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New partnership sets the standard for children’s nutrition

Young children’s nutrition will get a welcome boost from today with the launch of the Early Years Nutrition (EYN) Partnership.

The EYN Partnership sets a new standard for nutrition practice in early years settings, providing ‘hands-on’ help, delivered by a network of registered nutritionists and dietitians with experience of early years settings.

The goal of the partnership is to ensure that, in the future, every child in England aged under five will have access to expert nutrition support within their setting.

As part of the programme, early years settings will be able to gain accreditation with the EYN Partnership Quality Mark and upskill early years practitioners by providing them with the opportunity to study for a Level 3 CACHE award in nutrition and hydration in the early years.

Speaking of the Alliance's involvement in the partnership, CEO Neil Leitch said: “Eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active during the first 1,000 days of life, from conception to toddlerhood, plays a significant role in influencing long-term health outcomes. In light of this, early years settings have an essential role to play in helping to support parents to establish good eating habits at the earliest opportunity,” says Alliance chief Executive Neil Leitch.

“The Alliance has always taken an active role in supporting practitioners to help children understand the value of healthy eating. I am delighted to say that the launch of the Early Years Nutrition Partnership has taken this approach to a new level.”

The EYN Partnership is an independent social enterprise that has been created in partnership with the Pre-school Learning Alliance, the British Nutrition Foundation and Danone Nutricia Early Life Nutrition.

Find out more at or follow the official Twitter account .