Tackling Childhood Obesity: Meet the Glugs
Ground-breaking Sure Start and health staff residential courses for 2007

Sure Start Children's Centres and all health staff have a priority around reducing obesity by delivering activities and support which encourage an understanding of the importance of diet, nutrition and physical activity in improving children's outcomes. But how do you get the message across? How do you talk to parents about the issue of weight if their children are already overweight or at risk of becoming so? In novel 3-day training courses for health staff, whether attached to Centres or not, the solution is outlined by adopting the Family Partnership Model. The training, endorsed by the CPHVA and Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health, is delivered by a team led by Professor Mary Rudolf, an acknowledged pioneer in tackling issues of childhood obesity in the UK.

Rudolf's goal is to support the joint Departments of Health, Education & Skills and Culture, Media & Sport target to halt the year-on-year rise of obesity in children under-11yrs by 2010. The thrust of the Model, a highly successful way of engaging parents and enabling them to make changes in their own and their children's lives, focuses on the elements of healthy living - eating patterns and diet, physical activity and the importance of positive relationships.

Playing their part in empowering families to change their lifestyles will be the Glugs. Unveiled in full at the first training sessions (see dates below), this lovable family of cartoon animal characters, is set to help you capture the children's imagination through stories on CD and DVD, recipes and tailor-made reward schemes.

The Glug family live on Glug Island, the most fertile, bounteous and fun place on earth: they till the soil, milk the cow, collect the eggs, pick the vegetables, shake the fruit from the trees and reap the harvest. And they cook it all, too!

Opening dates and venues

8th & 9th March (residential); follow-up date, 28th March 2007
To be held at High Trenhouse Centre, Malham Moor, Settle, located in the charismatic Yorkshire Dales. Few training venues you have attended could rival such a setting!

21st & 22nd June (residential): follow-up date, 12th July 2007.
Course venue: to be announced.

Fee and Enrollment

The course fee, £340, covers tuition, accommodation and full catering on all three training days. Since only 20 delegates only can be enrolled on either course, subscribing really is a case of "first come, first served."

Click here to enroll on a Glugs Training Course