Ensuring Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education: A Comprehensive Assessment Guide

Question

Task: How can early childhood educators effectively ensure the Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education of children in their care?

Answer

File naming

Once you feel confident that you have covered the learning materials for this unit, you are ready to attempt this assessment.

To help Open Colleges manage your assessment, please use the following file-naming convention: [student number] _ [assessment] _ [assessment number].doc for example 12345678_21850a_01.doc.

Assissent subissions

When you are ready to submit your assessment, upload the file in Open Space using the Assessment Upload links in the relevant Module of your course. If you need further assistance, the Student Lounge provides a ‘Quick Guide to Uploading Assessments’. Uploading assessments in Open Space will enable Open Colleges to provide you with the fastest feedback and grading for your assessment.

It is important that you keep a copy of all electronic assessments submitted to Open Colleges.

Getting started

The assessment activities in this booklet have been designed to allow you to provide evidence that demonstrates your competence in the unit CHCECE002 Ensure the Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education of children.

Your trainer will:

· answer any questions that you might have about the assessment

· assess your competence as required by the unit of competency, by making judgments about the evidence you have presented in line with the rules of evidence: validity, authenticity, currency and sufficiency

· Provide feedback on the outcomes of the assessment process.

Introduction

You are required to complete two assessment tasks for CHCECE002 Ensure the Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education of children.

In completing the final assessments, you will show evidence of your ability to:

· support each child’s health needs

· provide opportunities to meet each child’s need for sleep, rest and relaxation

· implement effective hygiene and health practices

· supervise children to ensure Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education

· minimise risks

· contribute to the ongoing management of allergies

· contribute to the ongoing management of asthma.

Assessment number	Assessment deliverables
31484/01	Written assessment
31484/02	Project

31484/01 Written assessment

Part A Short answer questions Student instructions

· Answer the following questions.

· Your responses may be recorded or presented in a written format. Written responses for each answer should be approximately 100 words in length. The written responses may be presented in narrative or bullet point format.

· To answer questions accurately, you may refer to:

o applicable legislation including the National Quality Standard and Education and Care Services National Regulations, along with the Belonging, Being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework

o recommendations from a recognised health authority

o the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics

o policies and procedures common to early childhood education and care services

o position descriptions detailing an educator’s duty of care responsibilities

o other sources such as professional readings along with the course textbook and identified key resources.

· Ensure you acknowledge and cite your sources accordingly. This is important whether you use your own words or quote the author’s words. For more information on referencing and plagiarism, refer to the ‘Academic reference guide’ in the Student Handbook.

· When referring to policies and procedures or position descriptions please submit with your assessment to support your answer.

Short answer questions

1. Discuss four ways to prevent infection in an early childhood environment?

Implement effective hand hygiene through the a-proprietress procedures of hand washing.

Make sure to appropriately implement exclusion procedures for ill children, educators and other staff

Ensure appropriate use of gloves, sneeze etiquette and effective environmental cleaning.

Ensure all children are up to date with the appropriate immunizations for their age.

2. List three indirect ways infections can be spread. Food and drink preparation

Uncleared toys, dummies, sleeping linen and cushions, bathrooms and toilets, sandpits, playdough.

3. Identify three occasions or situations when an educator should wash their hands.

Before food preparation

After nappy changing

After dressing wounds, cleaning vomit, urine.

4. Describe two ways you can respect a child’s need for privacy during toileting, dressing and undressing times.

Stand in front of door but turned away so you are in hearing distance but aren't looking at them.

Ask the child if they need help and if not let them know you are near by if they do need your help they should just call out.

5. Complete the following sentences about the correct way to administer medication.

a. Medication given to a child in care must be authorised by Parent.

b. The medication must be clearly marked with the Child's name and dosage.

c. The medication must not exceed the Use by date.

d. The medication must be in its original Packaging.

e. The parents must fill in a medication authorisation form for the child with the name of the medication, amount, time, time of last does, and How medication should be administered and stored .name of the child

f. Medication should be stored well away from Children.

6. Briefly explain the key environmental factors that can impact on rest and sleep within an early childhood and education care setting.

Ensure environment is quiet and comforting while children are sleeping/resting.

Ensure the rest practices are consistent with approved standards and meet children's individual needs such as: understanding a child's cues for tiredness. Families will be able to discuss what starter goes can be made in relation to the child's sleeping practices and routines.

7. Describe two strategies you can implement to adequately supervise children to ensure Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education.

Make sure all children are always in sight or hearing distance this is implemented through effective educator to child ratio. This way educators are able to assess which situations need more supervision than others. Such as the level, of risk or age of child etc. make sure to always be alert and moving around the room.

