instilling healthy habits in children. Meredith Jones Russell looks at
the training options.
With more than one in five children overweight or obese as they start their school Reception year - according to the National Child Measurement Programme - all early years practitioners should be knowledgeable about healthy eating practices and responsible for modelling and actively promoting good nutrition to very young children, say early years professionals.
Jo Kinloch, owner and director of Mulberry Bush Nursery, Bury, says it is vital that every member of the nursery team is fully informed about the importance of healthy eating.
She explains, 'Obviously, every staff member will be food hygiene trained; that's just the base level. Then we look at team members whose strengths lie in this area - for us it is one of our senior managers, who is particularly interested in promoting healthy eating. We also make sure our chefs are valued members of our team. They attend all team meetings and have important input. And then we work with nursery nurses too, because they don't always have the healthiest diets themselves.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here