Startwell Initiative exploring Food and Nutrition
Startwell Award 2025
Food and nutrition
We comply with DFE food and nutritional guidance and the EYFS Nutrition Guidance, all staff are food safety trained, Early Nurture Pre-School has achieved Start well award 2022 and embedding the award for 2025 currently.
We are passionate about fresh, healthy food that tastes great. The right nutrients can affect everyone's mood, behaviour, health, growth and even their ability to concentrate.
encouraging a well-balanced diet establishes healthy eating now and for the future.
Children have access to morning and afternoon snacks that are healthy combining a variety of fruit and vegetables, water is available throughout the day. Staff record allergens daily and make sure all food is chopped correctly to avoid choking.
We would like to thank all our parents at Early Nurture Preschool and our amazing children who supported us throughout our journey in embedding good healthy relationships and supported the preschool in delivering and maintaining healthy practices eating well and keeping active throughout our journey with embedding the start well characters into our daily routine we couldn’t have done it without you.
We congratulate all the children and parents together we have achieved our start well Award 2025
Startwell Healthy Party
Children at Early Nurture Pre-School celebrated the 3rd Anniversary of the Pre-School.
Ismaeel bought in a lovely fruit platter to share with his peers to celebrate Early Nurture Preschools 3rd Anniversary. We value our parents contribution to the celebration party and respecting our healthy eating values at the preschool. This reflected on our start well eating award parents forming good healthy relationships with the children and the preschool.
Lunches
Children at Early Nurture Preschool are encouraged to bring in healthy lunches. Myra enjoys eating a healthy nutritional lunch in line with the DFE nutritional guidance. She enjoys eating vegetables, carbohydrates, protein and fresh fruits with water and is a role model to her peers to eat healthy.
This menu is reflected on the start well characters Fay 5 day and 2 snacks max, and Micky me size all emphasising on healthy eating messages.
Startwell Initiative
Early Nurture Pre-School delivers a Start well initiative within the setting, children receive a healthy balanced and nutritious foods and drinks at the Pre-School
Children and Parents at Early Nurture Preschool receiving their free vitamins and drops, launched by Healthy Start initiative & Start well.
Children are given opportunities during a conversation around the importance of supplements in their everyday diets.
Children engaging in new experiences using pumpkins.
Children this week are having continuous provision learning about Autumn using a variety of sensory experiences using a range of sharp tools safely whilst exploring Pumpkins in everyday shared play through risk assessments.
They explored colours, tools, imaginative play, number’s, seeds, and close observations of pumpkins exploring weight and size and shape of the pumpkins reflecting on the Startwell character messages Fay 5 a day.
Children also went to the local supermarket within the community, to buy the pumpkins and share the pumpkins.
Healthy Breakfast
Children at Early Nurture Preschool went to a local breakfast café today, they had breakfast together with fresh orange juice. They enjoyed the healthy breakfast and the social atmosphere. This reflected on nutrition, health, also the Start well Character Fay 5 a Day, and 2 Snacks Max and this was planned inline with the healthy eating guidelines.
They also learnt about paying with cash and receiving change back.
180 Katie and Sammy Skills characters, used to emphasise children keeping active 180 minutes a day
Children today explored the start well character 180 Katie, being active for 180 minutes a day encouraging children to stay active for 3 hours a day.
Children explored high energy bursts and high intensity activities by jumping, rolling, pushing on the green grass at the local park experiencing nature and green spaces .
Children were becoming more active throughout the session using a variety of movements, such as climbing, balancing, and crawling. Early Nurture Pre-School highly emphasises offering a healthy lifestyle by providing physical opportunities to be active throughout the day.
Children have been showing a huge interest in boxing recently staff followed their interests and went to explore a gym within the local community in a moment planning. Children took part in a boxing session, a circuit class jumping and hopping in and out the ladder. They reflected on the start well characters Micky me size, active Azra and 180 Katie. They were fascinated by this experience and demonstrated a lot of talk around health and wellbeing and joining a gym when they are age 4 to take part in a boxing class at their level.
Micky me size emphasises the correct portion sizes for their age.
Children this week are learning about Micky Me size a character from start well emphasising on portion sizes, children have been drawing around small plates and printing with their hands exploring the size of portions and plate size they should eat from. They also explored looking at feelings to sense when they are full as they have small stomachs.
Children and adults also compared their plates to each other measuring their portion sizes using their hands.
Children used fresh fruits and pasta to measure portion sizes using their hands, children also experienced we can use fresh fruit in many ways of learning through play, (children were taught further on obesity, diabetes and heart attacks, and how to prevent these from a young age).
Fay 5 a Day encourages children to eat the recommended 5 portions of fruit and veg everyday.
Children at Early Nurture Preschool have been exploring fruit and vegetables in many different ways, chopping, touching, smelling, tasting using a variety of first hand tools correctly and safely.
Children bought a variety of fruits and vegetables from home reflecting on different cultures and ethnicities. Children had discussions the importance of a healthy diet and how fruits can reduce the risk of certain diseases as they contain a range of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Continuous provision revisiting Fay 5 a day and 2 snacks max.
Continuous play: Children are exploring vegetables through creativity
Active Azra emphasises on providing the children on the foundation for developing healthy bodies and emotional well-being.
Children from Early Nurture Pre-school visit soft play area within the local community, children used a range of different movements skills, e.g. running, jumping, sliding through social interaction using gross motor and fine motor skills.
Children at Early Nurture Pre-School are learning about Active Azra, they have been learning about keeping active and exploring physical activities in different ways, this is vital for children's all round development, children strengthen their physical development and muscles by exploring nature within the local community.
DFE Doctors at Pre-School Immunisation talk with parents
We are happy to share parents at Early Nurture Pre-School took part in an fantastic work shop on raising awareness on the importance of vaccinations and protecting children from harmful illnesses, the workshop was delivered by DFE NHS doctors. Early Nurture Pre-School has formed good working ethics with DFE,
we teach parents how keep children safe from illnesses and infections.
we also thank DFE for offering a pre-covid mentoring program to staff and families at Early Nurture Pre-School.
Smiley Shen, visiting community dentist to learn about the importance of oral health
Children have visited the local dentist today within their community, they had a good tour, a discussion with the dentist on oral health and keeping their teeth clean.
The children where given some goodies from the nurse at the practice.
They also went to visit the local pharmacy learning about medication and well being. They bought tooth brushes from the pharmacy. We have a high emphasis on health and well being at the preschool.
Children bring their tooth brushes to preschool when we are teaching the topic oral health. Children bought their electric tooth brushes from home and demonstrated to peers how to brush there teeth clean in sequence.
Children took part in discussions on oral health and key messages from Smiley Shen start well character.
Rayyan went to the dentist with his mum we encourage all parents to join the local dentist for good practice and maintaining healthy oral practices.
Food Bank
We are part of a initiative to provide free food banks for communities and families that are in need, get your nearest food bank from: contact details: PFCC, Wallace Lawler Centre, B19 2EL, Saturday 12-2pm, 07596808880, Email: Pfccfoodbank2019@gmail.com. Serving the community every other week.