Good for You: Nursery snacks accrediation scheme

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Acknowledgements

• I am grateful for the generous support of
  Wandsworth Teaching PCT in funding this scheme,
  and to my colleagues in the public health
  directorate at RTPCT who made it possible, and
  also to John Shaw at St Georges Medical School
  for the baseline survey.

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Nursery is an educational setting

• All nursery food should contribute positively to
  nutrition

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Food and pre-school children

• Diet affects health
• Childhood obesity rising
• Prevention better than cure
• Early intervention

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Nursery snacks

• Captive population and peer pressure can be a
  positive force
• Snacks easy and cheap to change, little
  infrastructure, stark contrast in nutritional
  value

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Baseline survey John Shaw

• What snacks do nurseries in Richmond-upon Thames
  give to young children?
• Postal survey all LBRuT nurseries approach to
  food, snacks provided
• Snacks any food or drink other than meals of
  breakfast, lunch, evening meal

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Results

• 105/126 (83) responded, caring for a total of
  4085 children
• Compared provision with Caroline Walker Trust
  (CWT) guidelines - only 26 of the nurseries
  fully complied with these.

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Approach to food
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Drinks

• To promote dental health, snack-time drinks
  should be confined to milk and water only one
  third of nurseries followed this advice.

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Drinks
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Food

• The 5-a-day fruit and vegetable message was
  evident, with 73 of nurseries giving fruit daily.

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Food
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• However, children received cake, chocolate
  biscuits, sweets and crisps on occasion in many
  local nurseries.

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Special occasions
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Baseline survey

• A majority of nurseries provided fruit to the
  children in their care,
• Most did not restrict drinks to milk and water,
  and allowed children to eat sugar and fat dense
  foods.
• Overall compliance with CWT guidelines was poor.

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Good for You

• Nursery snacks accreditation scheme
• Aim improve snack provision
• Rationale easy and cheap to change
• Capitalise on enthusiasm
• Guide and reward

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Vision for scheme

• Nurseries apply to scheme by submitting menus,
  and snack policy and some other documentation
• Nurseries meeting scheme criteria get the
  healthy snacks logo to put on their publicity
  material
• Logo designed by children competition

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Healthy snack scheme

• develop guidelines, work with nurseries, and
  promote scheme
• publicise scheme - newsletter
• produce info packs giving snack criteria,
  background information
• maximise uptake and assess applications

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Progress to date

• Newsletter
• Packs
• Piloting of packs
• Feedback

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newsletter

• Newsletter

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Info packs

• List of snacks meeting CWT criteria
• Advice re drinks
• Healthy snacks policy
• Special occasions
• Two levels of award

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Feedback from piloting

• Committed to healthy snacks as routine part of
  nursery day
• Liked the design
• Two levels of award bit complicated
• Troubled by celebrations main challenge

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Special occasions

• What is a special occasion?
• harvest, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, Chinese new
  year.
• Birthdays.
• How often is special?

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Special occasions

• Balance or restraint?
• Obesity trend
• Xs energy intake over expenditure
• 5-a-day
• Informal impression that public believes in
  balance not restraint

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Restraint

• Unfashionable
• Contrary to consumer society
• Denying children pleasure
• Naughty but nice
• Saying no to children societal attitudes
  changed?

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Drivers for indulgence

• Marketing
• Association with magnanimity
• Pester power
• More disposable income, no time
• Idea that treats must be material
• Sometimes youve just got to splurge

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Splurging What is sometimes?

• More often than before

Multiculturalism more festivals Disposable
income Cheaper food Larger nurseries - many
children many birthdays
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There is an alternative

• Candle song and sticker ceremony no cake.
• Parents can give them cake at home!

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In summary

• Scope for intervention, high interest
• General support but concern about celebrations
• Feedback simplify scheme
• Proactive work around special occasions, links w
  dedicated HV
• Healthier snacks, healthier children

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