More Than Food
For educators in early childhood education and care. Support children's learning, confidence and connection at mealtimes, while reflecting on your own relationship with food, to build safe, inclusive eating experiences.
About this course
Mealtimes that teach, without the pressure
If mealtimes can feel like the hardest part of your day, you're in good company. A child who won't touch their lunch. A plate pushed away. A worry about whether anyone has eaten “enough”. These small moments shape children's ideas about food, eating, and their bodies, often without any of us noticing.
More Than Food is a self-paced online course for educators who want calmer, more inclusive mealtimes. You'll look at how children learn to eat and what a peaceful relationship with food looks like. You'll see how everyday interactions at the table can support children's autonomy, confidence, curiosity, and connection.
You'll also get space to notice what you bring to the table: the messages you grew up with, the foods you learned to call “good” or “bad”, your own experiences of dieting, or food rules. There's no judgement here, and no expectation of a “perfect” relationship with food. Curiosity and self-compassion are enough to begin.
The plate matters. So does everything that happens around it.
More Than Food is a partnership between Phoenix Support for Educators, Kids Dig Food, and Little Nuggets Nutrition. Your facilitators are dietitians Deb Blakley (Kids Dig Food) and Kirsty Doig (Little Nuggets Nutrition).
Pre-sale is open for the 2027 intake. Content opens in February 2027. Enrol now and it sits in your Thinkific dashboard, with a notification the moment it goes live.
Opens February 2027Who this course is for
Built for the adults at the table
Whoever sits at the table shapes how children learn to eat. If that's you, in a room, a kitchen, or your own home, this course was written with you in mind.
Educators and room leaders
You're at the table for every meal and snack. You'll leave with words and responses you can use at the next mealtime, and a lighter load when a child won't eat.
Educational leaders and directors
You want one approach to food your whole team can carry into mealtimes, mapped to the NQS and to Kindy Uplift priority areas for your planning.
Cooks, kitchen staff and family day care educators
You plan menus, pack the trolley or feed children in your own home. The chapters on menus, allergies, and inclusive mealtimes speak to your part of the day.
Self-paced online45 lessons in 7 chaptersFree preview in the welcome chapterPre-sale for the 2027 intake
In this course
From food rules to food learning
You'll explore how to
recognise what typical eating looks like in the early years, and why children eat differently
notice the messages about food and bodies you carry to the table, with self-compassion
share responsibility at mealtimes so children can trust their own hunger and fullness
take the pressure off, and respond with calm when a child won't eat
set up environments, menus, and lunchbox conversations that invite curiosity and participation
support children with neurodivergent eating differences, allergies, intolerances, and individual feeding needs
decide what changes in your own practice from the very next meal
Why this course
Calmer mealtimes start with the adults
Children are doing their best with the skills and experiences they have. You, the adult at the table, are the one who can meet them there, and this course gives you the understanding and the words to do it.
Everyday moments, put to work
Meals and snacks happen several times a day in your setting. You'll learn to use them as learning time for identity, wellbeing, and communication, with no extra program to run.
Words for the moment a child won't eat
Scripts you can say out loud, ways to take the pressure off, and a clear picture of who decides what at the table.
Inclusion at the table
Neurodivergent eating differences, sensory needs, allergies, and intolerances get their own chapter, so every child in your care can take part as a food learner.
Space for your own relationship with food
You'll reflect on the food culture you grew up in, without judgement, so it stops steering how you respond to children.
Enrol now
Facilitated by dietitians Deb Blakley of Kids Dig Food and Kirsty Doig of Little Nuggets Nutrition. Pre-sale for the 2027 intake; content opens in February 2027.
Course curriculum
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Welcome
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Meet your facilitators
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Finding your way around
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Copyright & your agreement
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FAQ
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Acknowledgement of Country
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1.1 What does typical eating actually look like?
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1.2 Growing, playing and learning
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1.3 Why children eat differently
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1.4 Learning to accept new foods
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1.5 Food doesn’t exist in a vacuum
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2.1 What Is a peaceful relationship with food?
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2.2 The messages we learn about food and bodies
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2.3 What do we bring to the table?