8. Describe four hazards that you might find in an early childhood and education service (inside and out). Then describe the action you would take to eliminate or minimise risk.

List of potential hazards	Action you would take
Sun Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education	Ensure appropriate clothing and sunscreen
Child collection	Ensure that all staff are aware of the procedures as to how and who children are released to
Dangerous products (chemicals)	Ensure Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education procedures are rolled in keeping chemicals away from children at all times and that they are appropriately stored
Outdoor hazards	Ensure a yard check is done everyday before children enter the yard.

9. Identify six signs that you should look for in an attack of asthma, which may indicate an appropriate time for a child to use an asthma reliever.

Breathlessness

Wheezing

A tight feeling in the chest

Continuing cough

Difficulty saying sentences

Blue lips

Drowsiness.

10. State what steps you can take to actively implement an early childhood education and care service’s procedure for the safe collection of children to avoid releasing a child into the care of a non-authorised person.

Children are to be signed out

The authorized person should notify Educator that they taking the child out of the service

If a child is to be picked up by someone other than the authorized person this needs to be put into writing and all staff and management need to be notified

11.

10. There are many causes for childhood injuries, many of which can be avoided. For each of the below identify two preventative measures (actions) you can take in an education and care setting to reduce the risk of injury

Injury	Possibly caused by	Preventative measures
Choking	Swallowing small objects such as food, batteries, bottle caps, coins or balloons	Ensure small objects aren't in reach of small children and that food is cut up to appropriate size. Also ensure constant supervision at all times
Poisoning	Ingesting medicines or cleaning products	Ensure all products are kept locked away out of reach of children
Drowning	Unsupervised water play	Ensure constant supervision
Burns or scalding	Stoves, ovens, steam from kettles or hot liquids, fire	Ensure all equipment are not in reach of children
Strangulation	Necklaces, drawstrings on clothes, cords on toys, appliances or window blinds	Ensure all cords are appropriately enstalled and or cut off or put out of reach of children
Sunburn	Inadequate sun protection	Ensure appropriate clothing and sunscreens and covered areas
Head injuries	Falls from highchairs, slippery floors or a fall from the play equipment	Ensure constant supervision and safe environments
Eye injuries	Dust, sand or chemical sprays	Ensure appropriate eye protection when working with sprays or chemicals. Ensure constant supervision in sandpit and ensure dust free environments.
Fractures and sprains	Hard falls	Ensure soft landing areas. Ensure appropriate supervision.
Bumps, scrapes, bruises, fractures, sprains, permanent disability or death	Running out into the service car park or road	Ensure these areas are not easily accessible to children and that doors are locked at all times.

12. 12.

Responsibility for the management of asthma is shared. In the table below, or similar, identify five actions that parents, the service and educators should do to work together to provide a safe and healthy environment for children with asthma.

Five actions under each heading should be recorded.

Parents or guardians	Service	Educator (staff)
Ensure they have a copy of the asthma plan	Ensure staff are educated on the triggers and symptoms	Ensure staff are aware of children with asthma
Ensure medication is up to date	Inform parents of any incidents	Ensure that you are aware of where the kit is and how to administer it
Ensure medication is accessible in the child's class	Ensure asthma kit is placed in an appropriate location	Take initiative in training and planning for the probability of an asthma attack
	Ensure asthma kit is available and medication is up to date and not empty.	Ensure that the environment is suitable and safe in relation to the child's asthma triggers and prepare for the possibility
	Ensure appropriate training is provided to staff

Part B - Case studies

Student instructions

· Read the following case studies, then answer the questions or complete the task that follows.

· Your responses may be recorded or presented in a written format. Written responses for each answer should be approximately 100 – 200 words in length. The written responses may be presented in narrative or bullet point format.

· To answer questions accurately, you may refer to:

o recommendations from a recognised health authority

o the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics

o policies and procedures common to early childhood education and care services

position descriptions detailing an educator’s duty of care responsibilities

Sources such as professional readings along with the course textbook and identified key resources.

· When referring to policies and procedures or position descriptions please submit with your assessment to support your answer.

Case studies

Case study 1

Jeng, a child age two, has a suspected case of hand, foot and mouth disease. Jeng’s mum has been contacted and has come to pick him up. She is very upset and wants to know why Jeng must be excluded – to her he seems well, and she cannot take time off from her job to stay home with him.

