Healthy Eating at Nursery
Having recently attended the local authority’s ‘Healthy Weight Plan’ launch event,I thought it would be good to share their vision with you:
“To increase the proportion of children leaving school aged 10 years to 11 years with a healthy weight. This will be achieved by developing a whole systems approach to tackling childhood obesity. Darlington will ensure the healthy weight agenda is integrated in other relevant plans; tackling environmental, physical and other determinants which make choosing to eat a healthy balanced diet and having a physically active lifestyle an easier option.” Darlington Vision
Most recent measurements from Darlington (2017/2018) show the rate of childhood obesity in the town sits above the national average at both reception and year 6. It is very slightly below the regional average for the North East. As you can appreciate, this has made me think about what we can do as a school to encourage and promote a healthy balanced diet.
A child aged 2-4 years needs a diet made up of foods from the 4 main food groups, in the right balance and in portion sizes just right for them. They will need about this number of portions across the day from each food group:
- Starchy Foods x 5-a-day
- Fruit & Vegetables x 5-a-day
- Dairy Foods x 3-a-day
- Protein Foods x 2-a-day* (*3 Portions if child is vegetarian)
We have looked at our menus for both before and after school and have created some healthy options and we have also sourced a really useful guide packed lunch guide, as I know that this is an area parents often ask for advice and support with. (please see links below).
Our aim is not to tell our parents/carers what to do. However, we all recognise that eating a balanced diet is crucial in establishing healthy eating patterns.
