The courses, launched last week on the Trust's online training hub, the Learning Network, have been designed to support the EYFS and are endorsed by the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education (CACHE).
The course topics are:
- providing a healthy diet for young children;
- meeting the food and drink guidelines for early years settings, and;
- encouraging young children in your care to eat well.
Issues covered in the courses include fussy eating, behaviour and best practice at meal times.
In addition to the core course material, the Trust will provide seasonal updates to content as well as responses to relevant Government announcements or initiatives. The autumn programme will include webcasts from former nursery chef and Masterchef semi-finalist Sophie Atkins-Ward.
Dr Patricia Mucavele, research and nutrition senior manager at the Children’s Food Trust, said, ‘We’re really excited about these courses because they make it so easy for early years teams to access good training on food and nutrition. Online learning is particularly important for childminders – this format means they can access training at a time and place that suits them.’
The Children’s Food Trust, which was set up by the Government in 2005 as the School Food Trust, offers courses on topics such as increasing free school meal take-up and making low-cost improvements to children’s dining spaces. It also provides webcasts on topical children’s food issues and a users’ forum.
Learning Network membership costs £108 for 12 months, with the Children’s Food Trust offering discounts for employers buying in bulk.
Practitioners can find sample modules from the new courses as part of a free trial, or sign up for membership at www.childrensfoodtrust.org.uk/learningnetwork
