The resources below can be used to support and extend your practice and provision, but all settings must also have regard to relevant legislation and regulation.
If you can't find what you are looking for you can contact us.
Health and wellbeing
Guidance on health and wellbeing for early years practitioners.
Healthy Child Programme Team contact details
Contact the Healthy Child Programme Team to arrange integrated reviews in your setting, or to discuss a child’s health or development needs.
Healthy eating in early years settings
- Eat Better, Start Better - Practical guide to the voluntary food and drink guidelines for settings to meet the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) welfare requirement for providing healthy, balanced and nutritious food and drink.
- Healthy eating - Information and further links from Family Assist, including portion size, 5-a-day and vitamins for children.
Dental health
- Improving oral health: supervised tooth brushing programme toolkit - Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust can help you establish supervised tooth brushing sessions in your setting to improve oral health: contact lynette.anear@nhs.net.
- Children's teeth (NHS) - Information about how to take care of your children's teeth.
- Oral Health Foundation - Information and support.
- Dental Wellness Trust - Supervised toothbrushing programme in West Sussex.
- Oral Health (PACEY) - Information and further links.
General health and wellbeing guidance
- ERIC, The Children's Bowel and Bladder Charity - ERIC provides information, advice and guidance to support bowel and bladder health. The website includes leaflets that can be shared with families to support toilet training.
- NHS - Advice and guidance on caring for babies and young children.
- The Lullaby Trust: Safer sleep for babies - Information about safer sleep for babies and young children. For children with SEND which might impact on the child’s sleep arrangements, please discuss with the relevant health professionals as part of the child’s care plan.
- Sleep Well e-learning - Online learning for those working with families, covering the importance of sleep and ways to improve it. Requires a Learning and Development Gateway account which is free to register for.
- Physical activity guidelines for the early years - Guidelines from the British Heart Foundation with recommendations for the amount of physical activity the under-5s should be doing.
- Family Assist - Information for new and expectant parents on pregnancy, birth, health and the developmental stages of their child.
Medicines
- Managing and administering medicine - Refer to points 3.45 to 3.47 (Health>Medicines) of the EYFS Statutory Framework, which sets out how settings should manage and administer medicines.
Supporting children with specific medical conditions
To support you in planning care for a child in your setting with specific medical conditions, follow the guidance provided by the health professionals working with the child.
General information can be also found on the following websites:
- NHS - General health information
- Medicines for children
- Allergy UK - Allergies and Anaphylaxis
- Asthma.org.uk
- British Heart Foundation
- Diabetes.org.uk
- Eczema.org
- Education for Health
- ERIC - Bowel and bladder
- Last updated:
- 7 September 2023