What is it about?

This pilot study was conducted in one early childhood pre-school nursery setting in an area of high deprivation in England to explore the under-researched area of how practitioners promote the health of children. The research used an original tool, Child Health Promotion: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Education and Care Practitioners, containing a 5 Step Programme as a model to guide practitioners in identifying and implementing a health promotion activity. The findings will help to set the onward agenda for a larger scale study which will foreground the voices of practitioners and highlight the role that ECEC practitioners can play in promoting the health of children.

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Why is it important?

The state of children's health is of concern, both nationally and globally, this was the case pre-pandemic, and the restrictions created by the pandemic response has made children's health an area that demands urgent attention. Children's health behaviours are shaped early in life, therefore it is important that their health is promoted right from the start. Children are heavily influenced by their parents, carers and the environments they live in, therefore, working with parents and carers is critical to success. This paper illustrates some of the ways that practitioners in early years pre-school education settings, such as nurseries, can promote children's health

Perspectives

It was a privilege to work with my co-research, the Family Support Worker in the nursery and to observe how the routines of the nursery can contribute to promoting health. Key to their success was the warm, supportive relationships that they had developed with the parents and carers who attended the nursery.

Dr Jackie Musgrave
Open University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Proposing a model for promoting Children's Health in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings, Children & Society, March 2021, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/chso.12449.
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