Eat Well award

A child's early years provide the foundation for their future health, and influence many aspects of their wellbeing. Children's food preferences and eating habits are established early in life, and have a long-lasting impact on health and development throughout their lives.

The training gives early years staff the knowledge and skills they need to provide healthy food, as well as making sure children develop positive habits which can last a lifetime. Topics include healthy eating habits, eating solid food, and nutritious food for children in early years settings, as well as promoting breastfeeding in early years settings.

Once staff have completed the training and put changes in place, the setting is eligible to apply for the Eat Well award.

Settings which achieve the award:

• provide meals which meet all of the government guidelines for nutritional food for children
• teach children about the importance of healthy eating
• support children to make healthy choices
• support and promote breastfeeding
• contribute to the changes needed across South Tees to promote healthy weight and prevent obesity

The award is available to all early years settings and childminders in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. The training is free and can be accessed online.

The Eat Well training can be completed online via the Public Health Learning Hub.

We recommend that managers complete the training first, to ensure they have a thorough understanding of the Eat Well award and training. Following this, all staff in their setting will also be able to complete the training.