National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) has launched training for a qualification and specialist role promoting positive nutrition and physical activity in early years settings.

A PANCo (Physical Activity and Nutrition Co-ordinator) is a named and qualified member of staff who leads on health and wellbeing in an early years setting, champions best practice and implements change where required. The qualification is recognised as an NCFE CACHE accredited Level 4 award.

The PANCo role aims to support the prevention of obesity within early years settings. More than one in five children (22.3%) aged four to five years are overweight or obese, according to the National Child Measurement programme.

The PANCo role is suitable for learners who are over 18 and working within early years settings with at least a Level 3 qualification in early years and childcare. The course can be started at any time and must be completed within three months. Based on 10 weeks of study, there is an expectation of three hours study per week and an additional 10 hours of workplace activities.

Purnima Tanuku, NDNA chief executive, said: “We know that parents and the home environment are key to encouraging healthy lifestyles, but with over 1.5 million children attending early years settings every day, early years practitioners are uniquely placed to play a vital role in the future health and well-being of our children. This is a crucial stage of their development where we can instil healthy habits that will last a lifetime.” 

She added: “While there is no shortage of government guidelines, there is often a missing link in sharing and applying this information in practice. The role of the NDNA PANCo is to act as the trained and informed link who is responsible for promoting the value and benefits of physical activity and healthy eating within the setting.”

The PANCo programme is a three-part process starting with The Start Life Well Assessment. This assessment provides the opportunity for a setting to identify their specific needs, which the PANCo will then use to plan and implement their “‘”wellbeing in action”’ “intervention.   

PANCo founder, Linda Baston-Pitt, said: “We are already starting to see that the role of the PANCo is having a positive impact not only on the wellbeing of children and families but on the whole staff team, as well as opening up new career opportunities for early years professionals. I am very excited to be working with NDNA on the next stage of the PANCo journey as the programme is transferred into their safe and capable hands.”