Download the PDF of this article
As part of the Mayor of London’s Health Inequalities Strategy, the Healthy Early Years London (HEYL) programme targets the health, nutrition and well-being of the capital’s youngest residents.
London’s children face stark disparities in health depending on income and area of residence, with the development of five-year-olds on free school meals almost three months behind that of their peers. In Tower Hamlets, babies are more than two and a half times more likely to be born at a low birth weight than those in the wealthier area of Richmond upon Thames.
All 32 London boroughs have committed local resources to the programme, making it available to the 13,000 settings across the city.
There are four levels of award: First Steps, Bronze, Silver and Gold. All settings must complete questionnaires on their provision, audit their food offer against the Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings in England, and provide evidence of initiatives that support children’s health and well-being.
Participating settings gain access to a range of free online resources and template policies on 12 topics:
- healthy eating
- oral health
- physical activity
- speech, language and communication
- social and emotional education
- supporting children with SEND or chronic health conditions
- infection control and immunisations
- parent and staff health concerns
- sustainability
- early cognitive development
- parenting and home learning
- home safety, accident prevention and reducing injuries.
HEYL emphasises a whole-setting approach to engage staff, families and external services. Each borough provides an HEYL lead person who approves award applications and helps practitioners identify best practice, areas for development and to work with families and local organisations.
Yasmin Ahmed, early years quality improvement manager and HEYL lead in Bromley, believes the joint working encouraged by the scheme is key to its success.
‘The scheme encourages better relationships with parents by supporting their parenting skills and encouraging more effective communication and sharing of information, all of which has a positive impact on children,’ she says.
The scheme also reminds practitioners ‘to focus on the family as well as the child’ and boosts staff confidence in dealing with external agencies. Ms Ahmed says, ‘The programme really fosters links with health visitors, public health, oral health, breastfeeding support groups, the inclusion team and children and family centres. This range of professionals from different sectors gives a more joined-up approach to local challenges and what’s happening in the borough and will help measure the impact of HEYL.’
CASE STUDIES
First Steps award: Acacia Preschool, Merton
‘We decided to get involved as the scheme builds on existing practice and helps improve and embed health promotion,’ says manager Tracy Clarke.
‘Our pre-school is in an area where children’s health outcomes are not as good as other parts of the borough. We have higher rates of obesity, poor health and dental decay for both adults and children.
‘We made considerable changes to snacks, using suggested menus from the HEYL website. As we only offer three-hour sessions, our snacks used to be fruit, but now we offer a wider range of vegetables, proteins such as yoghurt and cheese, carbohydrates like plain rice cakes, and pulses such as hummus.
‘We also increased children’s physical activity. Every morning they walk a “mini mile” of around a kilometre, and we provide more opportunities to be up and active in the garden; singing songs and enjoying music and movement.
‘We have also improved our work with parents to help them feel more confident and knowledgeable about their child’s health. This includes cooking workshops, encouraging them to walk their child to pre-school and providing information to take away, such as healthy menus and fun activities to keep children on the move.’
Bronze award: Blenheim Children’s Centre Nursery, Bromley
‘HEYL provides us with a good opportunity to look at our practice to check we are doing everything we should be,’ says deputy manager Helen Sullivan.
‘We didn’t have to change much, but it highlighted some small things, like the need to provide oily fish for both lunch and tea every three weeks. After this was raised by an HEYL questionnaire on the food we provide, we amended our menus. We were also asked whether we had a designated breastfeeding area. This prompted us to consult a parent who was breastfeeding, and we now provide a separate space where she feels more comfortable.
‘The scheme highlighted the importance of taking time to be together with children in a city. It doesn’t cost anything to go on a walk outside, look up at the sky and talk about what you can see. HEYL has even made staff consider what they do with their own children.
‘For Silver we need to provide something for children and parents. We are going to bring in a dental nurse to talk to children about how to look after their teeth, and work with an adult education centre to provide training sessions for parents on creating healthy lunchboxes, budgeting and cooking.’
Working towards Gold: Packington Children’s Centre, Islington
‘For Gold, settings must evidence one universal approach to supporting health and well-being throughout the entire setting and one targeted approach which meets the needs of a particular child or group of children,’ explains nursery manager Louise Keane.
‘We have always used well-being and involvement scales with children, but we have introduced them for the whole staff team as our universal approach. The impact on staff confidence has been huge.
‘Our targeted approach has been to run Forest School sessions once a week for children entitled to the Pupil Premium. So many of our children live in high-rise blocks and do not have access to outdoor space. Children have grown in confidence and developed new peer interactions, and their vocabulary has been extended by topics such as lifecycles. We have also developed training for parents so they can run their own sessions.
‘The awards have given staff recognition and encouraged them to develop ac
tivities further. We had received healthy early years status in Islington, but it is great to get the level of recognition that comes with a London-wide scheme.’
MORE INFORMATION
