Hello!Welcome  to  the  first  edition  of  the  Early  Years  Nutrition  Partnership  (EYN  Partnership)  newsletter.  We’re  excited  to  be  able  to  tell  you  a  little  bit  about  our  growing  community!  Whether  you’re  an  early  years practitioner,  or  a  parent,  carer or  guardian,   we’re  here   to  support  you.

Every  month  you  can  expect  helpful  advice  and  information  on  early  years  nutrition,  ranging   from  our   top  tip  of  the  month,  to  insightful  blogs  from  our  EYN  Partnership  nutrition professionals  (Registered  Nutritionists  and  Registered  Dietitians).

If  you  are  an  early  years setting  but  you  haven't  already  signed  up,  make  sure  to visit  our website for  more  information  and  give  us  a  follow  on  Twitter @EYNpartnership.

Stay  healthy,

The  Early  Years  Nutrition  Partnership  Team

70 settings sign up!

It's  only  early  days  for the  EYN  Partnership,  but  we  have  already signed  up  a  whopping  70  early  years settings!

We're  pleased  to  see  so  many  settings  are committed  to  early  years  nutrition  and  we look forward to  working  with  you  all over  the  coming months!

We  would like  to  thank  all  of  our  nutrition  professionals  who  have  been  working  very  hard  to  get  out  and  talk  to  early  years practitioners  about  the  EYN  Partnership.

Find  out  more  about  how  we  can  support  your  setting  by  visiting  our website.

We  asked  Julia  Wolman,  one  of  our  London-­based  Registered  Nutritionists,  how  she  is  finding  her  EYN  Partnership  journey  so  far:

"It  is  so  rewarding   to  be  able  to  offer   nurseries  support  to  improve  and  showcase  their  menus  to  parents  and  carers,  as  well  as  to  develop  their  policies  and  practices.  I  have  found  every  nursery  to  be  very  different,  not  wo  days  will  ever  be  the  same  and   that’s  what  makes  this  role  so  exciting!  It  is  a  great  feeling  to  know  we  are  having  a  positive  impact  on  children’s  diets.  I  can’t  wait  to  help  nurseries  achieve  accreditation  with  the  EYN  Partnership  Quality  Mark  and  have  signed  up  5 fantastic  settings  in  the  last  week…watch  this  space  for  more!”

This month's spotlight on Little Champs!

We  know  nutrition  for  the  under  5’s  is  really  important.  However,  people  don't  realisethe  severe impact  bad nutrition can  have  on  children’s  futures.  By  signing  up  to  the  EYN  Partnership,  we  hope  to  provide  staff  and  parents  with  a  better  understanding  of the  significance  of  good nutrition”.

Little  Champs is  an independent day  nursery  for  children  aged  18  months  to  5  years.  They  have  been  working  with  children  and   families  for  over  20  years  and  currently  look  after 101  children.

Zoe  added, "We've really  enjoyed  working  with  Jo,  our  EYN  Partnership  Registered  Dietitian.  She's  brilliant  and  her   friendly  nature has  already  made  us  feel  relaxed  when  working  with  her. Last  week  she  carried  out  a  survey  of parents,  staff  and  children  on  nutrition,  we  can't  wait  to  see  the results!"

We  look  forward   to  working  with  the  team  at  Little  Champs  further  and  hearing  about  their  success!

You  can  follow  Julia  on  Twitter @JW_nutrition and  read  some  of  her  blog  articles  on  our website.

Each  month  we  celebrate  one  of  our  newly  registered  EYN  Partnership  settings.  This  month  we  would  like  to  congratulate  Little  Champs,  Wellingborough,  on joining  the  EYN  Partnership!  We  spoke  to  Zoe,  the  Nursery  Manager,   to  find  out  more.

Zoe  said,  “The  most  important  thing  for  Little  Champs  is  to  provide  high  quality  childcare  that  enables  every  child  to  grow  and  progress.

