This blog was written by Peninsula Health, Health Promotion Practitioner Madeline Tatham.
Congratulations to the Creative Kids Early Learning Centre in Mornington who have put in an amazing effort to help create a healthier environment for their children, staff and families.
With a recent focus on promoting healthy eating, working hard to enhance their menu and educate their community, the service has now attained Achievement Program recognition for Healthy Eating and Oral Health.
Creative Kids Early Learning began their journey to become a health promoting early childhood service back in September 2019, when they registered with the Achievement Program – a Victorian best practice framework that supports early childhood services, schools and workplaces to become healthy places. This framework, which reaches over 1,000 Victorian workplaces, 700 schools and 1,300 early childhood services, is supported by the Health Promotion Team at Peninsula Health.
The Centre Director and chef worked closely with the Health Promotion Team to assess and make changes to their menu to ensure it meets the menu planning guidelines for Long Day Care, using the Healthy Eating Advisory Service’s FoodChecker tool. The staff at the centre are passionate about ensuring children’s nutritional needs are met to help them learn, play and thrive in their early years and beyond.
“We were thrilled to receive recognition for the health priority area ‘Healthy Eating and Oral Health’ through the Achievement Program,” Kate Allan, Centre Director said, “as this is an area we are very passionate about.”
“We were also awarded advanced standing for Sun Protection, which has always been a priority at our centre. Next, the centre will be working on the Mental Health and Wellbeing benchmark, with a lot of work going on currently around holistic wellness for educators, children, and families.”
“Each area is a big investment, but if you strive for high standards for your practice, the proof for each is right at your fingertips. Peninsula Health has been a fantastic provider of support and assistance, every step of the way.”
Congratulations again to Creative Kids Early Learning Centre and we wish them all the best for the rest of 2022.
For more info on the Achievement Program, visit the website.
If your early childhood service would like support with health and wellbeing initiatives, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email at healthpromotion@phcn.vic.gov.au.