It is in the early years that children develop tastes and attitudes to food that directly affect their health and fitness. The Pre-school Learning Alliance has long called for funding initiatives through our Feeding Young Imaginations campaign to focus on the birth-to-five age group.
The lack of consistent information and advice for under-fives and, it would seem, the reliance on nutritional advice aimed at adults, causes concern for those of us caring for young children. The recent East Sussex Trading Standards study into nursery food, which revealed that provision in many nurseries was too low in calories and saturated fat, and too high in fruit and vegetables, is a stark reminder of the pressing need for nutritional guidance and resources to address the specific dietary needs of this age group.
We recently asked our 15,000 member settings what support they need to provide healthy meals. The biggest challenge faced by settings was cost, and 97 per cent felt that Government could be doing more to support healthy eating.
Over the past four years, with virtually no financial support, the Alliance has produced a range of initiatives aimed at supporting practitioners and parents. We worked with the British Nutrition Foundation to develop a training course which covers the principles of healthy eating, menu planning and preparation, and enables staff to develop nutritional strategies.
There is a real commitment from early years settings which needs to be properly supported. We believe there should be minimum nutritional standards for food served in all early years settings, supported by a comprehensive programme of funding for nutritional guidance and resources.
For information on Feeding Young Imaginations, visit www.pre-school.org.uk/resources.