Health, Safety, and Hygiene Practices in Early Childhood Education

This assignment focuses on various aspects of health and safety within early childhood education and care services. It includes written questions covering health assessments, infectious diseases, and hygiene practices. The assignment requires students to understand and document strategies for preventing the spread of infection, cleaning procedures for equipment and linen, and the implementation of policies for managing children with medical conditions. Additionally, it involves analyzing scenarios related to children with specific needs, such as autism and food intolerances, and addressing safety concerns within the learning environment. The goal is to ensure educators can create a safe, healthy, and supportive environment for all children under their care.

Assessment Tasks
You are required to complete three parts in this assessment.
Please note that in addition to completion of the above tasks, to achieve competency,
you will need to complete the required work placement terms and associated Logbooks.
Assessment Plan
The due dates for each task are listed below:
Assessment Task
PART A: Written Questions
PART B: Case Studies
PART C: Simulations
Assessment Task Requirements of Task
PART A: Written
questions
You must correctly answer all questions to
show that you understand the knowledge
required for these units.
PART B: Case studies You are required to read case studies and
complete a series of short answer questions for
each.
PART C: Simulations You are required to be assessed on the
simulations within each assessment

PART A: Written Questions
Question 1
To complete this task refer to (p. 1) of your reading:
Health Guidelines for Child Care Providers Handout 35.
What is a health assessment in Early Childhood education and care service? (50 -70 words)
It is regarding planning for care and plan for educational activities.
When should you conduct this health assessment? (50 – 70 words)
Children in year 1- 6 along with every stage of learning process.
What signs might you observe? (50 – 70 words)
Temperature, Respiratory rate, Blood pressure, Heart rate, oxygen saturation, pain and many other that
can identify any issue.
Question 2
To complete this task, refer to (p. 71) of your reading:
Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services.

a) Public Health Units provide advice and support to education and care services about infectious diseases, infection control practices
and public health issues. List five essential diseases that Public Health Units can provide advice.
 Malaria
 Pneumonia
 Diarrhoea
 Tuberculosis
 HIV
To complete this task, refer to (pp. 90 – 110) of your reading:
Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services.
b) For each of the common childhood illnesses, document:
The symptoms you would look for.
The actions you would take if a child presented with these symptoms.
Illness Symptoms Action to be Taken
Infectious
Conjunctivitis
Discharge from the eyes
Red eyes
Itchy
Watery
Gritty feelings
Pus
Children should be excluded.
Isolate person/child until source of
the infection can be determined.
Keep the room or in education, care
service well cleaned and sanitized.
Frequently hand cleaning/hygiene

among the staff and children.
Diarrhoea and
Vomiting
(Gastroenteritis
)
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhoea
Vomiting
Children should be excluded until
diarrhoea stopped at least 24 hours.
Advice the parent to keep the child
home until child feeling well and has
not had any symptoms at least 24
hours.
Hand hygiene
Educators and other staff who
responsible for food must not return
to work until they have been
symptom free at least 48 hours.
Make sure that proper cleaning
practises are being followed in the
education and care service.
Contact local health authorities when
more than two people diagnosed
diarrhoea. In order to prevent of
outbreaks of the infections, public
health workers may be able to
identify source of the infections. They
may also advice further fine,
appreciate cleaning or disinfecting is
required.
Make sure that infected people do
not go swimming and for two weeks
after diarrhea stops.
Advise and practice the children hand
hygiene after touching pets and farm
animal.
Advise the parent that babies should
vaccinated against rotavirus.
Keep cold food below 5 Celsius, and
hot food not hot above 60 Celsius.
Hand, Foot and
Mouth Disease
Symptoms include: tiny
blisters on various parts
of the body including in
the mouth, on the
Children should be excluded until
blisters have dried.
Advise the parent to care the child at
home until they feel well and all

fingers, palms of hands,
buttocks, nappy area,
soles of the feet, upper
arms or upper legs, fever,
sore throat, runny nose or
cough. Some children
may have vomiting or
diarrhoea. Very difficult
symptom is often the
blisters in the mouth.
blisters have dried.
Regular, effective hand-washing
practise
Cleaning practices are being followed
in the education and care service.
Children/staff should be advised how
to proper and etiquette sneeze and
cough
Question 3
To assist you with this task, refer to (pp. 123 – 129) of your textbook ‘The Big Picture’.
a) Document strategies educators can employ within their practice to prohibit the spread of infection for each of the following:
How infection spreads Strategies for prevention:
Airborne droplets There are three main strategies to prevent infections
transferred by airborne droplets. First is effective,
regular handwashing, second is to exclude ill child or
educators/staff and third is to vaccinate children and
adults/educators/staff.
Body secretions Educators should always wear disposable gloves when
they are dealing with body fluids such as blood, vomit,
saliva and nose secretions. And always proper hand
washing after dealing with body secretions. To protect
children from infections educators should cover all
open wounds, wash or sanitize any part of the body
that comes in contact with blood or body secretions.
Regular, effective cleaning contaminated surfaces,
cloths and linen with disinfectant or bleach solution.
Food All educators/staff who are handling with food must
wear disposable gloves. Storing food at the correct
temperature, cooking and reheating food correctly,
personal hygiene practice, cleaning and sanitizing,
proper procedures for delivering of and storing foods

