PRESS RELEASE – Septembre 16, 2019 – Thanks to a partnership between the Continuing Education of the Université de Moncton, Moncton campus and the Saskatchewan French Health Network (RSFS), the bilingual Healthy Start/Départ Santé (HSDS) training program is now available online. Since its inception in 2012, the HSDS professional development program has trained more than 2,600 early childhood educators to help them integrate healthy eating and physical activity into early childhood settings.
Gabrielle Lepage-Lavoie, Manager of the Healthy Start Program, said: “This initiative will make the promotion of physical activity and healthy eating even more accessible to early childhood workers across Canada. We are proud of the quality product that is available and look forward to sharing it with childcare educators and health care professionals working with young children. »
Sylvie Desjardins, Professional Development Officer at the Continuing Education, is pleased to see the addition of this new course to their schedule:
” The Continuing Education of the Université de Moncton is proud to partner with the RSFS on this project. I am convinced that making Healthy Start widely available through an interactive and accessible learning platform will make a difference by helping more early childhood professionals access practical tools to promote physical activity and healthy eating, which are essential components for optimal child development. »
The development of the online training began in 2017 with the New Brunswick Medical Training Centre, affiliated with the University of Sherbrooke. The University of Moncton’s Learning Technology Group was responsible for technical and pedagogical development of the online platform, in collaboration with the Department of Education Early Childhood Development of New Brunswick. The HSDS training is now integrated to the Department’s introductory online modules for Early Childhood Education.
To learn more about Healthy Start online training, visit our online training page:
https://healthystartkids.ca/training/healthy-start-online-course/
HSDS was developed by the RSFS – Saskatchewan French Health Network in collaboration with its partners in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick; the program is funded by the Public Health Agency and the Saskatchewan Government – Community Initiatives Fund.