The scheme, which is supported by the British Nutrition Foundation, is the first of its kind in the UK. It aims to reach as many pre-school workers as possible within the next three years.
Details of the scheme were announced at a conference, 'Feeding Young Imaginations: bridging the nutrition gap for children under five', in London last week.
PLA director of communications Neil Leitch said, 'Practitioners will complete a one-day training course and receive a certificate issued by the British Nutrition Foundation. It will be very practical - practitioners will be required to submit menu plans and even cook lunch themselves.
'We are now in the process of finalising the course content and training the course trainers who will deliver the scheme in the summer. Eventually, we hope to add another two tiers, intermediate and advanced, to the course.'
The PLA is also working with children's cookery guru Annabel Karmel to produce practical recipes for parents and a cookbook for childcare practitioners, to be published in the autumn.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Executive published its Nutritional Guidance for Early Years last week. The guidance, which was initially put out for public consultation last March, provides healthy eating advice for children aged between one and five and ten-day menu plans for meals and snacks.
The guidance applies to any childcare setting which provides food, including nurseries, playgroups, childminders, toddler groups, creches, school meals services and family centres.
Ronnie Hill, director of children's services regulation for the Care Commission, said, 'Over the next year, as part of our inspection programme, we will be asking providers about how they are using the guidelines. We are looking forward to seeing a positive impact on the health of Scotland's children.'
The guidance can be downloaded at www.scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/Recent.