Early Years Chef Apprenticeship puts expertise at the heart of early years nutrition – Guest Blog by Louise Mercieca

The need for experts in early years nutrition

A ripple of discontent permeates the UK early years sector. Right now, early years policy decisions are being made in Whitehall, with little regard for the opinion of sector experts. Or indeed, for the impact that these decisions will have on businesses within the sector.

The Government has taken the decision to make the provision of a healthy, nutritious meal an ‘optional extra’ for nurseries. This is, in my opinion, short-sighted. While there is a need to ensure that childcare is affordable, and that there are enough nursery places for all that require them, access to healthy, balanced meals is a crucial part of every child’s development.

The Early Years Chef Apprenticeship from Connect2Care

With this in mind, Connect2Care has launched an Early Years Chef Apprenticeship, the first of its kind in the UK. This qualification can help individuals and businesses to offer the highest standards in early years nutrition, and provide real value in shaping the health of the next generation.

With more children than ever before living below the poverty line in the UK, it’s incredibly important that all have access to healthy food. The first five years of a child’s life shape so much of their future development – not just in their growth, but in building brain function, muscular-skeletal robustness and even social skills. Connect2Care’s Early Years Chef Apprenticeship is based squarely in the science of early years provision, and those apprentices that complete the course will become experts in the sector.

Food shapes a child in many ways. The Early Years Chef Apprenticeship places real emphasis not just on the factors mentioned above, but also on shaping a child’s lifelong relationship with food. The apprenticeship empowers those that complete it to create healthy, balanced menus which fully support a child’s development.

Why is a healthy, balanced menu so important?

Children in the UK suffer from health problems including obesity and type 2 diabetes at a higher rate than in previous generations. The growth in wealth disparity in the UK has pushed more children than ever into poverty or precarious living situations.

This is why I believe that the mandatory provision of a healthy, balanced meal (which meets high nutritional standards) should be legislated for by the UK government. Without wishing to undermine the eff orts of parents to provide for their children, the use of packed lunches is not an adequate substitute for a healthy, hot meal prepared by experts.

A healthy meal, prepared by experts

Within the early years, every aspect of a child’s day is carefully planned to meet their social and developmental needs. Mealtimes form a big part of this. Children eating together plays a crucial role in meeting various educational aspects of the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage). Children benefit from a shared experience with their peers, helping others, communicating and feeling capable.

The meal itself is carefully planned and part of a three or four week menu rotation which ensures a balance of vital nutrients for early childhood development, along with familiarity with dishes and confidence with eating.

The role of the nursery cook is so much more than cooking, and the Early Years Chef Apprenticeship from Connect2Care teaches all of these skills to ensure that apprentices gain the knowledge and confidence to make a real difference to children’s lives and development.

For example, within early years settings there are also very tight controls on food safety – from the size and shape of foods allowed on site, how foods are chopped, fridge management, allergen controls, cooking and blending consistency, and cleanliness.

The true cost of a meal

The nursery meal is more crucial than ever as we see an increasingly widening health and wealth divide yet with the option to use packed lunches as a means of saving money, the Government is potentially creating far greater costs to the economy further down the road as children grow up without the proper nutrition.

The price of a meal? It is far more than the price of a meal.

Do something amazing with an Early Years Chef Apprenticeship

How would you like to truly do something amazing, to be part of something that makes a real difference?

Babies and children have absolutely no say in the foods that they eat, yet the foods which they eat, shape their childhood development, shape their adult health, influence their academic outcomes, determines their adult health and influence their life expectancy.

This Early Years Chef Apprenticeship stands for everything that is amazing about the early years and shows that it does matter. What children eat truly does matter, and you can help to influence a whole generation to have a healthier, happier future.

Find out how to shape the health of a generation by joining the Early Years Chef Apprenticeship

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Louise Mercieca – Guest Author

Louise is a Nutritional Therapist, Early Years Nutrition Consultant and award-winning author, on a mission to educate with the right information on how food and health are linked.

Louise works as a consultant to nurseries and catering providers on menu development along with delivering staff training, polices and guides on nutrition for child development.

Louise makes nutrition education accessible and reflective of the real impact which food has on child development along with our own physical and mental health. Louise makes biology fun and ultimately, this helps to shape the health of a generation.

https://www.tinytumshealthkick.com/