Answer or complete the following tasks:

1. Discuss the points you should discuss with Jeng’s mother.

Jangs mother seems to be unaware that hand, foot and mouth disease is highly contagious and can spread across children very easily. It is important that she is educated regarding the disease so as to understand its risks and also how she may be able to protect herself and other people coming in to contact with Jang.

2. State what documentation could be referred to when discussing the situation with Jeng’s mother, and explain why would this would be helpful in the discussion.

Too help educate Jangs mother WHO (world health organization) educations facts sheets on hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) should be presented to Jangs mother. It’s also important to present the mother with some images of serious infections which have not been treated quickly to demonstrate the severity of the concern (Daniel, Wassell, & Gilligan, 2011).

Case Study 2

Monica is a 19 month old who attends your service. Soon after arriving she appears flushed and warm to touch. She is generally an outgoing child however today does not want to play with the other children. She remains seated on floor cushions near you while others play with toys nearby. Before morning tea she has diarrhea, which has escaped her nappy. She has two similar episodes in the next two hours and a temperature of 37.2 degrees. When you contact Monica’s father to ask that she be collected he says he is unable to get there for another two to three hours due to an important work meeting.

Answer or complete the following tasks:

1. What would you do to comfort Monica?

It is important to avoid adding stress to the child when they are not feeling well thus it’s important to first offer support and retain once positive attitude towards the child. Temperature should be monitored carefully to ensure its not rising rapidly which could result in serious health conditions for the child. The child should be provided with adequate liquid to prevent dehydrations and kept alone to rest as well as avoid any infection spreading to other children.

2. What would you do to minimize the risk of infection to other children and staff?

Isolation is the best way of isolating any infections from spreading across the children as many are curious and will want to maintain close interactions. Monica can be moved to a different room where other children do not have access of and allowed to rest of sleep while an attendant monitors her temperature and conditions closely while her father travels to pick her. Other precautions to manage temperature should be put in place to avoid her temperature rising to dangerous levels.

Case Study 3

Caden has been absent for a few days. When he returns to care his mum, Angie, tells you that he is recovering from an ear infection and that he needs to take antibiotics twice a day and have ear drops administered every 4 hours.

She provides a medical certificate stating Caden is well enough to return to care and a letter from his Doctor detailing the medication he has to take. You will need to give Caden the antibiotics at 5.00pm as his mother does not collect him until 5.30pm and also the ear drops at 11.00am and 3.00pm.

Answer or complete the following tasks:

1. Summarise what you need to do to ensure medication can be administered to Caden whilst in care, in accordance with your service’s policy and procedure.

Firstly the head nurse or head of the day care center should take responsibility of managing the child’s medications administration. Placing once person in charge will ensure the medication has been properly administrated on time. It’s also important to set an alarm or reminder for the child’s medication administration. This will eliminate the possibility of the forgetting to administer the medication

2. Outline (step by step) how you would administer the medication to Caden

- The antibiotics

It is important to ensure the antibiotic is in syrup form as children have difficulty swallowing tablets. This makes it easier to administer. The child’s should first have the antibiotics after which the tear drops can be administers

- The ear drops.

The ear drops need to be administers on the child affected ear first and allowed to penetrate ad deep as possible in to the affected ear. This may require for the nurse to confirm the child for minute of two by telling a short story while the medications penetrates the ear.

3. State how medication provided should be stored whilst at the service.

Case study 4

Jackson, aged 4, at the moment is refusing to wash his hands before eating. He attends care 5 days each week and has protested to washing his hands for the last 3 days. He seems adamant he does not need to wash his hands and that they are clean.

Answer or complete the following task:

1. Describe four practices you could implement to support Jackson learn and implement personal hygiene practices.

Some children will be defiant towards hygiene and attempting to tell them to follow a hygienic routine does not change their attitude. In such situations the child needs to be encouraged to develop the practice through reward. Washing hands and maintained a hygienic life style should be rewarded with something the child loves doing. It’s important to avoid over rewarding the child since they should not associate of limit practicing the habit for reward. Every time they practice the require hygiene practice they should be rewarded and then gradually they should be asked to practice it on their own without reminding to secure reward. Gradually this will develop in to a habit and the rewards can gradually be withdrawn.

Case study 5

Banjo is a 2 ½ year old who attends care three days each week. He is becoming increasingly harder to settle after lunch for his sleep.

His mother, Kate, has stated he does not always have a day sleep at home, and that typically he is asleep by 7pm. He sleeps 12 – 13 hours each night.

You have observed during the day Banjo does not tend to display tired signs or cues.

