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Healthy Early Years London (HEYL)
Getting a good start in life, building emotional resilience, and getting maximum benefit from education are the most important markers for good health and wellbeing throughout a child’s life.
The Healthy Early Years London (HEYL) award aim is to support and encourage early years settings and childminders to develop their focus on health and wellbeing and therefore supports the achievement, education and happiness of children, parents / carers, staff, and the wider community.
What is Healthy Early Years London (HEYL)?
HEYL can be used as an improvement tool to support practice in all Early Years settings:
- Private, voluntary, and independent nurseries
- Early learning and day care in children’s centres
- Childminders
- Early Years in schools – HEYL will be especially valuable for schools with two-year old provision
- Crèches and playgroups
The most effective way of improving health in this age group is to take a whole-setting approach, engaging children, staff, parents, carers, and the wider community.
Healthy Early Years Setting and at Home, children will be supported to:
- Eat healthy meals and drink plenty of water
- Cycle, scoot, walk to setting with parents /carers
- Wheel, play, run, skip, jump outdoors and in the parks
- Have plenty of tummy time
- Have plenty of sleep
- Sing songs and read stories together
- Learn how to brush their teeth and regular visits to dentist
- Learn about their own feelings, how to express and manage them
- Live in a smoke free home
HEYL supports Early Years settings and childminders to identify their own good practice as well as areas to develop.
HEYL complements and enhances the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, providing further focus on children, families and staff health and wellbeing. Settings are strongly recommended to refer to the EYFS as they work towards being recognised as a HEYL setting.
Working towards and achieving HEYL can also assist settings in providing evidence for Ofsted inspections, as the HEYL Bronze and Silver audits are structured under the EYFS Ofsted judgements.
12 Holistic Themes
HEYL covers 12 holistic areas of health, wellbeing and education for young children, parents and staff including:
1. Social and emotional wellbeing
2. Speech, language and communication
3. Healthy eating, breastfeeding, starting solids foods
4. Physical activity, physical dev, sedentary behaviour
5. Oral health
6. Parenting and home learning
7. Early cognitive development
8. Parent and staff health concerns, including; mental health, alcohol/substance misuse, smoking
9. Supporting children with chronic health, SEN and disabilities
10. Infection control and Immunisation
11. Sustainability e.g. Air Quality / recycling
12. Home safety, accident prevention and reducing injuries
How to get a HEYL Award
All Early Years settings and childminders can take part in Healthy Early Years London (HEYL) by registering online and completing First Steps.
- Register for HEYL by creating an account
- Log in to start your First Steps application
- Progress through our Bronze, Silver and Gold awards with the support of your borough lead
Celebration of Settings
HEYL is a programme that gives awards to nurseries and childminders across London who can prove they are providing a healthy setting for their children, staff, and parents. A big congratulations to settings and childminders who have achieved their HEYL First Steps Award and HEYL Bronze Awards.
HEYL First Steps Award
- Billies Childcare -Childminder
- BrightStars-Childminder
- Busy Buddies (F) – Childminder
- Busy Buddies (S)- Childminder
- C. Elliot- Childminder
- D. Smith – Childminder
- E17 Childminder
- F. Robbins – Childminder
- Freddy Teddy Day Care Ltd - Childminder
- G. Jackson- Childminder
- Kelly’s Childminding service
- L. Benjamin – Childminder
- Mel’s Cherubs- Childminder
- All Saints Preschool
- Azhar Academy Nursery
- Bright Kids Day Nursery
- Chingford Mount Baptist church Preschool
- Cornerstone Under 5’s
- Emmanuel Community Church Nursery
- Little Green Man Nursery
- Little Learners Nursery- St Mary’s
- Little Learners Nursery- St Saviour’s
- Mulberry Day Nursery Ltd
- Noor Ul Islam Pre-School
- Shernhall Pre-School
- St Andrews Preschool
- Stepping Stones Childcare Ltd
- Sybourn Primary school
- The Higham Hill Centre
- The Lloyds Park Centre
- The Village Preschool E17
HEYL Bronze Award
- All Saints Preschool
- Chingford Mount Baptist church Preschool
- Emmanuel Community Church Nursery
- Little Learners Nursery-St Mary’s
- Little Learners Nursery-St Saviour’s
- D. Smith – Childminder
- L. Benjamin – Childminder
- Bright Kids Day Nursery
- Cornerstone Under 5’s
- G. Jackson- Childminder
- Sybourn Primary school