Early years FAQs
Please find below a list of our frequently asked questions. Click on the question below to reveal the answer. If your question is not listed below please contact us.
General information
Our milk delivery has not arrived or is incorrect. What happens now?
Milk deliveries will normally be made prior to 10:30am. In the event that your delivery has not arrived or is in any way incorrect, please contact us on the day at [email protected] or alternatively please contact our Customer Service team on 0800 321 3248. We will then contact the dairy on your behalf and advise accordingly once we have received an update from them. In the event that the depot fails to make a delivery, you must contact us to ensure that we amend the amount of milk that you received and that we do not over claim with the NMRU.
Why do I only receive deliveries on certain days/times of the week?
The delivery patterns are set by the local dairy depot that delivers your milk, unfortunately these cannot be amended due to the way the milk round is structured. The weekly sheets you receive may show a daily order but it may be that enough milk is delivered on a particular day to cover all the subsequent days until your next delivery arrives. Don’t forget to rotate your milk so that you use the earliest delivered milk first.
How can I amend my order details or let you know about an address change?
All order amendments must now be amended through your online account. Simply log onto your account at www.coolmilk.com, select Manage Your Account, then Early Years and log on using your User ID and password. All changes must be received by 5pm on Tuesday in order to guarantee that these take effect the following Monday.

For an address change, firstly log on to your NMRU account at www.nurserymilk.co.uk and amend the details as necessary and then send an email to us at [email protected]  outlining both your previous and new addresses and when the change is effective from. If this address change has resulted in a new care certificate then we will need details of this in the email.

We haven’t received our weekly list, what should we do?
Your weekly list is available to download via your online account, from Wednesday morning for the following week. Simply log onto your account at www.coolmilk.com, select Manage Your Account, then Early Years and log on using your User ID and password.
How do we get our weekly list for the start of a new term?
You can access your weekly list via your online account, simply go online and select ‘Manage my Account’ to login and then select “View Drinking List” option, If you have any outstanding delivery confirmations you will be requested to confirm these first and then proceed to view drinking list.
Why do you supply semi-skimmed rather than whole milk?
We provide semi-skimmed milk in line with guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency and the School Food Trust and the new government legislation and School Food Plan introduced in January 2015. You can request whole milk by emailing us at [email protected]. The FSA says that children should switch from whole to semi-skimmed milk at the age of two, and the School Food Trust also recommends that primary school children should receive semi-skimmed rather than whole milk.
My password/email address is wrong/not recognised when I try to log in to ‘My Account’ on the website. Why is this?
Your log in email address will be the address used when you first registered with Cool Milk. Your username is generally your Cool Milk account number.

You can reset your log in details by selecting the Forgot Password option. When this has been completed you will receive a password reset email. Please note that all passwords are case sensitive. If your email address has changed please contact our Customer Service team on 0800 321 3248.

How can we let you know about a training day or a closure?
In order to inform your dairyman, you need to add any closure days on your calendar via your online account with a minimum of 10 days in advance .

In the event of unexpected closures, for example due to adverse weather conditions, we request that you let us know within 10 days of the closure to ensure the correct claim is processed. You can do this by emailing us at [email protected].

I have heard that some customers have received a fridge from Cool Milk – how do we go about getting one ourselves?
If your order is for 50 or more children per day, you may qualify for a fridge. To request a fridge please email us at [email protected].
We have received a different unit of measure than usual, why?
Cool Milk endeavours to make sure that early years settings receive milk in their preferred unit of measure. However, in the occurrence of dairy shortages or production issues we will supply you with a suitable alternative to ensure that there is no interruption in supply to children.
How long should we keep our weekly lists, delivery notes and so on?
Paperwork should be kept for a minimum of three years for auditing purposes.
How do we cancel the scheme?
Please email us at [email protected].
Confirming your milk deliveries
Why do I need to confirm my Nursery Milk order every week?
We need to ensure that your order reflects your current requirements and entitlement, to ensure that we submit legitimate claims to the Department of Health’s Nursery Milk Reimbursement Unit (NMRU).
Why do I have to confirm weekly?
We believe by processing the confirmation weekly this will ensure greater accuracy of the information you are providing and the subsequent claim we make to the NMRU and payment of the milk to your milkman.
Why do I have to enter my under-5 attendance numbers on the NMRU website?
In September 2016 the Department of Health made some changes to the Nursery Milk scheme.  They now use your attendance data to validate the claims that we submit on your behalf for free milk for your under-fives. For further information please click here.
Will my milk continue if I don’t confirm my deliveries?
Unfortunately due to this process being a mandatory requirement we will not be able to continue your milk supply without your confirmation details. Receiving your confirmation is the only way we can make a claim to the NMRU for the milk supplied and subsequently pay your milkman, which allows us to offer you our service.
Why do I have to provide my number of under 5 children?
Every child under five years of age is entitled to one 189ml portion of milk each day and as your milk agent we arrange the supply of milk for those children.  Upon registering an account with the NMRU you must provide them with your relevant care certificate which ensures we never exceed your maximum allowed quantity. When providing us with the amount of milk you require it should be for the number of children who will be drinking the milk each day, this will subsequently be the amount of milk we make a claim for from the NMRU.
My school only serves milk to under-5s. Why do I need to advise you when they turn 5?
A child’s entitlement to free milk stops on the Friday before their fifth birthday.

You are therefore required to go online and ensure that your order reflects the number of children who are under 5 for the following week (e.g. if you have 50 children under 5 in your setting for the 1st week of January, but 3 of those children turn 5 the following week, then your order for the 2nd week of January should be for 47 children).

Order changes should be made to you online account by Tuesday 5pm to be effective for the following week.

Unexpected closure and adverse weather conditions
We have not received our milk delivery, what should we do?
Firstly check on our website front page to see if there are any notifications that affect your area.If your milk has not been received by 10:30am then please contact our dedicated Customer Service team either via email at [email protected] or via telephone. If we have not already done so, we will contact the dairy in order to establish why delivery has not been made. We will ascertain the reason for the delay and notify you of the revised expected delivery time or alternatively, if the dairy is unable to complete the delivery to you we will inform you of this by return notification.
What if the driver has told us that he cannot deliver the milk due to severe weather conditions?
Unfortunately, there will be occasions when the dairy will not be able to fulfil a delivery due to severe weather conditions. On these occasions, no deliveries will take place.
We are closed due to severe weather, what do I do about cancelling our milk order?
You must notify us as soon as possible by email at [email protected].  We will attempt to contact the dairy to request deliveries be cancelled at your request. We will endeavour to meet with your request but cannot guarantee that we will be able to cancel the delivery, specifically on the day you notify us, due to the varying times dairymen complete their rounds, and the delivery could have already been made.
We have returned to our premises after a period of closure and found milk outside, what do we do?
You must notify us as soon as possible either via email at [email protected] or via telephone. After ascertaining how long the milk has been outside, it is up to you to decide whether the milk is fit for consumption. If it is not, then you must dispose of the milk appropriately.