Answer or complete the following tasks:

1. How can you ensure sleep and rest practices meet Banjo’s individual needs?

Banjo is clearly an inactive child and likely to not be participating in physical activities which can make his physically tired. This is leading him to remain awake the whole day which results in making him more tired at night which makes his sleep longer. It’s important to include physical activity and games to the child’s routine and ensure he gets physically tires which will automatically instigate sleep. It’s also important to observe the child’s diet as his ma y be consuming a high sugar diet which is making the child hyper during day hours and distracting his sleeps patterns.

2. How could information be shared with his parents about his daily rest or sleep at the service?

It is important to consult and meet his parents face to face to discuss the concern since he child seems to be lacking physical activity and may be consuming a high sugar diet which is affecting his sleep patterns directly. The parents need to be met directly and the concern rose to help identify his physical activeness and diets intake while at home.

Case study 6

Nave, a 3 year old child with severe allergies is enrolled to start care at the service at the commencement of the year. Nave is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts such as cashews, almonds and hazelnuts, and egg.

Nave’s parents, Sarah and Michael, have told you Nave can experience difficulty breathing, swelling or tightness in the throat and a hoarse voice as a result of her allergies. Symptoms usually appear within minutes of exposure to the allergens.

Neve has been prescribed adrenaline in an auto-injector, commonly known as an EpiPen ® for administration in an emergency. She currently weighs less than 20kg so uses the EpiPen ® junior which administers a smaller dose of adrenaline.

Answer or complete the following tasks:

1. What would you ask the parents for while they are enrolling Neve?

The parents will need to prove all emergency medications and especially the EpiPen ® junior to be provided to the care center and the nurse educated on its use as well as how o analyses symptoms which may indicate expose and an allergic reaction.

2. What procedures would you need to ensure are in place before Neve commences care?

Tit is critical to have the EpiPen ® junior auto injection ready for use at all times and educate all care givers regarding the child’s medical condition

3. What privacy considerations should be taken into account in relation to Neve’s health needs?

While parents and care givers can prevent Neve from consuming the identified products it’s not possible to identify allergy agents in other children food which may be shared with Neve. This makes it important never does not share other children’s food.

4. How would you ensure Neve does not eat nuts and eggs, and is catered for during meal times?

Her meals need to be made separately excusing these allergic products but more importantly is ensuring she does not consume other children’s snakes which may contain products like peanut butter.

5. What training would be necessary for the staff before Neve commences?

The nurse and care givers must be provided with training to educate them regarding how to detect the allergic reactions and first aid required managing the child. They also need to be educated on allergy agent and be instructed not to allow Neve to eat other children food or snacks.

6. Develop an individual Anaphylaxis Plan to display at the service for Neve. Outline how to administer the EpiPen ® junior in your plan.

Neve individual Anaphylaxis
Allergic Reactions to	peanuts, tree nuts such as cashews, almonds and hazelnuts, and egg
Symptoms	difficulty breathing, swelling or tightness in the throat and a hoarse voice
Symptoms usually appear within minutes of exposure to the allergens.
Actions to be taken	Consult the Care center nurse immediately who will review then administer EpiPen ® Junior auto injection available with the nurse

Case study 7

Jett, aged 9 months, has arrived at care for the last 5 days wearing a hooded jacket or jumper due to the cooler weather.

Policies and procedures in place at the service ask that this type of clothing be avoided, in particular for young children who have a sleep or rest when at the service for Health and Safety in Early Childhood Education reasons.

Answer or complete the following task:

Outline the points you should discuss with Jett’s parents to ensure Jett is dressed appropriately and in accordance with the service’s clothing and/or sleep and rest policies and procedures in place. Ensure you state the potential hazards and risks that Jett could be faced with when wearing a hoodie at childcare.

Babies require to be clothed in easy to wear and remove clothing to avoid over stressing third points while changing. It’s also important to offer loos clothing while sleeping to avoid over straining certain parts of the body. The hoody is risk due to it being tight on the neck which could result in strangulation while sleeping or even block blood flow to important organs of the body.

Bibliography

Daniel, B., Wassell, S., & Gilligan, R. (2011). Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers: Second Edition. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sicherer, S. H. (2007). Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It. Maryland: JHU Press.

Case study 7

Jett, aged 9 months, has arrived at care for the last 5 days wearing a hooded jacket or jumper due to the cooler weather.

Answer or complete the following task:

Bibliography

Daniel, B., Wassell, S., & Gilligan, R. (2011). Child Development for Child Care and Protection Workers: Second Edition. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Sicherer, S. H. (2007). Food Allergies: A Complete Guide for Eating When Your Life Depends on It. Maryland: JHU Press.

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