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.
Emergency safety procedures for your restaurant or bar
We at Elearn are always looking to share valuable information with our followers. Light Speed have written a great blog on how every restaurant needs to be prepared for an emergency;
Every restaurant needs to be prepared for an emergency. To have an effective emergency plan and you need to know the types of threats your restaurant is vulnerable to. But even after completing a risk assessment for your building and creating detailed safety procedures, you still have to make sure that the plan can be executed in the moment of truth. In order to get the most out of your emergency safety procedures, be sure to that you take the following advice to heart.
Perform effective drills
It is important to keep up to date on emergency preparation. The restaurant industry has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and that has demanded changes that could leave some security planning outdated. Updated floor plans, seating arrangements and server training can all affect an emergency plan. Or at least it should. Your planning should be specific enough that changes to any of these variables will need to be addressed. In order to know if your strategy is too vague or outdated, you need to test it.
Emergency procedure drills should be run with some level of frequency. And if things about the restaurant change, drills need to happen as soon as possible. These drills can be run before opening, or after closing, so customers and daily operations are not affected. The key to making these drills effective is to take them seriously.
Make sure to:
- Check doors to make sure they are opening properly
- Test lights to see if they are secured and providing the necessary visibility … Continue reading
Related courses
Do you know the difference between Food Safety HACCP 1 & 2?
What is HACCP?
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. A food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP is a systematic approach to identifying and controlling hazards, whether microbiological, chemical or physical, that could pose a threat to the production of safe food. –Source – FASI
It is a legal requirement and is an internationally recognized method of identifying and managing food safety related risk. Simply put, it refers to procedures you must put in place to ensure the food you produce is safe.
Proper implementation of a HACCP program helps reduce the likelihood of customer complaints or a recall by identifying and controlling potential hazards which may come from raw materials, facility processes, and human error.
My Elearn Safety currently offer two Food Safety courses, HACCP 1 and HACCP 2.
Food Safety HACCP 1
The HACCP Level 1 Awareness course has being developed for those food workers who do not occupy a managerial or supervisory role and that are supervised in their day to day job role.
Who should do this course?
The Food Safety course covers the legal requirements of what staff are required to know before they start handling food in your premises. This course is ideal for those:
- With no previous experience
- With light food handling duties
- Performing low-risk duties – Training delivery
- The course is delivered fully online with estimated 2–4 hours total study time.
Click here to view our HACCP 1 course overview.
Food Safety HACCP 2
Level 2 Fundamentals of HACCP- Food Safety and HACCP. The course is easily adaptable to any sector of the food and related industries has been used in food manufacturing, food ingredients. food packaging, catering, food transport and distribution, animal feeding, healthcare products and non food products.
Who should do this course?
This course is intended for those who have responsibility for managing food safety or who are involved in food preparation, service, food handling and storage and who have already completed Food Safety at Level 1 training. It is ideal also for those working in professional kitchens, hotels, canteens, nursing homes, hospitals, delicatessens, restaurants, childcare, as well as food producers.
Click here to view our HACCP 2 course overview.
Take a look at some of our other Food Safety related Blogs
- Do you know what “The Big 8” food allergies are?
- Why is it important to have Food Safety training?
- 10 Rules for Food Safety in the Workplace
If you have any further questions or are interested in learning more about Food Safety, please contact us on +353 1 693 1421 and we will be happy to help you!
Safety Representatives – Why do you need them and what do they do?
Why do you need a Safety Representatives?
Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005
It applies to all employers, employees (including fixed-term and temporary employees) and self-employed people in their workplaces. The Act sets out the rights and obligations of both employers and employees and provides for substantial fines and penalties for breaches of the health and safety legislation.
Section 25
Under Section 25 of the 2005 Act, all employees are entitled to select a safety representative to represent them on safety and health matters with their employer.
Section 26
Section 26 of this Act requires the employer to consult with employees to ensure cooperation with preventing accidents and ill health and in turn the workers can consult with their employer. Section 26 sets out the arrangements for this consultation on a range of safety and health issues.
Where a safety committee is already in existence, it can be used for this consultation process.
Regulation 23
Under Regulation 23 of the Construction Regulations where more than 20 persons are employed at any one time on a construction site, the project supervisor for the construction stage must facilitate the appointment of a safety representative.
Source – HSA.ie
What does a Safety Representative do?
Representative
Now you have assigned the role of the Safety officer, they are now representations on behalf of their members to their employer on any health and safety matter. The representative also represents their members in consultations with health and safety executive inspectors or other enforcing authorities.
Inspections
Safety representatives, after giving notice to the employer, have the right to inspect the whole or part of a workplace that they represent at a schedule agreed between them and the employer, based on the nature and extent of the hazards. A safety representative also has the right to inspect immediately where an accident or dangerous occurrence has taken place, or where there is an imminent danger or risk to the safety, health and welfare of any person. The frequency of these inspections depends on a number of factors:
- Changes to the building or layout
- The nature of work activities
- The nature of work locations
- Size of the workplace
Safety Representatives should be given learning resources and from that they will be able to ascertain the frequency of these inspections. If you are having difficulty with providing learning resources to your appointed Safety Representatives we have developed an Office Safety Package that can be tailored to your companies needs, we can also provide a bespoke package for you, just get in contact by emailing info@elearn.ie or calling us on +353 1 693 1421.
