Award-winning physical activity and nutrition training courses launch nationwide

Following on from a successful pilot of the PurpleBee online leadership, mentoring and PANCo training programmes across the east of England, the courses will now be available to all early years settings in England.

• New PANCo role is designed to make health and well-being a priority
• Big Issue: Mental Health and Well-Being

All of the PurpleBee ILM Level 3, CACHE Level 4 and CPD courses have been designed by experienced early years professionals to meet and exceed Ofsted’s expectations around the health and well-being of children and families.

They include the CACHE Level 4 Become a PANCo course, the only internationally recognised unit qualification that, upon completion, gives learners full PANCo (Physical Activity and Nutrition Co-ordinator) status enabling them to practice as a well-being champion in their setting.

Last year, the Cambridge Childhood Partnership, founded by PurpleBee's chief executive Linda Baston-Pitt, which delivers the PANCo programme, won the Nursery World award for health and well-being.

PurpleBee says that having a PANCo in a setting signals that an employer cares about the health and wellbeing of their team, children and families.

The training company also runs two ILM Level 3 accredited courses, one on Positive Leadership in the Early Years and the other on Understanding Good Practice in Workplace Mentoring.

PurpleBee’s chef executive Linda Baston-Pitt, who founded the Old School House Nursery in Cambridge, said, ‘Continued, individual development, positive organisational change and workplace well-being are all interlinked. By investing in an organisation that actively supports, nurtures and cultivates strong teams and leaders, early years employers will naturally create an environment in which staff are happy and children thrive’.

Nicole, deputy manager of The Old School House Nursery, said, ‘The PurpleBee course was extremely easy to use and is accessible to all. I completed the programme on my phone and found I could flip between my workbook and browser easily. I genuinely found the content interesting, and a brilliant balance between, audio, visual and interaction catering for all learning types. I would use PurpleBee Learning again, and thoroughly enjoyed this course finding it extremely relatable in my role.’