With a specific focus on healthy eating and healthy weight the Best Start with HENRY service offers:

• Targeted Healthy Families programmes for families of children who have been identified as requiring additional support in this area
• A series of standalone universal healthy eating workshops for families on starting solids, and healthy eating in the early years
• A broad training programme for all education, health professionals and community and voluntary organisations who work with families of children aged 0-5, including raising the issue of weight;
• Supporting the already established Eat Better Start Better programme in early years settings, run by Hackney Learning Trust;
• Promotion and delivery of Healthy Start
• General health promotion of healthy, active lifestyles including healthy eating and early nutrition across services, and to health and education professionals who work with 0-5 year olds within the City and Hackney.

For up-to-date timetables, please visit our website. 

Eligibility criteria

Inclusions

Children aged under 5 years who live or are registered with a GP in the City and Hackney AND one of the following:

• Parents/carers who are concerned about their child’s weight, eating habits or physical activity levels or
• Professionals working with under 5 year olds and their families who are concerned about a child’s weight or
• A child over two years of age with a BMI >91^st centile
• A child whose weight is on or above the 99.6^th centile
• A child whose weight has gone up by more than two centile lines

Exclusions

• Fussy eating/food neophobia where the child is not growing well
• Nutritional deficiencies e.g. iron deficiency
• Patients on oral nutritional supplements
• Constipation and diarrhoea
• Non oral feeding
• Multiple allergies.  Children would require referral to secondary care Homerton allergy service
• Children with long-term conditions including diabetes or morbidities

How to refer

The following clinicians can refer to this service: GPs, Nurses,