Early Years settings across Scarborough to benefit from new growing and healthy living programme

Participating settings will be provided with practical training, resources and ongoing support to encourage healthy eating, active lifestyles and outdoor learning.

The project aims to give young children hands-on experiences of growing food, developing healthy habits from an early age while strengthening connections between nurseries, families and community growing projects across Scarborough.

Three initial training sessions, delivered at Coast and Vale Community Action (CaVCA) to early years practitioners, will introduce sowing and growing techniques and explore effective ways of working with nursery-aged children to encourage outdoor engagement, learning and exploration.

In addition to these, participants will benefit from an online support session on January or February 2027, followed by further in-person training events in March and May or June.

These sessions will focus on seasonal growing opportunities, outdoor learning and practical ways to embed gardening and healthy living into everyday early years practice.

The project is being delivered by Grow to School in collaboration with the North Yorkshire Healthy Early Years Programme.

As part of the programme, Ruth Stacey, Healthy Early Years Programme Officer, will work with settings throughout the year, supporting them in achieving their Healthy Early Years Award with a particular focus on Healthy Food and Active Lives.

Ama Chaney, one of the Directors of Grow to School said “Showing, exciting and engaging children at the earliest age has the potential to change attitudes to food.

"This excitement can be carried home and enable connections with community growing across Scarborough”.