Childcare Students Take Part in Nationwide Education Pilot

Childcare students in Coventry are amongst the lucky few to take part in a nationwide education pilot that aims to nurture healthy living habits from an early age.

Coventry College has been selected as one of eight post-16 education providers in the country to participate in the Association of Colleges (AoC) Healthy Living Pilot to help early years children understand the importance of being healthy.

A group of five level 3 childcare students, including Chloe Edwards, Lauren Garton, Malaika Abbas, Abbi Westbrook and Megan Whitehead, will link up with other college students from across the country to learn how they can help nursery-age children develop healthy lifestyle behaviours and encourage them to be active.

An introductory session was delivered by Boing, which links physical education experts with practitioners to create playful, active and inclusive spaces and develop children’s ‘physical literacy’.

Future early years educators from Coventry College will then implement the knowledge they gain on a series of Zoom training seminars by working directly with youngsters at Little Argonauts Playgroup, Goslings Day Nursery, St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, and St Michael’s Church of England Academy over the next six months.

Chantelle Wetherall, Early Years Curriculum Lead at Coventry College, said: “We were delighted to learn that we would be one of just eight colleges taking part in the AoC Sport Healthy Living Pilot.

“We offered this opportunity to all the students in our faculty and received some fantastic applications, so it was difficult to pick just five.

“It is a great opportunity for our students to get first-hand experience of the latest trends in the childcare industry, and they are making the most of it after getting stuck in to their first session.

“The students have taken part in their first online session and have put that into practice with young learners, who have been really enthusiastic and receptive to the interactive lessons they are participating in.

“The course focuses on a key issue in childcare and wellbeing in general, so to give early years children access to this type of education is something the college is fully behind.

“We are already looking to implement that into our wider syllabus, with the five students feeding back regularly so the rest of our learners can also benefit from the programme.”

Gemma Knott, Vice Principal for Business Growth, Engagement and Partnerships at Coventry College, said: “This is a fantastic initiative and we are thrilled that our Early Years team have been given the chance to take part.

“The feedback from the first session was excellent. Chantelle has urged the students to really make the most of this opportunity as one of just eight colleges chosen to take part, and I’m sure their classmates are eager to see what they can gain when the five report back after each session.”

Students left to right:  Megan, Lauren & Chloe: Front Abbi