Up-close and personal

New top-tips & advice blog

The  EYN  Partnership  will  be  providing  you  with  new  tips  and advice  written by  our  nutrition  professionals  every  month! We've  got  plenty  on  our  website already  -­ make  sure  to take  a  peek!

Tip of the month

Food and celebrations

Registered  Nutritionist  Catherine  Lippe has  come  up  with  some  fun  and  creative  ways  to  hold  celebrations  without  having  to  rely  on  unhealthy  choices  as  the  norm.

You  can  read  her  top  tips here.

Create a happy eating environment

We  know  some  children  can  become  easily  distracted,  impatient  and  irritable  whilst  at  the  table.  Catherine  has  also  offered  her  tips  on  how  to  create  a  happy  eating  environment.

Read  her  helpful  advice here.

This  month  Lucy  Shipton,  an  EYN  Partnership  Registered  Dietitian,  shares  her  top  tip  of  the  month.

"One  of  my  favourite things  about  visiting  nurseries  is  seeing  the  children  sitting  down  together  enjoying  their  lunchtime.  It's  so  nice  seeing  little  ones  serving  themselves  from  a  dish  in  the  middle  of  the  table,  pouring   themselves  water  from  a  plastic  jug  and  getting  stuck  in  with  lots  of  lovely  different  tastes  and  textures.  You  can  try  this  at  home,  by  giving  them  a  little  bit  of  independence  at  mealtimes  (with  appropriate  supervision  of  course)  you’ll  be  pleasantly  surprised  with  the  results!"

You  can  follow  Lucy  on  Twitter @lsnutritionltd

Competition time!

This  month,  to  celebrate  the  Summer  Reading  Challenge  2016,  you  can  win  a  bundle  of  gorgeous  Miffy books!  To  be  in  with  a  chance  visit  our website.  Hurry  the  competition  closes  31st August  2016!

Do  you  have  an  early  years  nutrition  question  that  you  need  answered?  Our  nutrition  professionals are  here  to  help!  Each  month  we  will  be  offering  a fantastic  prize to  one  lucky  reader  who  submits  a  question  to our  nutrition  professionals!

It  doesn’t  matter  whether  you  are  an  early  years practitioner  or  a  parent  or  carer,  feel  free  to  enter  and  keep  your  fingers  crossed  for  our  prize  draw!  

The  EYN  Partnership  is  an  independent  a  Community  Interest  Company  that  has  been  created  in  partnership  with  the  Pre-­school  Learning  Alliance,  the  British  Nutrition  Foundation  and  Danone  Nutricia Early  Life  Nutrition.  A  key  role  of  the  EYN  Board  and  Expert  Panel   is  to  ensure  that  the  partnership  delivers  its  social  aims,  is  transparent  and  acts  with  integrity.

The  Early  Years  Nutrition  Partnership  (EYN  Partnership)  will   initially   be  funded  by  Danone  Ecosystemeand  Danone  Nutricia Early  Life  Nutrition.  Danone  Ecosysteme is  an  internationally  recognised fund,  which  supports  social  enterprises  and  initiatives  worldwide.  The  EYN  Partnership  is  the  first  UK  beneficiary  of  this  fund.

The  EYN  Partnership  nutrition  professionals  are  either  Registered  Nutritionists  or  Dietitians  with  with  at  least  a  bachelor’s  degree  in  a  nutritional  or  dietetic  science  and  experience  in  early  years  nutrition.  They  are  bound  by  the  Association  for  Nutrition  and  the  British  Dietetic  Association  respectively  to  continue  professional  development  and  follow  standards  of  ethics,  conduct  and  performance.  This  means  you  can  be  assured  that  their  advice  will  always  be  up  to  date  with  the  latest  recommended  guidance  and  practice.  Occasionally,  we  will  have  a  nutrition  professional  join  the  EYN  Partnership  with  the  same  experience  and  qualification,  but  who  is  currently  undergoing  the  registration  process.

©  Early  Years  Nutrition  Partnership  2016.  Registered  as  a  Community  Interest  Company  in  England  and  Wales  10098854