Pre-schools receive Health service awards

Pre-schools receive Health service awards

PRE-SCHOOL services across South Dublin who have implemented the Healthy Ireland Smart Start programme, a holistic health promotion programme for young children, have recently received their award and certification as Healthy Ireland Pre-school services from the HSE.

The National Childhood Network held a recent event to celebrate the success of local service providers.

Jean Larmour and Helena O Neill from Raglan Child Care Centre in Tallaght 001

The programme is built upon the Governments Healthy Ireland Strategic Framework which seeks to improve the health and well-being of the nation beginning with Ireland’s youngest citizens.

Development and delivery of the programme has been a collaborative effort between the Health Promotion and Improvement Department of the HSE and the National Childhood Network (NCN). Delivery of the programme is heavily subsidised by the HSE and supported by the Department of Children & Youth Affairs and Department of Education & Skills.

The programme is specifically designed for pre-school children aged between three and five years of age and encompasses all aspects of a healthy lifestyle: oral health, physical health, health & safety, emotional well-being & literacy as well as nutrition & healthy eating.

Staff from over 987 services across Ireland have participated in the training programme since 2014 with 477 of these validated so far as health promoting settings by the HSE and NCN.

The programme has been very positively received by pre-school providers, staff and parents with feedback showing that is has helped to enhance health awareness in children attending the services involved. Research shows how important early intervention is in ensuring that children develop healthy, well-balanced lifestyles. The fact that the programme is a holistic one, covering emotional well-being in addition to other aspects of health, makes it a very valuable resource in nurturing children’s overall wellbeing.                      

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