Healthy start training

Home Healthy Start training – for professionals

Healthy Start training - for professionals

Visit from the Stork has been commissioned by Salford City Council and Manchester City Council to deliver Healthy Start training for professionals who support families who may be eligible to apply for the NHS Healthy Start Scheme.

Those eligible to attend this training include staff and volunteers from the Local Authority in Salford and Manchester, health professionals including midwives and health visitors, plus charities and other voluntary organisations who support families in Salford and Manchester (such as food banks, baby banks, and other family support charities).

Course content

What the NHS Healthy Start scheme is
Who can apply
How to use the payments
Identifying complex cases
How to deal with complex cases
Know where to signpost and refer service users

Course Delivery and materials

In-person
3-hours
Includes scenario-based group work
Printed walkthrough guide
Electronic walkthrough and copy of training presentation shared following course completion

What is Healthy Start?

Healthy Start is an NHS scheme, supporting eligible families to access financial assistance. You can find full details at the NHS Healthy Start webpage

“If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

If you’re eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. Healthy Start will add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.

You can use your card to buy:

plain liquid cow’s milk
fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

You can also use your card to collect:

Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to 4 years old”

Why are we sharing this training course?

In 2022 it was raised as a major concern that families would be missing out on the Healthy Start card when it became an online form and a ‘card’ rather than vouchers, as ALL families had to reapply. Many families’ claims were being rejected due to small administrative errors meaning the take-up of healthy start decreased.

Families missing out on money across GM = £1000s of unclaimed money whilst 1 in 3 children living in poverty.

Everyone who works or interacts with families – including local businesses, council staff, healthcare staff, volunteers at food banks – should know about Healthy Start and be able to pass on the correct information.