Improving the well-being of children, families and staff
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 do. Our proven system enables organisations to measure, improve and consistently maintain high standards of well-being with ease.
NDNA PANCo Pioneers automatically complete Start Life Well as part of the online programme. On successful completion of the PANCo course, the PANCo’s setting achieves a level of Start Life Well status.
Achieve and exceed your settings well-being standards
Champion a health promoting approach
Empower and boost staff confidence
Share good practice and your setting’s achievements
The Start Life Well assessment is
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awesome! It is easy to use, well
designed and also very useful
when it came to completing the
Portfolio. This method could be
perfect to evaluate any aspect of
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Steps to achieving Start Life Well status
1. Choose your well-being champion
Identify a qualified PANCo or nominated person to lead the Start Life Well project.
Who can be the well-being champion?
A nominated person working in the setting will be responsible for completing the criteria for the Start Life Well Award. They need to:
- be qualified and be working within the setting at a level 3
- have responsibilities to be able to implement change within the setting
- be able to mentor and lead others within the setting.
Alternatively, a qualified PANCo (Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordinator) who is working in the setting can be the well-being champion. They will need proof of certification of any of the following qualifications:
- CACHE Level 4 Award: Become a PANCo( NCFE CACHE Level 4 Award in promoting Health and Well-being through Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordination in the Early Years PANCo )
- NCFE CACHE Level 4 Award in promoting Health and Well-being through Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordination in the Early Years
- CACHE Level 4 Certificate for the Early Years Advanced Practitioner (must include unit EYAP2)
- CACHE Level 4 Unit Certificate: Promoting Health and Well-being through Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordination (PANCo) in the Early Years.
2. Get started
Complete the Start Life Well and CHOICE (creating healthy opportunities in children’s environments) eLearning lesson.
The eLearning lesson includes the policy guide introduction which supports the learner in gauging their setting’s readiness for change.
3. Assess and evaluate
Self-assess your own setting and benchmark against best practice to identify strengths and weaknesses.
Self-assessment will benchmark current practice and policy in physical activity and well-being, and nutrition and well-being. The learner will review strengths and weaknesses of existing nutrition and physical activity policy and practice. They will read and reflect on current research linked to an area of their interest.
4. Plan your well-being intervention
Identify and agree the focus of your physical activity or nutrition project.
Three areas of improvement will be highlighted. The learner will agree and plan one improvement initiative with their manager. All staff in the setting should be made aware of the national physical activity and nutritional guidelines and the well-being project. This should also be communicated with parents and carers, describing the intent of the project.
5. Implement into practice
Develop, test and implement changes using your ‘smart steps’.
The learner will describe how they have implemented their project and will gather evidence to support this.
6. Review and measure impact
Evaluate the outcomes and measure the impact of your well-being improvement project by providing evidence and identifying the next steps.
7. Achieve award
Submit your project portfolio as evidence of meeting the Start Life Well status criteria.
8. Celebrate achievement
Enjoy your success and share your achievements with the team, parents, community and across the whole sector.
9. Share good practice
Continue your journey, strengthen your knowledge and improve your practice by joining our PANCo hub.
10. Maintain standards
Repeat the Start Life Well process to measure progress, maintain standards and create a continuous cycle of quality.
Become a PANCo
NDNA PANCos are able to achieve a higher level of Start Life Well status.
Engaging and intuitive eLearning lessons
We have taken the most current research and combined it with expert experience to deliver a practical online PANCo training course specifically designed for early years.
PANCo Quality Standards (Start Life Well)
Benchmark your setting against best practice in healthy eating and physical activity and make positive steps towards change with the bespoke Start life Well Assessment tool.
Reflective Journal
Packed full of activities, exercises, tools and resources, we have created a set of comprehensive reflective journals that will help you to reflect on what you are learning, expand your thinking and capture your inspiration.
PANCo Project Portfolio
Your Portfolio is a way to showcase your learning and provides you with a toolkit for integrating health and well-being projects into your setting.
Explore PANCo training
