Eat Smart Play Smart is a national program that promotes healthy eating and active play for children that attend outside school hours care (OSHC).
The program is for OSHC staff, parents and children that attend OSHC, and includes a comprehensive manual and associated training. The manual has reached over 40% of OSHC programs in Australia. It has had documented success in helping OSHC providers to serve healthier food, offer more active play opportunities, improve staff learning and improve kids' cooking skills.
To order your copy of the fresh, new look Eat Smart Play Smart manual, see below.
Why choose Eat Smart Play Smart?
- It can easily be incorporated into any OSHC program.
- It helps meet OSHC quality assurance indicators (Quality area 5: play and development and Quality area 6: health, nutrition and well being).
- The manual outlines current Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents (2003) and Australia's Physical Activity Recommendations for Children and Youth (2004).
- It provides ideas for games and activities suitable for indoors and outdoors, and for programs with limited facilities.
The manual also contains parent/carer information sheets and has more than 100 recipes.
ESPS Evaluation highlights
In 2008, a national evaluation of the ESPS program was conducted across 309 OSHC services. Highlights of the program's success are listed below.
- Following purchase of the manual, OSHC services have significantly increased the everyday provision of:
- fruit (from 76% to 91%)
- dairy products (from 36% to 55%)
- wholegrain breads and cereals (from 30% to 54%)
- vegetables (from 31% to 47%).
- The number of OSHC services providing cordial, soft drinks and sports drinks every day dropped from 8% to 3%.
- The number of OSHC services providing party pies, pasties or other pastries two to three times a week dropped from 3% to 0%.
- Statistically significant increases in the number of OSHC services offering active games were evident following purchase of the manual.
- Eighty-three per cent of OSHC staff agreed that they have learned new things about nutrition, and 57% have learned new things about physical activity.
- OSHC services substantially increased the amount of nutrition information (from 54% to 91%) and physical activity information (from 46% to 79%) that they distributed to parents and carers.
How to order the Eat Smart Play Smart manual
The fresh, new look national edition of the Eat Smart Play Smart manual is available for purchase at $55.00 (including GST, postage and handling).
To order your copy, call our Health Information Service on 1300 36 27 87, email us or download order form (please note this is a new order form).
Resources
Some of the following resources have been developed and updated thanks to the kind support of the Telstra Foundation.
For OSHC staff
Information sheets
Recipes and meal planners
For parents and carers
Information sheets
For children
Cooking activities
Heart Foundation working with other organisations and government
The Heart Foundation has developed a number of submissions to government advocating for improvements in nutrition and physical activity opportunities for children attending OSHC.
Quality assurance - integrated child care quality assurance
Download
Quality assurance - draft guide to the standards
Download
Community Services training package
Download
Victorian Children's Services regulations review
Download