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2.4 Hunger, fullness and trust
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2.5 Rethinking treats, sweets and food rules
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2.6 Reflection with self-compassion
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3.1 Eating Is learning
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3.2 Capable, active food learners
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3.3 Learning through the senses
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3.4 The feeding relationship
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3.5 Curiosity without pressure
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3.6 Food learning in everyday practice
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4.1 Mealtimes matter
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4.2 Creating safety around food
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4.3 Sharing responsibility at mealtimes
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4.4 What’s on the menu?
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4.5 Looking beyond the lunchbox
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5.1 What we do and say matters
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5.2 Taking the pressure off
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5.3 Responsive feeding in practice
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5.4 Safety, trust and individualised care
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5.5 From principles to practice
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About this course
- $198.00
- 45 lessons
- 0 hours of video content
Course content
Children's eating, from first principles to practice
Forty-five self-paced lessons, with a free preview in the welcome section. Each chapter pairs what we cover with what you take back to the table.
We'll explore together
You'll walk away with
Chapter 1
How young children's eating develops, and why children eat differently
Realistic expectations of eating at each age and stage
Chapter 2
What a peaceful relationship with food is, and the messages we learned about food and bodies
A clearer view of what you bring to the table, held with self-compassion
Chapter 3
Children as capable, active food learners: the senses, the feeding relationship, curiosity
Ways to invite exploration without pressure
Chapter 4
Mealtime environments, shared responsibility, menus, and lunchboxes
A mealtime set-up that feels safe and lets children participate
Chapter 5
What we do and say at the table, and responsive feeding in practice
Responses for the moment a child refuses food, and the trust that follows
Chapter 6
Feeding differences and difficulties: neurodivergent eating, allergies, intolerances, and individual needs
Individualised, inclusive mealtimes for every child in your care
Chapter 7
Bringing the banquet together
A plan for what changes in your practice from next week
The thinking behind this course
Dietetics, early learning, and responsive feeding
More Than Food draws on paediatric dietetics, the responsive feeding research, and the Early Years Learning Framework, translated for education and care settings by two facilitators who use it with children, families, and services every day.
Responsive feeding
Adults notice and respond to a child's signals of hunger and fullness, with warmth and without pressure (Black & Aboud, 2011). The course turns this into everyday practice at the table: what to offer, how to respond, and when to step back.
Division of Responsibility in Feeding
Ellyn Satter's model gives adults the job of what, when, and where food is offered, and children the job of whether and how much to eat (Satter, 1986). Chapter 4 works through sharing responsibility at mealtimes.
The Early Years Learning Framework
Mealtimes connect to the EYLF V2.0 outcomes for identity, wellbeing, and communication (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022), so what you learn here sits inside the planning you already do.
Weight-neutral, neuro-affirming practice
The course centres neurodivergent eating differences and a weight-neutral approach to feeding, so each child's needs shape their mealtimes and every child is treated as a capable food learner.
References
Australian Government Department of Education. (2022). Belonging, being and becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-law-regulations/approved-learning-frameworks
Black, M. M., & Aboud, F. E. (2011). Responsive feeding is embedded in a theoretical framework of responsive parenting. The Journal of Nutrition, 141(3), 490–494. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.110.129973
Satter, E. (1986). The feeding relationship. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 86(3), 352–356.
All educators should do this course!
Jason G
I am a highly experience educator who has worked in early childhood for 30 years. This course gave me a clear understanding of how to approach children with...
Read MoreI am a highly experience educator who has worked in early childhood for 30 years. This course gave me a clear understanding of how to approach children with challenging behaviours that can be a struggle and helped me make sense of why the approach I have taken over my many years in early childhood have either worked or not worked. I feel all educators need to invest the time in doing this course to help them become better educators as there are too many people using outdated and harmful child behaviour practices. It is definitely worth it and the more people who do it, the better early childhood services can be at providing quality education and care for children.
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Accredited Practising Dietitian and founder of Kids Dig Food Deb Blakley
Deb is the founder, director and lead Accredited Practising Dietitian of Kids Dig Food. After years working as a community and clinical dietitian, she has spent over a decade helping families, educators and services build equity and access around food, and support children's social and emotional learning through calm, responsive mealtime practice. Her work centres neurodivergent eating differences and a weight-neutral, responsive feeding approach.
Email
Paediatric Dietitian and founder of Little Nuggets Nutrition Kirsty Doig
Kirsty is a paediatric dietitian registered with Dietitians Australia and the founder of Little Nuggets Nutrition. She works with families of neurodivergent children, including autism, ADHD, PDA and sensory processing differences, supporting their autonomy, self-regulation and executive function around food through a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed approach that puts the child's pace and body cues first.
