For our franchisees, it’s more than a menu – it’s a framework for excellence that sets them apart and supports every child’s right to thrive.
