What is Munch & Move?

Munch & Move is a fun play-based program that supports the healthy development of children from birth to five years by promoting healthy eating, physical activity and reduced small screen time.

The program is designed for children attending early childhood education and care services and family dare care services across NSW. It aligns with the National Quality Framework, in particular Quality Area 2, as well as the Early Years Learning Framework.

Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of Munch & Move.

Two Asian children playing outside in an early childhood centre.

Munch & Move on the Central Coast

We work with early childhood education and care services on the Central Coast to develop resources and provide practical support that enables children in your care to learn lifelong healthy habits.

Here you’ll be able to find all the resources you need, access training and professional development and stay up to date, all in one place.

Many of the Munch & Move resources are also available for direct download by parents and carers, providing practical advice and tips on healthy eating, active play and reducing screen time for your child.

Munch & Move training

The Munch & Move eLearning program offers free training to early childhood educators, teachers and service leaders working in preschool, occasional care and family day care services.

The eLearning program contains videos, interactive activities and reflective practice questions that provide educators with the knowledge, skills and resources to embed healthy eating and physical activity into their service.

Completing all training modules typically takes around three hours, but they are self-paced and can be completed over multiple sessions.

For all eLearning support, please email the Munch & Move training administrators at Munch&Move@ectarc.com.au.

Young children at an early childhood centre a Blender Bike making a smoothie.

Small Bites for Big Steps professional development courses

Northern Sydney Local Health District has developed Small Bites for Big Steps, a series of professional development courses to support early childhood educators in giving children (birth to five years) the healthiest start in life.

Choose from general or NESA-accredited professional development courses across a range of settings and groups including nursery, toddler, preschool and family day care courses.

A early childhood educator reading a book to a child outside.
A young child eating healthy food at a table.

How healthy is your childcare menu?

If you’re an early childcare cook and would like support to supply menus that meet nutritional guidelines and that children enjoy, then you’ll want to check out our Early Childcare Menu Support page.

Visit the page to download resources, access training, or join us at our next Cooks Network meeting. You can also submit your menu for our dietitians to assess if it meets nutritional guidelines, ask them a burning question you have about your menu and view answers to other healthy menu-related questions. And if you want inspiration, view some tasty meals in our healthy recipe bank.

The First 2000 Days

The first 2000 days (conception to age five) of life are for life.

This period is a critical time for physical, cognitive, social and emotional health as what happens in the first 2000 days has been shown to have an impact throughout a child’s life.

That’s why it’s never too early to talk, read, sing and play with children.

Watch this video to learn more about the role we can play in supporting the positive growth and development of all children, as well as the support services available on the Coast.

You can also read NSW Health’s Brighter Beginnings: The First 2000 Days of Life factsheet to understand the role you can play in the healthy development of children during this period.

Central Coast Mariners defender Cameron Windust with children from Kariong Childcare Centre.

Move like a Mariner

Our Move like a Mariner program is a joint initiative between Central Coast Health Promotion Service and A-League football team the Central Coast Mariners to teach fundamental movement skills to children aged 3–5 years old.

The six-week program supports early childhood education and care services to teach these skills through a series of fun games, along with support to introduce healthy eating learning experiences and promote choosing water as a drink.

The 2023 program has now finished. You can read more about it in our media release.

If your early childhood service is interested in taking part in our Move like a Mariner program in 2024, you can express your interest by emailing us via the link below.

Stay up to date

Early childhood teachers and educators

Our termly Munch & Move e-newsletter is loaded with valuable healthy development information and resources for teachers and educators in early childhood education and care services.

Parents and carers

Our monthly Refresh e-newsletter contains details on our healthy lifestyle resources, programs and information for the Central Coast community.

You can also follow us on Facebook.

Useful websites for early childhood services

Here are some other websites with helpful resources and information to support early childhood education and care services.

Child Safe Standards – view the 10 Child Safe Standards for organisations that work with children and young people and download the Guide to the Child Safe Standards for early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services

SunSmart (Cancer Council NSW) – a free program that partners with early childhood services to develop and implement a best-practice sun protection policy

Safe sleep resources (Red Nose Australia) – download safe sleep resources tailored to early childhood services

Other pages you might be interested in

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