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.
Free Poster – CPL Regulation Classification and Labelling
We at Elearn are always looking to share valuable information with our followers. The Health and Safety Authority of Ireland have a handy poster that explains the classification and labelling and packaging of chemical substances. This Poster clearly explains the elements of The CPL Regulation.
What is The CPL Regulation?
The GHS has been implemented in the EU by Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (the ‘CLP Regulation’). The CLP Regulation entered into force on 20 January 2009. The deadline for substance classification according to the new rules was 1 December 2010; for mixtures, the deadline is 1 June 2015. The CLP Regulation replaces previous rules on classification, labelling and packaging of substances (Directive 67/548/EEC) and preparations (Directive 1999/45/EC) after this transitional period.
In line with the GHS standard, CLP allows for the identification of hazardous chemicals and the communication of these hazards to users through labelling. It also provides the basis for safety data sheets (SDS) regulated under the REACH Regulation, and sets requirements for the packaging of hazardous chemicals.
Source – https://ec.europa.eu
Poster Link – CLP Poster 1 (A4 size) – Classification and Labelling elements
Check out our Chemical Safety blog – How chemicals enter and effect the body
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.
Is your Workplace Ready for an Emergency?
How to prepare for an emergency in your workplace
All workplaces should be prepared to deal with an emergency of any nature, at any time. Therefore the best time to respond to an emergency is before it happens.
The saying goes, “Fail to plan; plan to fail,” and it applies to preparation and response. Having a plan in place to deal with emergencies, and ensuring that all employees are aware of it and trained on it. This is one of the best things that your company can do to prepare to deal with an emergency. Below, we’ve listed some tips for emergency planning and preparedness in the workplace:
1. Develop a plan that takes all emergencies into consideration
Include policies and procedures for employee safety. Consider a spills response plan if your company houses, uses, or transport dangerous chemicals. Also a lockdown procedure in case of a violent event. This plan should also include contingency plans that deal with potential damage to facilities, and how employees, vendors, and customers will be handled during and after the event. Be sure to include a chain of command and that all workers know from whom to expect communication in the event of an emergency.
2. Train all affected workers, sub-contractors, and anyone else who may be affected
What good is an emergency response plan if no one knows about it, or what it contains? Training is a crucial part of any plan’s success. Communicate the plan with everybody, and ensure that everybody understands the roles, responsibilities, and expectations for every employee – from manager down to worker.
3. Review the plan and update as often as required
Best practice stipulates that all workplace policies and procedures should be reviewed at least annually to ensure that any changes to the business in the past year are addressed and/or still applicable. If a change is made to the workplace that drastically affects the plan, it should be reviewed at that time and updated to reflect the change.
Having a plan in place and following it when the time comes will mitigate the damage to your business and hopefully reduce or completely avoid injury or fatality to your workforce. It may also help you get back to business sooner, which is important for your bottom line.
MyeLearnsafety run Health and Safety courses and Chemical Safety Courses that are both tailor made and specific to your business. Contact us today or take one of our online training courses now.
How chemicals enter and effect the body
Almost every business uses chemicals today!
Chemical awareness in the work place is very important and is there to safeguard you and your employees. Managing chemicals in the workplace brings lots of benefits and can save you money. Being chemical aware will not only improve employee health and safety, cost savings can be achieved too.
Limiting economic losses through effective work practices such as correct storage, handling use of disposal procedures. Potential environmental harm will also be reduced.
Exposure to chemicals in the workplace can cause many different types of harm.
Here are some of the ways chemical can enter the body and effect it.
- Inhalation – breathing in contaminated air is the most common way that workplace chemicals enter the body.
- Skin Contact – some chemicals , by direct or indirect contact can damage the skin or pass through the skin into the bloodstream.
- Ingestion – workplace chemicals may be swallowed by accident if food or hands are contaminated.
- Injection – Injection can occur when a sharp object like a needle punctures the skin and injects a chemical directly into the bloodstream.
- Carcinogen – a chemical that causes or potently causes cancer like Asbestos.
- Corrosive – a chemical that causes visible destruction of, or irreversible alterations in living tissue by chemical action at the site of contact e.g. hydrochloric acid.
- Irritant – a chemical that is not corrosive but that causes reversible inflammatory effects on living tissue at the site of contact e.g. strong solvents.
- Mutagen – A chemical that damages chromosomes e.g. benzane.
- Sensitiser – a chemical that will cause an allergic reaction in a substantial number of exposed people like isocyanates.
- Teratogen – a chemical that causes birth defects such as thalidomide.