🧒 EYFS Changes from September 2025

The EYFS is Changing – Because of Our Son, Oliver

From 1st September 2025, new changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework will come into force across every early years setting in England. These are not just administrative tweaks or policy updates they are changes born from tragedy, from heartbreak, and from a deep, unshakeable determination that no other family should suffer as we have.

Our son, Oliver Steeper, died in September 2021, just nine months old, after choking on food given to him in nursery, food he should never have been offered. He was still in the early stages of weaning. What happened in those moments, and the failures that followed, were avoidable. But they were not isolated.

In the years since, we have campaigned for change. We have met with ministers, regulators, early years professionals, and other grieving families. We created The Oliver Steeper Foundation in our son’s memory to raise awareness, improve safety, and distribute life-saving equipment like LifeVac anti-choking devices across the UK.

We are proud and heartbroken to say that our campaigning has resulted in permanent national reform. Oliver’s name is now etched into legislation that will save lives. The sad thing about this, is the Government have chosen not to credit Oliver for any of these changes. They found the room to pat themselves on the back but failed to mention the little boy whose avoidable death made these changes necessary.

Credit is easier to claim then accountability.

1. Why These Changes Matter

Oliver’s death exposed a dangerous gap in early years regulation:

• The paediatric first aid given to Oliver as substandard after he choked and staff had no clue how to deal with the unfolding situation.
  

• The food served was not developmentally suitable for a baby of his age.
  

• Staff hesitated and wasted valuable time.
  

• There were no requirements in law for choking risk assessments, food suitability checks, or mandatory first aid presence during meals.

  
  

We made it our mission to change this and from 1st September 2025, we have.

2. Safer Eating - Because Oliver Deserved Better

The new EYFS now includes, for the first time ever, a section called “Safer Eating”. This section exists because of Oliver.

It sets out new requirements for:

• 🧑‍⚕️ Paediatric first aid-trained staff to be in the same room during all meals and snack times not just on-site somewhere.
  

• 📋 Detailed food and dietary information to be collected before a child starts at a setting, including:

  
  

  • Allergies

  • Food intolerances

  • Developmental stage of weaning

  • Cultural or medical dietary needs

    
    

• 📣 This information must be shared with all staff, especially those preparing, serving, or supervising meals.
  

• 🍽️ Children must be seated safely and watched carefully during eating. Staff are encouraged to sit facing them and intervene immediately if something seems wrong.
  

• 📝 All choking incidents must be recorded and shared with parents, even if resolved quickly.

  
  

These steps might seem simple. But they weren’t in place when Oliver died — and because of that, our child didn’t come home.

Now, they will be in place for every nursery, preschool and childminder in the country. That change is his legacy.

3. Mandatory First Aid - A Life-Saving Step Forward

One of the most critical failings in Oliver’s case was that only one qualified first aider was in the room and did nothing to help when the worst happened. Seconds were lost. It still haunts us.

We campaigned for this to be changed and it has been.

From September, every early years setting must:

• Ensure a fully qualified paediatric first aider is physically present in the room when food is being served or eaten.
  

• Trainees, students and apprentices can no longer be counted in staff ratios unless they have a valid PFA qualification.
  

• Staff must be trained in how to recognise and respond to choking and anaphylaxis immediately.

This is not just about regulation. It’s about giving staff the tools to act without hesitation, fear or confusion. It’s about parents being able to walk away from the nursery gate without wondering, “Will my child be safe?”

4. Beyond Food and First Aid – Strengthening Safeguarding

The EYFS reforms also improve other critical areas of child safety:

Area	New Rules (From Sept 2025)
Safeguarding Roles	“Lead Practitioner” is now formally called the “Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)” to avoid confusion.
Training	Safeguarding training must now be refreshed every 2 years for all staff.
Safer Recruitment	References (even for students or volunteers) must be obtained before someone starts.
Attendance	Clear rules for tracking and escalating unexplained absences — including using emergency contacts and alert systems.
Whistleblowing	Providers must now give staff clear internal and external ways to raise safeguarding concerns.
Privacy in Toileting	New guidance balances dignity with visibility during nappy changing and toileting.

While these areas were not the direct cause of Oliver’s death, they represent the wider message of these changes: our children deserve the very best protections we can offer.

5. Our Son, Our Mission, Our Legacy

These EYFS changes exist because we lost our little boy.

We did not choose this journey. But in Oliver’s name, we have walked it.

Our foundation, The Oliver Steeper Foundation  continues to campaign, raise awareness, and donate LifeVac anti-choking kits to early years settings all over the UK. We are driven by one goal:

To stop another family from ever knowing the pain we live with every single day.

We cannot change the past. We cannot bring our baby home. But we can help change the future, and we have.

6. Summary: What’s Changed Because of Oliver's death

Area	Problem Exposed by Oliver’s Case	New Legal Requirement (Sept 2025)
Food Safety	Oliver was served food not safe for his age or stage of development	Providers must now assess developmental weaning stage and restrict unsuitable foods
First Aid	No qualified first aider in the room when he choked	PFA-trained staff must be in the room during all meals/snacks
Training	Staff lacked choking response training	Mandatory choking and allergy training for relevant staff
Communication	Parents not fully informed of risk or emergency timeline	All choking/allergy incidents must now be recorded and shared

🙏 Final Words

To every nursery, preschool and childminder reading this:

Please don’t just comply with these changes embrace them.Train your teams. Share the policies. Check the meals.Hold the children a little closer.

Because these aren’t just statutory clauses. They are the result of a little boy’s life and death.

And now, through every safe meal, every confident intervention, and every child who gets to go home that evening, Oliver lives on.

Thank you for helping us honour him.

Lewis & Zoe Steeper Founders, The Oliver Steeper Foundation