to the centre. Proper and effective hand washing
practice should be followed by following situations:
before/after handling with raw meat/fruits/vegetables,
after using the toilet, before starts to handle food or
returning to handling food after other work, after
smoking, sneezing, coughing, after touching the hair,
scalp. All area of food preparation and storage must
be cleaned properly.
b) What is one strategy you can use with children to teach them good hygiene and prohibit the spread of infection? (25 – 50 words)
The most effective good hygiene practise for the children is proper, regular and effective
hand-washing. Children should be informed and learned from the beginning when and how to
wash their hand. Since the children learned hand-washing with correct techniques it will be
good habit for rest of their life.
c) How could this strategy be shared with families? (25 – 50 words)
The parents should be advised educators about the proper routine of hand-washing practises
of their children. And parents should support/guide their children when they are hand
washing. Educators also share the small brochures about hand washing techniques.
Question 4
To complete this task, refer to (pp. 53) of your reading:
Staying Healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services.
Educators are responsible for the promotion and implementation of effective hygiene practices which includes procedures and schedules
for washing children’s toys and equipment.

For each of the following items, document the current recommendations as to when each should be cleaned and methods for cleaning.
Equipment When to clean Methods for cleaning
Linen
Wash daily plus when visibly
dirty.
Wash linen in detergent and hot water.
Linen should dry in the sun or on a hot cycle
in the clothes dryer.
Books
Books should be cleaned
when visibly dirty.
Books can be cleaned by wiping with moist
cloth with detergent on it and allowing to
dry
Toys
Wash daily plus when visibly
dirty.
Toys should be washed at the
end of each day, especially
those in rooms with younger
children.
Wash toys when child sneeze
on it or put toys in their
mouth or when toys used by
a child who is unwell.
Toys should be washed when
a child used it while napping
changed.
Toys need to be washed in warm water and
detergent and rinse them all well. Many toys
can be cleaned in a dishwasher but not with
dishes in same time. All toys can be dried by
sunlight.
Cushions
Cushions should be washed
and cleaned daily.
Cushions need to be washed in warm water
and detergent

Question 5
To complete this task, refer to your reading:
Children with medical conditions attending education and care services.
The Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 state that policies and procedures must be in place to deal with medical
conditions.
Using the reading describe how the service can ensure the child's safety, health and well-being, using the enrolment record. (60 words
each answer)
a) Initial enrolment:
This allows getting ensure about the presence of any type of allergy.
b) Once enrolled:
Staring information about the child to parents about child medical condition.

c) With reference to the reading list the six requirements in a medical management plan.
1. Child name
2. Child photograph
3. Child medical history
4. Child’s social environment
5. Child’s full-body diagnosis
6. Child’s diet plan
d) Communication plans enable regular communication between the service and the parent. What must be included in the
communications plan?
It should include
 Ensure when any chages in medical management plan
 Engaging with others
 Child achievement
 Child social skills
 Gathering all the information about the child
Question 6
To complete this task, refer to Chapter 4 of your textbook ‘The Big Picture’.
Scenario: Alfie

Alfie (3 years) has a midrange autism disorder – he has a vocabulary of around 10
words, often attempts to put small objects up his nose, becomes distressed if there are
changes to routine, has ritualistic behaviours, hypersensitive to sound, light and touch.
He can become extremely agitated/panicked by a loud noise and has an aversion to
bright light – he will scream and throw himself down or run away.
a) What questions would you ask Alfie’s parents to help you create a safe environment for Alfie? (25 – 50 words)
Can you please provide Alfie a separate room that includes low light with soundproof?
Scenario: Heidi
Heidi (4 years) has a genetic motor deficit disorder – she walks with an unsteady gait,
falls easily, has low muscle tone and needs assistance with all self-help skills. Heidi can
only eat soft foods as she has difficulty swallowing.
b) What questions would you ask Heidi’s parents to help you create a safe environment for Heidi? (25 – 50 words)
Can you afford Nanny for Heidi to take care 24 hours and help to perform various activities?

Scenario: Callum
Callum (20 Months) is new to the service, and on enrolment, his mother informs you that he has a
severe wheat intolerance.
c) What questions would you ask Callum’s parents to help you create a safe environment for Callum? (25 – 50 words)
What other preferences can be provide to Callum as a meal which should be good for him?
Question 7
To complete this task, refer to your reading:
Supervision Policy.
Scenario: Following Policies
Callum (20 months) has a wheat intolerance and has had a severe allergic reaction after
being given toast fingers at morning tea by the casual educator. Mary, the room leader,
had forgotten to tell the casual educator about Callum’s allergy.
a) How had Mary breached the Blue Bay Early Learning Centre’s Supervision Policy? (25 – 50 words)
Mary should have provided information about the allergy to another casual educator.