Other responsibilities
- Recommendations – Make recommendations to the employer on safety, health and welfare at the place of work
- WorkPlace Accidents – The employer may request the Safety Representative be present when the inspector interviews an employee about an accident or dangerous occurrence that took place.
- Inspector – The Safety Representative may be asked to accompany an inspector carrying out an inspection under Section 64 of the 2005 Act, other than the investigation of an accident or dangerous occurrence, although this may be allowed at the discretion of the inspector.
If you have any further questions about Safety Representatives please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.
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!
Precautionary advice on cooking frozen vegetables
This article was originally posted by Food Standards Agency
Cooking Frozen Vegetables
People should always follow manufacturers’ instructions when preparing their food. If the product is not labelled as “ready to eat”, the cooking instructions should always be followed before eating the food hot or cold.
Frozen sweetcorn is the likely source of an ongoing outbreak of listeriosis affecting five European countries including the United Kingdom. Listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes that can be more serious for those individuals who have… continue reading
Top safety tips for your Christmas
Fire Safety
Trees and Lights
Decorating a Christmas tree, whether it be real or artificial, with lights is a time that all of us look forward to around Christmas time. But it is important to take steps to ensure your house and your family are safe while. Did you know that cooking was the source of hundreds of house fires in 2017, with most of these occurring during the Christmas period.
Here are some top tips!
- Place real Christmas trees securely in a sturdy base filled with water – metal stands cause trees to dry out and become flammable.
- If you do use a metal stand – have a bowel of water underneath with a wet towel -make sure to check the towel daily and add more water when necessary.
- Always turn the Christmas tree lights off before going to bed, remember to unplug the lights rather than just turning it off at the switch.
- Always buy lights with the safety standard mark on it.
- Never leave the kitchen unattended if you have food on.
Candles and fires
Christmas is a time where we all look forward to sitting in front of the fire with candles lit around the room looking very pretty and creating a lovely ambiance. However this time of year can also open our homes up to more fire hazards than usual.
Here are some top tips!
- Consider switching to battery operated tea lights
- Never put candles on or near the Christmas tree
- Always use a secure holder for candles and place them somewhere they wont get knocked over
- Don’t put too many candles beside eachother, 4 inches between candles is a safe distance
Food safety
Food is a major part of Christmas, from the morning fry to the Christmas Dinner and the leftover sandwiches, however please take care to cook and store food properly, the last thing you want over the holidays is a stomach bug or worse.
Here are some top tips!
- A typical large turkey takes two days to defrost. An FSA survey found that 69% of those who choose frozen turkey thaw it unsafely
- While defrosting always place it in the fridge on the bottom shelf covered in in a container to hold any thawing juices to avoid any cross contamination.
- Any leftovers should stored in an airtight container in the fridge and be consumed within 2 days
- Opened or cooked food should be left standing at room temperature for no longer than 2 hours and 1 hour for rice.
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.
Health and Safety checklist for SME’s
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 – All employers are required to follow this legalisation by law. The sole purpose of occupational health and safety law is to reduce the number of workplace injuries or deaths, the vast majority of which can be easily prevented by taking very straightforward safety precautions.
Under Section 8 of the Act the employer has a duty to ensure employees’ safety, health and welfare at work as far as is reasonably practicable. In order to prevent workplace injuries and ill-health the employer is required, among other things, to:
- Provide and maintain a safe workplace which uses safe plant and equipment
- Prevent risks from use of any article or substance and from exposure to physical agents, noise and vibration
- Prevent any improper conduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk
- Provide instruction and training to employees on health and safety
- Provide protective clothing and equipment to employees
- Appointing a competent person as the organisation’s Safety Officer
Source – Citizen’s Information
Checklist: Work safety procedures
Assign a Safety officer
The Safety Officer is responsible for monitoring and assessing hazardous and unsafe situations and developing measures to assure personnel safety. Having someone assigned to this role will bring focus to ongoing procedures and best practices.
Identify hazards
Identify any hazard by carrying out a workplace assessment with your newly appointed Safety Officer. From this determine how employees might be at risk and evaluate these risks. If possible eradicate this hazards immediately and record and review these hazards at least once annually.
Educate and train workers
Ideally everyone in the office should be able to use a fire extinguisher, not just the Safety officer. Holding demonstrations is a great way for workers to feel confident while using extinguishers, especially in the event of a fire where nerves are high. A simple way to do this is to use the PASS method;
- P – Pull the pin on the extinguisher.
- A – Aim the hose nozzle low toward the base of the fire.
- S – Squeeze the handle to release the extinguishing agent.
- S – Sweep the nozzle from side to side at the base of the flames until extinguished.
Fire exits and procedures
Educate your staff about where the fire exits are and where they are to go in an event of a fire or other evacuation types for example; gas leaks, chemical leaks or equipment malfunctions.
Provide a First Aid box
The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 require employers to provide adequate and appropriate equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure their employees receive immediate attention if they are injured or taken ill at work. These Regulations apply to all workplaces including those with less than five employees and to the self-employed. Source – HSE
The HSA have prepared Guidelines on First Aid at Places of Work as part of the Guide to the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations.