Golden Apple Award - information for nurseries and pre-schools

What is the Golden Apple Award scheme?

Golden Apple is designed for nurseries and pre-school settings who wish to improve nutrition, hygiene and dental health amongst children in their care. The scheme has been running successfully since 2006. As of April 2012, 47 pre-school settings and all of Bury's 14 children's centres have achieved the Gold Award.

What are the criteria for the Golden Apple Award?

1. A snack policy is implemented in your setting (food and drinks containing sugar are not provided at snack time).
2. A hand washing policy is implemented.
3. All food must be prepared in a hygienic manner, satisfying the requirements of the food hygiene regulations.
4. Fruit and, or vegetables, are provided as a snack at least once a day.
5. A sugar free reward system is in place for good behaviour and birthday celebrations.

The following three criteria apply to nurseries only:

6. Educational input from the oral health team occurs at least once a year.
7. Staff actively encourage families to continue with the Golden Apple principles at home.
8. At least one member of staff preparing food has a formal food hygiene qualification.

Who manages the Golden Apple Award scheme?

The scheme is managed by Bury Council's Food Safety Team and the Nutrition and Dietetics Service and Oral Health Promotion Teams from Bury NHS.  Contact us if your nursery or group would like to take part and arrange a visit from the team.

Information for childminders

Golden Apple resource pack for childminders

We have developed a resource pack to help childminders get started with the principles of the Golden Apple Award.  You can download the resource pack from the 'Downloads' box on the right-hand of this web page. The pack includes:

• Useful information about the scheme;
• The Golden Apple criteria; and
• An example snack policy and hand washing policy.

Take the Golden Apple Pledge

Childminders can take the Golden Apple pledge online to demonstrate your commitment to promoting positive nutrition, good hygiene and oral health principles with the children you work with. Use the link in the 'Online forms' box on the right of this web page.

Safe Food for Kids - Guidance on food hygiene and infection control for registered childminders

You can download the guidance document from the 'Downloads' box on the right-hand of this web page. The guidance includes information about the following topics.

• Buying food
• Storing food
• Preparing food
• Cooking food
• General advice
• Food allergy and tolerance
• Infection control
• Training

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