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British Nutrition Foundation
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Early years nutrition matters

£30

General Courses

General

A course about nutrition in the early years

Course not yet started.

1.
Module 1: Importance of Early Years Nutrition
25 minutes
Overview of the importance of early years nutrition in relation to health
2.
Module 2: Diet and Physical Activity
30 minutes
Guidance on dietary and physical activity recommendations for young children including information about vitamin supplements
3.
Module 3: Special Dietary Requirements and Other Considerations
25 minutes
Information about food allergies and intolerances, vegetarian and vegan diets, religious food practices, fussy eating and how to communicate with parents and carers
4.
Module 4: Healthy Eating and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework
20 minutes
Resources and activities to meet key areas of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework

Complete the course to access the final assessment.

Start final assessment

Course details

Why is this course beneficial to you?

  • As someone who works with the early years, whether you are an early years practitioner, school nurse or child minder, you have a unique opportunity to help young children eat well and establish healthy eating habits for life.
  • Too many young children are starting school overweight which can lead to problems throughout life - with your help this can be prevented.
  • Encouraging children to enjoy eating a healthy, balanced diet and learn about food not only supports their health when they are young, but also sets the foundations for their future health and wellbeing.
  • Having healthy eating practices and food provision in your setting will help give parents and carers confidence that you are providing high quality care and giving their child the best possible start in life.
  • It will also help your setting meet the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework in supporting children to develop their knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy, which forms part of the Ofsted inspection.

This course has been developed by nutrition scientists at the British Nutrition Foundation and consists of four short modules that aim to provide you with the basic nutrition knowledge and practical tools needed to support children aged 1 to 4 years to eat well.

  • Module 1: Importance of Early Years Nutrition
  • Module 2: Diet and Physical Activity
  • Module 3: Special Dietary Requirements and Other Considerations
  • Module 4: Healthy Eating and the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework

These modules will explore why nutrition in the early years is so important, what the current dietary and physical activity recommendations for young children are, why you need to consider special dietary requirements, and how you can put this knowledge into practice to meet the EYFS statutory framework.

Each module includes a short test, providing you with feedback on your progress. No previous nutrition knowledge is required.

On successful completion of a final assessment, a personalised British Nutrition Foundation certificate will be created (the final assessment may be repeated). 

This course will take approximately 90-120 minutes to complete. You can complete the course at your own pace and it does not need to be completed in one sitting - there is no time limit.

For more information, please contact postbox@nutrition.org.uk

Certification details

The information provided within this course is based on Government advice and recommendations in place at the time of course development. At the end of the course you will receive a certificate of participation from the British Nutrition Foundation.