The Startwell Advanced Award builds on the changes and practice that settings have implemented in the Startwell Award. The Advanced Award takes around 12 months to achieve and is then reviewed after 18 months. There are eight set criteria and two additional criteria for settings to pick.
The Startwell Advanced Award challenges settings to further look at their menus and food provision. The Startwell team thoroughly review the food and drink the setting is providing and make sure that it meets the Startwell Menu and Public Health England Early Years Guidelines.
Physical activity is also challenged through the Advanced Award and settings are asked to complete an audit to extend and enhance the use of physical activity throughout the day, the environment and staffs knowledge.
The Startwell Advanced Award asks settings to focus their planning around skill development for physical activity sessions and food based activities among all age groups.
The Startwell Advanced Award also focuses on parent engagement and passing on the Startwell messages to parents. This is to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours to continue beyond the Early Years setting and into the home.
Settings working on the Startwell Advanced Award can access our free topic specific centralised training sessions. Our training covers a range of topics such as fussy eating and baby physical.
Settings working on the Startwell Advanced Award get support from a Startwell Consultant. Meetings take place at settings to set action plans and review progress, however these are less frequent than the Startwell Award and the Advanced Award is led and driven by the setting. Settings also continue to evidence their Startwell Advanced journey using a Startwell scrapbook or the settings electronic learning journal platform.
