News (KHEPA) Childcare Program Kids Healthy Eating & Physical

Kids Healthy Eating & Physical
Activity Program (KHEPA)
Childcare Program News
On your mark,
get set, go!
It is all systems go for the Kids Healthy Eating and
Physical Activity (KHEPA) program in 2007. Extensive
planning has been undertaken by Hunter New
England Health in 2006 to ensure that the biggest
ever Childhood obesity prevention program in
Australia addresses ways that can encourage healthy
eating and physical activity practices in both the
community and the home setting. As the exposure of
children to junk food is growing and the opportunities
for children to be physically active is shrinking, we
have developed strategies to ensure that it is easy for
parents and children to build healthy eating and
physical activity into their lives.
The KHEPA program is keeping kids healthy by
organising the program into streams of activity centred
around the settings that children spend time in. These
include childcare services, schools, community and
health services. A variety of communication strategies
have also been developed to reach into the homes of
families and children.
The project aims to mainstream healthy eating and
physical activity for children (0-15 yrs) and their
families in the Hunter New England region by
• ↓sweetened
drink
consumption
↑nonsweetened drinks
• ↓ energy dense foods ↑ fruit and vegetables
• ↑ physical activity (sport, play, leisure)
• ↓ time spent in small screen recreation (TV,
video games)
A unique feature of the plan is its commitment to
addressing the needs of Aboriginal children in the
Hunter New England region. The program is set to get
underway in each of the settings in early 2007 with the
next 4 years dedicated to improving the overall health
of our children and teenagers in the Hunter New
England Area.
New name in early 2007
The KHEPA team have been working hard with
agencies to come up with a new and exciting name
and brand for our program. Stay tuned and all will be
revealed in early 2007.
The Hunter and New England
communities are undertaking
Australia’s largest ever obesity
prevention trial for children aged
0-15 years.
Our kids health is everyone’s business.
We can all play a part in making our
kids healthier.
ISSUED: March 2007
Why Childcare Services?
Childcare services provide an ideal setting to work with
children from 0-5 years of age, and their families. This
is a particularly crucial stage of a child’s development,
so it is important to introduce, promote and educate
children about healthy eating and physical activity.
Childcare services have a vital role in our children’s
development and childcare workers have a great deal
of experience in addressing and educating children on
health and safety issues. The KHEPA program can
support childcare services to build on existing programs
and can introduce other initiatives so that our childcare
services are recognised for their leadership in improving
health and education outcomes for children.
KHEPA in Childcare Centres
in 2007
Hunter New England Health will be working in
partnership with the Department of Community
Services (DoCS) to implement the program.
In 2007 the priority areas for action are:
• Menu planning
• Lunchboxes
• Healthy drink choices
• Parenting programs
For each of the priority areas a program will be
launched that includes:
• Enhanced guidelines from DoCS
• A resource package that includes example
policies, ideas for communicating with
parents, ideas for activities, ideas for involving
parents, case studies from other centres
• Training provided by HNEAHS and DoCS
Services will be asked to put into practice each of
these facets
KHEPA Childcare Program News
Telephone
Interview Update
Our telephone interviewers have been
working hard over the last ten weeks,
interviewing nearly 320 authorised
supervisors from pre-schools and long day
care centres in the Hunter New England
region and another 320 centres outside the
region to gain an insight into the physical
activity and nutrition practices occurring in
centres.
Some preliminary results from the CATI
indicate that:
• The main barriers to promoting healthy
eating are parents not being supportive
and not having links with nutrition
experts
• Parenting workshops and parenting
programs are the types of support
which will assist in promoting healthy
eating
• Barriers to promoting physical activity
include the sun smart policy, safety
concerns and a lack of space for
activity
• Staff training and information on
specific physical activity programs and
activities are the types of support
requested by centres.
We would like to thank all of the centres
for participating in the interviews and to
those centres that provided their menus
and policies.
What are we doing next?
March
• Developing healthy menu planning and
lunch box programs
• Presenting information on the project at
Authorised Supervisors Meetings
throughout the area
April
• Providing reports and feedback to
services on the results from the
telephone interview.
• Childcare program launch
SAVE THIS DATE
We are hoping to launch our childcare
program in centres across the area in
April. We are working towards a launch
date of Tuesday 1st May, 2007 where
centres will hold an event like a morning
tea. Pop this date in your diary and we
will keep you informed!
Childcare working parties
Two childcare working party meetings have been formed across
the HNE Health region. The working parties have been formed
in the Hunter and New England regions to support both rural
and metropolitan childcare centres. We would like to thank
DoCS, TAFE, Newcastle University, Family Day Care and
Authorised Supervisors from a variety of services for their
enthusiasm and commitment to the program. The working party
will play a key role in developing resources and training for
childcare centres. They will also guide the development of
sustainable models for implementation of the program.
The two childcare working parties will be meeting on a monthly
basis for the next 6 months and then bi-monthly after this, so if
your centre has any issues that you would like raised at these
meetings, please contact your local CSA or childcare
representative. It is important that we receive any information or
feedback on ways that we can these programs can be
successfully rolled out across our area.
Hunter Working Party
Rachel Sutherland- HNEAHS
Melinda Neve- HNEAHS
Kerith Duncanson- HNEAHS
Carmen Burgess- HNEAHS
Glenda Dawson- DoCS
Patricia Curran- DoCS
Julie Deer- DoCS
Anne Mullen- DoCS
Judith Addleton- DoCS
Trish Carrol- KU Children's
Services
Tracey Sweetman- Family Day
Care
Jacinta Alvos- ABC
Michelle Peden- Private LDC
Lynn Connors- Community based
LDC
Adelaide Rombouts- Pre-School
Janelle Gallagher- Pre-School
Jacqueline Soto- Pre-School
Emma Perry- Aboriginal PreSchool
Judith Skerrit- TAFE NSW
Lauren Williams- University of
Newcastle
Jillian Morris- The Cancer
Council
New England Working
Party
Rachel SutherlandHNEAHS
Carolyn Keogh- HNEAHS
Scott Trindall- HNEAHS
Marguerite GriffithsHNEAHS
Adam Tomsett- HNEAHS
Julie May- DoCS
Tracey Gordon- DoCS
Narissa King- Private LDC
Corrinne TattamCommunity based LDC
Louise Cave- Birrellee
MACS
Michelle Cherniayeff- PreSchool
Doreen Blair- Family Day
Care
For further information, please contact:
Melinda Neve on 0249246246 or [email protected]
Carolyn Keogh on 0267678630 or [email protected]