Prioritising healthy eating has earned UrbanKids Early Learning Centre a ‘Whanau Award' from the Heart Foundation – the first to complete the award online nationally.

The Heart Foundation's free Healthy Heart Award programme helps early childhood education services create environments that promote healthy eating and physical activity to under-fives and their families.

Head teacher Nicole Young and the UrbanKids children. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

There are three award levels, and ‘Whanau' is the second, given to ECE services which have strengthened their healthy eating and physical activity knowledge and practice.

UrbanKids centre manager Krystal Clarke says she and her team are incredibly proud to have received the award and excited about their current journey to achieve the highest level - the gold standard ‘Pa-Harakeke' award.

After receiving the award, UrbanKids has continued to develop and implement healthy changes to further benefit children and their families.

Children are now more involved with food preparation and baking within the centre through their programme, a drinking station has been built for the kids and nutrition tips are being sent home to parents.

Krystal says all her teachers see nutritious food as being essential fuel for the brain, allowing the children to develop and grow.

'Our aim is to ensure all children continue to receive a wider range of meals,” she says.

'We had a great turnout of parents at the evening of ‘What is in our food and Ideas for establishing healthy lunchboxes'. The parents were behind us 100 per cent, which was just fantastic.”

UrbanKids chef Vicky Lawler continues to keep the menu fresh and the children are always excited to see what she will serve up next. Rather than using refined sugar to sweeten her baking, Vicky opts for fruits such as prunes.

Heart Foundation health promotion coordinator Ashley Woodford praises the staff and children of Urbankids, after working hard to achieve their accolade.

UrbanKids chef Vicky Lawler preparing healthy heart food for the children.

'The teachers have found some really fun and exciting ways to learn about eating healthily and being physically active,” says Ashley.

'They are doing a great job of helping their kids build a strong foundation for good health throughout their lives.”

The Heart Foundation's Healthy Heart Award, which is partially funded by the Ministry of Health, provides ECE staff with a range of information, planning tools, and curriculum guides to aid them on their journey.

ECE services which participate are reassessed biannually to maintain their Healthy Heart Award status.

Urbankids is the country's first ECE service to complete the award via the Heart Foundation's ‘Learn by Heart' website.

Launched in September last year, ‘Learn by Heart' is the Heart Foundation's new interactive education website. The Healthy Heart Award was previously paper-based but ECE services can now complete the programme online.

For more information visit: www.learnbyheart.org.nz