Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

Healthy Eating & Physical Activity
Comment on the Governments proposed guidelines

Child care service providers interested in having a say on healthy eating currently have an opportunity to comment on the Government's proposed Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings (the Guidelines).

The Guidelines are part of the Commonwealth Government's Plan for Tackling Obesity and Plan for Early Childhood.

The Guidelines are evidence-based, practical resources and materials that will support healthy eating and physical activity in children attending early childhood education and care services including child care, pre-school and family day care.

The Guidelines will be linked to the new National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care services that is expected to be introduced from 1 July 2009.

Be involved in the Field testing of the Guidelines

The Guidelines Resources are available NOW online until Friday 8 May 2009 for your information and comment. We encourage you to have your say about the Guidelines either by participating in a focus group or completing an online survey. Your comments will help to ensure that services are provided with useful resources to promote healthy behaviours in young children.

Participate in a focus group

Focus groups for early childhood education and care practitioners, parents and carers will be held in April and May 2009 at the locations listed below. The focus groups will run for two hours during which time participants will be asked to review the Guidelines and provide feedback via a guided discussion and short survey. Light refreshments will be provided. A maximum of twelve participants will be able to attend each focus group.

Focus Groups for Practitioners

If you would like to register your interest in attending one of the focus groups for early childhood education and care practitioners, please email focus.testing@rch.org.au your name, organisation, phone number and the location of the focus group.

State	Location	Date
ACT	Civic	Wednesday 6 May
NSW	Hunter Valley	Monday 11 May
NT	Katherine	Monday 20 April
NT	Palmerston	Wednesday 6 May
QLD	Gold Coast	Wednesday 22 April
QLD	Cairns	Monday 27 April
SA	Murray Bridge	Tuesday 5 May
TAS	Devonport/West Coast	Monday 11 May
TAS	Hobart	Tuesday 12 May
VIC	Dandenong	Wednesday 6 May
VIC	Ballarat	Thursday 7 May
WA	Geraldton	Monday 4 May
WA	Derby	Wednesday 6 May

Focus Groups for Parents and Carers

We are also running focus groups for parents and carers at the following locations. If you are an early childhood practitioner in one of these locations and are happy for us to contact you about recruiting parents and carers in your area, please email focus.testing@rch.org.au

State	Location	Date
ACT	Civic	Thursday 7 May
NSW	Western Sydney	Tuesday 12 May
NT	Katherine	Tuesday 21 April
NT	Palmerston	Tuesday 5 May
SA	Glenelg	Monday 4 May

Review the Draft Resources and complete an online survey

Child care practitioners can review the Draft Guidelines Resources (Coordinator/Director Book, Staff/Carer book, Cooking for Children Book) and provide feedback via a practitioner online survey.

Parents and carers can review the Draft Family Book and provide feedback via the parent/carer online survey.

Both surveys will take about 15 minutes to complete.

To view the Draft Guidelines Resources and complete an online survey go to either website below:

Centre for Community Child Health, or
www.rch.org.au/ccch/index_new.cfm?doc_id=12556

Early Childhood Australia

For further project details please email focus.testing@rch.org.au