You’ve probably been hearing a lot about our fab new Healthy Living and Wellbeing programme – we’re too excited not to share! But just in case you’ve missed it, here’s a bit of a recap.

As you know, we’ve always had our children’s wellbeing in mind. But now, we’re planning special activities, meals and curriculum (in line with EYFS) to encourage all around health for each child at our nurseries – today and into the future. And we’re making sure our children have an active say in what the programme looks like too.

Located in a beautiful listed church building right in the heart of Reading city centre, Reading nursery has been working hard to roll out the programme and make sure their children have the best wellbeing possible.

Leanne Green, Senior Nursery Manager at Reading, recently explained some of the great things happening at their nursery:

Learning about food

To start with, Reading has introduced new nutritionist-approved menus “to make sure we are giving the children a healthy, balanced diet,” explained Leanne.

They’re also getting the children involved every step of the way. “We display the different raw ingredients on their tables, so the children know what they’re eating,” Leanne described.

The nursery practitioners also use flash cards to talk about where food comes from. Some of the children have even been on a nursery trip to a local farm to learn how they get their tasty eggs and milk they have at nursery each week.

In the garden

It's important for children to try different foods and to know where their food comes from, because creating a positive relationship with food from an early age can reduce childhood obesity. Which is why, as part of the Co-op Childcare Healthy Living and Wellbeing Programme, we go outside to find out how food grows.

This spring, Reading nursery took their children to the local garden centre where they got to pick out their own seeds and then planted them in the nursery garden. “We’ve got twelve different vegetables, herbs and fruit that we’ve planted,” explained Leanne. “The children really enjoyed helping to plant them, and they’ve been great at remembering to keep them watered. They love how much they’ve grown so far, and can’t wait to see the results.”

Once they start producing, the on-site chef will use them in the children’s nursery meals!

Cooking class

The children in pre-school have been especially excited about cooking their own meals, like soup, with the help of nursery practitioners and the nursery chef. “They’ve been chopping the vegetables themselves and putting it together,” Leanne said. Then, the chef uses the chopped veg to make the soup and returns it at meal time.

“It’s very exciting for the children to eat what they’ve made,” said Leanne, “I think it encourages them to eat their vegetables, because they’ve made it themselves.”

Eco-Schools and helping the environment

As part of the new programme, our nurseries are also teaching children different ways to help our communities and to protect the environment. This is part of the Eco-Schools scheme, a pupil-led, global campaign that teaches children the value of helping others and looking after the environment around them.

 Reading nursery has already achieved Bronze and Silver status with initiatives like Water Warriors (making sure the tap is turned off when finished). And the children know to turn off the lights when a room isn’t being used any more. By December, Reading nursery hopes to achieve Green Flag status – the highest recognition possible. 

Healthy minds and bodies

The Healthy Living and Wellbeing programme isn’t just about eating well and helping the environment – it’s about having a healthy mind and body too. That’s why children at Reading nursery have started doing yoga (at the park when the weather lets them!). And they even went on a trip to the gym to learn all about what makes a healthy body.

At Co-op Childcare nurseries, we also run Boogie Mites sessions. These fun-filled music and movement classes are led by our nursery practitioners (who have almost as much fun as the children!). The programme develops language, maths and social skills through creative music, dance and play.

Children can also learn to ride a bike via our Ready Steady Pedal programme, with professional guidance and support from Isla Bikes. Once our nursery practitioners identify a child is ready, they’ll build their confidence on a balance bike until they can advance to a pedal bike. This exciting programme helps our children develop motor skills and independence whilst contributing to overall wellbeing.

 Children’s council

We want to make sure the children have a say in what goes on at nursery too. That’s why each nursery has established a children’s council, where the children meet each month to discuss a goal for the nursery to achieve.

This month, Reading’s children’s council was all about food (yum!). The children talked about “what we’re doing, what they like, what they don’t like and what they think about the food that they’re eating,” described Leanne. And the children got to taste lots of different ingredients and choose foods to be on the next menu.

Next month, Reading’s children’s council will focus on setting more environmental goals around topics such as recycling.

Millie’s Mark

As an extra part of the programme, all Co-op Childcare nurseries have received Millie’s Mark, a certification that makes sure they’re going above and beyond the minimum requirements to keep every child safe.

This means every practitioner is trained in first aid within three months of starting. And continuing staff are retrained every three months too. Reading also has mini training sessions at each staff meeting. “If something happens, we’re confident the team could deal with it,” says Leanne.

Find out more

Learn more about our new Healthy Living and Wellbeing programme.

For more information about your specific nursery’s activities, speak with your nursery manager.