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Top Challenges That Early Childcare Educators Face

We at Elearn are always looking to share valuable information with our followers.  The Houses of the Oireachtas have written a very informative Report on the Working Conditions of the Early Years Education and Care.

Early Childcare Educators Challenges

Training and Upskilling

vi) The Role of State Funded Training Agencies in Improving Quality Standards Training organisations offering accredited childcare training programmes have a crucial role to play in ensuring the high standard of training on offer. Training organisations need to be fully committed to providing the best quality training programmes for the early years workforce. Those facilitating programmes must hold the appropriate skills, experience and qualifications and regularly access continuing professional development themselves to keep updated in early childhood policy and practice.

Quality assurance standards should be consistently applied and all early childhood care and education programme content should be current, relevant and fit for purpose. Training organisations should also ensure that there are sufficient places available on part-time courses so that the early childhood workforce can combine work and study while progressing to levels 7 and above on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Systems of Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) should be in place to recognise and reward the skills base developed by staff working in the sector, who require formally recognised qualifications, over a number of years.

Both education and training appear to be better predictors of childcare quality than practitioner’s age, work experience or professionalism. The fact that childcare providers who continuously participate in training offer higher quality care than providers who attended training sporadically is also evident. In Ireland, most training currently supported by State funding in the Early Childhood sector focuses on the ECCE scheme, with less training or development offered for those working with children under three years of age (e.g. Leadership for Inclusion (LINC) training). It was highlighted by practitioners that the level of supports available to those working with children over three should be available to those working with under 3s, and that there cannot be an inequality in relation to supports available. Such inequality serves only to disadvantage both staff and children….. Continue reading 

 

If you are interested in Childcare Courses to up-skill yourself or your colleagues/employees, take a look at our ChildCare Package overview here where we have bundled all the course requirement for early childcare educators for your connivance at a cheaper price then taking all the courses separately.

 

Do you know what “The Big 8” food allergies are?

“The Big 8” food allergens

If you work in the food business it’s important that you are aware of potential food allergens of any of your customers.

There is a group of the major allergens in food which is known as the “The Big 8”. These * allergens include;

  • Milk
  • Eggs
  • Peanuts
  • Other nuts
  • Peanuts
  • Fish
  • Wheat
  • Soya
  • Crustaceans  (Crabs, prawns, lobsters)

14 allergens under Irish Legislation

These eight allergens account for about 90% of allergic reactions, however by law in Ireland there are 14 allergens that must be declared, the other 6 allergens added to The Big 8 listed above are;

  • Celery
  • Mustard
  • Sesame seeds
  • Sulphur dioxide (at concentrates higher than 10mg/kg)
  • Lupin
  • Molluscs (Mussels, oysters, squid, snails)

Kiwi and Strawberry fruit is also becoming a more frequent allergen but still 10 times less common than the main ones: milk, eggs and peanuts. Of course there are many other allergens that cause problems for people however under legislation you are only required to list the above common 14, all other allergens are not covered by allergen labelling requirements.

Allergen information requirements

In Ireland, Allergen information must:

  • Be provided in written form in English or in Irish and English
  • Be easily located and accessible before the sale or supply of the food – customers must have the information before buying and must not have to ask for the information
  • Relate directly to a food or beverage so there is no confusion about which food it relates to. It is not acceptable to say ‘Our food contains…’. You must identify the exact food e.g. ‘spaghetti bolognaise – contains milk, celery, wheat’
  • Be in a legible handwritten or printed format

 

Source – FSAI

If you have any furhter questions or are interested in learning more about food safety, please contact us on+353 1 278 1938 and we will be happy to help you!

Why is it important to have Food Safety training?

Every restaurant needs to take pride in serving safe and great food to their customers. It is one of the most important focuses in all food establishments. A thorough understanding of food safety is essential for food handlers to demonstrate food hygiene best practice, to prevent risk of contamination or foodborne illnesses. Food handlers and food businesses are responsible for the safety of the food that they provide to consumers. Their responsibilities include ensuring food is safe for consumption, and that its quality meets expectations.