Quality Areas 1, 2 and 5
NQS alignment
Mapping this course to your Quality Improvement Plan or a funding application? It supports practice in six NQS Elements across three Quality Areas, and connects to three Queensland Kindy Uplift priority areas and the three Victorian School Readiness Funding priority areas. Open each one for the details. Eligible Queensland kindergarten services can put Kindy Uplift funding towards this course, and Victorian services can use it as a flexible spend under School Readiness Funding; eligibility for both is in the questions below.
Element 1.1.3Program learning opportunities
All aspects of the program, including routines, are organised in ways that maximise opportunities for each child's learning.
Element 1.2.3Child directed learning
Each child's agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions that influence events and their world.
Element 2.1.2Health practices and procedures
Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
Element 2.1.3Healthy lifestyle
Healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child.
Element 5.1.1Positive educator to child interactions
Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident and included.
Element 5.1.2Dignity and rights of the child
The dignity and rights of every child are maintained.
Priority area 1Culturally safe, inclusive and responsive kindergarten programs
Equity and access for all: inclusive mealtimes, individual feeding needs, allergies, and intolerances, and neurodivergent eating differences (Chapters 4 and 6).
Priority area 2Social and emotional learning
Children's confidence, trust in their own body signals, and connection with others at the table (Chapters 2, 3, and 5).
Priority area 4Executive function
Self-regulation around hunger and fullness, and children making their own choices within a shared structure (Chapters 4 and 5).
Eligibility is in the questions below. Read the Kindy Uplift program details on the Queensland Government site
Priority areaCommunication (language, literacy and numeracy)
Mealtime conversations, food words, and children telling you about their own bodies and preferences (Chapters 3 and 5).
Priority areaWellbeing (social, emotional and executive function)
Confidence, trust in body signals, and self-regulation around hunger and fullness (Chapters 2, 4, and 5).
Priority areaAccess, inclusion and participation
Individualised, inclusive mealtimes for children with feeding differences, allergies, and intolerances (Chapter 6).
More Than Food is not on the School Readiness Funding Menu. Services that receive over $10,000 can spend up to 25% of their funding flexibly on programs that align with these priority areas, after discussing it with their Early Childhood Improvement Branch. Read about School Readiness Funding on the Victorian Government site
NQS Element wording from the Guide to the National Quality Framework (ACECQA, 2026). Kindy Uplift priority areas as named by the Queensland Government Department of Education (2026). School Readiness Funding priority areas as named by the Victorian Department of Education (2026).
Frequently asked questions
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When does the course open?
Content opens in February 2027. Enrol now and More Than Food sits in your Thinkific dashboard, with a notification the moment it goes live. The welcome chapter is a free preview you can open today.
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Is this worth my time?
If you sit with children at meals or snacks, yes. You'll leave with responses for the moment a child won't eat, a clear picture of who decides what at the table, and a plan for inclusive mealtimes your whole team can share.
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Can we use Kindy Uplift funding?
Possibly, if your service is eligible. In 2026, Kindy Uplift is open to Queensland services with Kindergarten Program Provider approval before 30 September 2025 that take part in Free Kindy. It funds professional development that builds teacher and educator capability, focussed on one or more of six priority areas. More Than Food connects to areas 1, 2 and 4: culturally safe, inclusive and responsive kindergarten programs; social and emotional learning; and executive function. The department keeps no approved supplier list. Services decide with their advisory support organisation whether a provider suits them.
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Can Victorian kindergartens use School Readiness Funding?
Possibly, as a flexible spend. Services that receive over $10,000 can spend up to 25% of their funding on programs that are not on the School Readiness Funding Menu, where the program aligns with the three priority areas or a local priority and addresses educational disadvantage and the needs of the children at the service. Discuss it with your Early Childhood Improvement Branch before you enrol.
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Will I get a certificate?
Yes. A certificate is issued automatically through Thinkific when you complete the course.
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Can I buy licences for my whole team?
Yes. Choose the number of seats at checkout, one licence per learner. For larger team arrangements, contact Phoenix Support.
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Can our team share one login?
One licence covers one learner. The course can't be shared or screened to a group from a single licence; each educator needs their own, so their progress and certificate are their own.
