NDNA’s PANCo qualification gives early years educators the robust knowledge base, practical skills and confidence they need to lead and support change.

Only 20% of five year olds are meeting the 180 minutes of physical activity guidelines and just 1 in 5 children eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. At NDNA, we know it’s more important than ever to ensure children are active and have good nutrition, both at home and in nursery. Our PANCO training equips a dedicated practitioner with the tools, knowledge and skills needed to support children to thrive through healthy eating and physical activity.

PANCo Training

This level 4, NCFE CACHE accredited training programme promotes positive nutrition and physical activity, using well-being in action interventions that are tailored to your setting. It is suitable for practitioners and leaders who want to champion health and well-being in their nursery or pre-school.

Get up to speed with PANCo

NDNA’s FREE Get Up to Speed course will tell you everything you need to know about PANCo.

Each of the four videos will take five minutes to watch so the course will take only 20 minutes to complete.  

Once completed, participants are able to download the free ’12 vital signs your early years setting is fostering well-being’. 

Take the free course

What is the PANCo Model?

Read the NCFE case study: Pioneering the PANCo qualification here.

What is involved?

  • An internationally recognised qualification that gives you full Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordinator (PANCo) status
  • Flexible, step-by-step online learning from any device, anywhere, anytime with tutor support
  • Packed full of activities, exercises, tools and resources to integrate health and well-being projects into your setting
  • A bespoke Start life Well Assessment tool that enables you to benchmark your setting against best practice in healthy eating and physical activity and make positive steps towards change
  • A comprehensive set of reflective journals that will help you to reflect on what you are learning, expand your thinking and capture your inspiration
  • Allow 3 months to complete the course, with approximately 3-4 hours per week for study and practical application

Who is it for: 

  • Ideal for early years practitioners with an enthusiasm and interest in the health and well-being of children and families and a passion to lead positive change within their workplace
  • Suitable for early years professionals (Lv3+), team leaders or managers working in early years settings such as nurseries, schools, childminding settings and after school clubs.

What is involved?

Qualified PANCos will learn how to:

  • Develop their skills and confidence to become an agent of change 
  • Put physical activity and nutrition guidelines into practice 
  • Assess, monitor and measure the health and well-being needs of their own setting using current research, PANCo standards (Start Life Well) and national guidelines that supports the well-being of children, families and staff
  • Support parents and families with healthy eating and physical activity at home 
  • Analyse what will motivate and help people to make positive behaviour changes 
  • Embed physical literacy throughout your setting 
  • Develop children’s resilience and independence 
  • Help your setting to meet and exceed Ofsted’s expectations around the health and well-being of children, families and your team
  • Be a positive role model for healthy behaviours 
  • Build a reputation as a setting that cares about the health and well-being of its children, families and workforce 
  • Support your team and parents to adopt active lifestyles. 

Qualified PANCos will learn how to:

Achieve Start Life Well Gold status

Upon becoming a PANCo, if you complete our Start Life Well training, your setting will be awarded Start Life Well Gold status.

 

Start Life Well is a complete online well-being framework that ensures that the whole setting reinforces the value of physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well-being in everything that they doOur proven system enables organisations to measure, improve and consistently maintain high standards of well-being with ease. 

Find out more about Start Life Well Gold

Frequently asked questions about PANCo