The different types of foodborne illnesses

Chemical contamination

Chemical contaminants may be harmful to health at certain levels. It is necessary to manage their levels in food and reduce exposure to consumers. This type refers to food that been contaminated with some type of chemical. Chemical contaminants can enter the food chain from multiple sources. Contamination can occur during primary production from various environmental sources including:

  • Pollution
  • Waste from factories
  • Landfills
  • Incinerators
  • Fires
  • During cooking and processing
  • Storage – mycotoxins
  • Transportation and handling
  • Time, temperature and humidity

Common types of chemicals are in cleaning products you use to clean the kitchen. However there are certain chemicals that occur naturally in food. There are many natural chemicals present in our foods, including nutrients such as vitamin C as well as chemicals responsible for the aroma and flavour that we love in our foods. Natural food chemicals may also be poisonous to humans, which is why some plants are poisonous to eat.

Physical contamination

This type refers to contamination by a foreign object at some stage of the production process. These objects have the ability to injure someone and can also potentially carry harmful biological contaminants, which causes illness. Examples of physical contamination include;

  • Band-aids
  • Fingernails
  • Pieces of cooking equipment

These are the last thing you would like to find on your meal. That is why all bandaids must be bright blue by people working with food so it is easily identifiable as its an unnatural colour in the food industry.

Biological contamination

This type refers to the food that has been contaminated by substances produced by living creatures, such as humans, rodants, pests or microorganisms. This includes bacterial contamination, viral contamination or parasite contamination that’s transferred through;

  • Salvia
  • Pest droppings
  • Blood
  • Fecal matter

Baterial contamination is thought to be the most common cause of food poisoning worldwide. Bacteria need a constant source of food to survive, especially protein. High protein foods such as meat are particularly vulnerable to biological contamination from bacteria, which means they’re considered high-risk foods.

 

If you are looking to get qualified in Food Safety (HACCP)  have a look at our course breakdown here.

Allergies on the Increase

The increase in allergies in todays society is due to a numbers of factors.

Some experts say that excessive cleanliness is responsible for an increased risk of developing allergies. There is no doubt that food allergies have increased over the past decade and there is a growing awareness around food allergies. According to Safe Food, 17 million of Europeans suffer from a food allergy!

A food allergy is when a person produces a range of symptoms, which can vary from mild itching to severe breathing difficulties and they usually appear straight after eating food.

The fist stage of the process is called sensitization when the immune system’s memory registers the eaten food as a threat to the body. Antibodies to that food are produced and at a subsequent encounter these antibodies connect with the foods proteins and trigger the release of certain substances in the body such as histamine. Allergen reactive T2 cells play a triggering role in the activation and /or recruitment of antibody producing B cells, a process that is involved in the allergic inflammation. This is attributed to certain genes and the modern urban lifestyle and food choices that we now have.

The theories behind this increase are speculative but include the following suggestions, Atmospheric pollution, great use of detergents and chemicals, sterile cleaning products, carpets, curtains, soft furnishings and central heating at home, overuse of antibiotics in infants and over processed food.

The new legislation called the Food Information for Consumers Regulation increases a growing awareness about food allergies.

So will people continue to become allergic due to their immune system being depleted. Time will tell us if this is the case.

Here are some interesting facts about food allergies in Ireland.

  • 2-20% estimates of how common food intolerances are vary widely.
  • Anywhere from 1-23 in every 10,000 people could be intolerant to food additives.
  • 1 in 20 adults in Ireland are estimated to be lactose intolerant.
  • 28% of the Irish population suffer from some type of allergy.
  • 15% need to see a specialist over their condition.
  • Food allergy is particularly common in children.
  • 1 in 50 children have a life threatening nut allergy.
  • 10% of children have more than 1 allergic disorder.
  • Allergen prevalence has more than doubled in the last 20 years.
  • 30-35% of Irish people suffer from some sort of allergy in their lives.

Check out our HACCP Food Safety 1 and HACCP Food Safety 2 Certified Online Courses.