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A collaborative project between Bristol Early Years, Feeding Bristol and food educator Jo Ingleby, the Children’s Kitchen provides opportunities for young children in maintained nursery schools, children’s centres and schools to explore and grow fresh produce.
The project is currently working with ten settings across Bristol, where rates of child obesity and poor dental health are high, and is about to start work with a further six.
It aims to emphasise the importance of building a healthy relationship with food at an early age, focusing on fresh produce.
Children create growing spaces and have a term-based planting plan to learn about food ‘from plot to plate.’
It is free for settings to join and offers high-quality CPD and webinars for practitioners, with training and mentoring focused on improving their understanding of healthy food and the importance of developing tastes and confidence at an early age.
Settings are encouraged to examine their own food practice, give children opportunities to gain independence through chopping their own fruit and vegetables for snack times, and expand the choices served at lunchtimes.
Children who are part of the Children’s Kitchen project develop new tastes and build confidence with fresh produce. Settings report that children have become happy to try new foods and are more likely to eat hot lunches.
The project also works with settings to improve the quality of the food provided in packed lunches with family food sessions held in nursery time. Recipes are translated into 16 languages.
During the pandemic, the Children’s Kitchen also helped to open the network of Family Action FOOD Clubs, which distributes surplus food from FareShare Southwest to families every week. The FOOD Clubs differ from food banks in that families become members and feel part of a small community. FOOD Clubs were a lifeline during lockdown, as each offered a family support worker.
Working with Bristol Early Years and Feeding Bristol has maximised the project’s impact, as the partnership helps identify areas where food insecurity and access to fresh food is an issue.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Montessori Minds, Romford
After introducing video recordings and live fun sessions of dance, yoga and cooking for families who were isolated during lockdowns, staff at Montessori Minds chose to maintain a focus on health and well-being for children and practitioners in the wake of Covid.
All activities are child-led, with meetings for children to share their views on resources and menus.
Practitioners support families through online parent workshops as well as one-to-one support sessions and home learning activities. Staff have frequent well-being checks and attend well-being workshops.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Bright Horizons UK
The Bright Beginnings well-being curriculum was inspired by concern for the increasing mental health crisis among children in the UK.
It focuses on children’s emotional well-being, and is designed to acknowledge the individual voice and needs of each child to promote confidence, well-being and a love of learning. Thanks to the curriculum, which staff team contributed to, the group has created new ‘Home from Home’ environments for babies. Older children learn about their role in protecting the environment through a Forest School programme.
FINALISTS
Elmscot Day Nursery, Chester
The Old Forge Day Nursery, Findern, Derbyshire
Woodlands Day Nursery, Timperley
CRITERION
Open to early years settings, services and projects that have shown excellence in prioritising and improving the physical health and/or emotional well-being of children, families and staff.