Training: Courses of action

ALLERGIES

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness (Acorn Childcare Training)

Ideal for all those involved in the handling or preparation of food or other carers with day-to-day responsibility for the welfare of those with allergies.

Asthma Awareness (Acorn Childcare Training)

According to Asthma UK, three people in the UK die each day as a result of an asthma attack, yet 90 per cent of these cases are avoidable when the right action is taken. This course promotes a better understanding and management of asthma. (See also first aid courses.)

HANDLING AND ADMINISTERING MEDICINES

Safe Handling of Medicines - Level 2 Course

A home study course comprising a course manual, assignments and study guide plus tutor support by mail and email. Practitioners can plan their studies over a period of up to one year from the time of registration.

Managing Medication in Schools and Childcare Settings (ESP Professional Services)

A one-day OCN-accredited course (NVQ Level 1 equivalent) run by Bruce Davies, who was a member of the Government's National Service Framework Group for Children's Medicine. The course includes requests from a parent to give a child medication, legal implications and guidelines, how to store medication, record keeping, care plans and risk reduction.

PREVENTING ACCIDENT OR INJURY/FIRST AID

First aid training no longer requires local authority approval. Providers can now choose which organisation they wish to approve their training, as long as the course covers the same content as those provided by St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross and is renewed every three years.

First Aid for Child Carers/Paediatric First Aid Training Course (Red Cross)

This course is designed for people caring for children in any setting, is recognised by Ofsted and includes the requirements of the appointed person in the workplace. It can be used as evidence for an NVQ in childcare and education.

Paediatric First Aid (BNG Training)

A two-day course leading to a Level 2 award in paediatric first aid (QCF). It includes assessing emergency situations, acting safely and effectively, and providing first aid to infants and children with foreign body airway obstructions, bleeding, shock, chronic medical conditions, extremes of temperature, burns, bites or stings.

Blended Paediatric First Aider (Safe and Sound)

One-day course with material provided for at-home study prior to attending the face-to-face training. The course is designed for professional child carers, and content includes the role of a first aider, accident reporting and the first aid box, action planning in an emergency and a variety of injuries, illnesses and complaints that can affect young children.

Paediatric First Aid (Tigerlily Training)

This is to be launched in September for anyone looking after children, will combine a mixture of practical and online learning and includes full EpiPen training. All courses are run by trainers with a background in the early years.

RECOGNISING CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES

Introduction to Childhood Illnesses Training Course (CJ Group)

A one-day course for all those who work with children to help them recognise and attend to childhood illnesses. The course includes signs and symptoms, common illnesses, action and first aid protocol.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND OBESITY

Healthy Families: Tackling Child Obesity with HENRY

HENRY (Health Exercise Nutrition for the Really Young) is a charity that works with health trusts, local authorities, public health departments, voluntary organisations and universities to change the entrenched habits that contribute to obesity. The charity has developed a framework for behaviour change to help parents to gain the confidence, knowledge and tools they need to adopt a healthier family lifestyle. Courses include Core and Advanced Training, A Healthy Start in Childcare and Supporting Behaviour Change.

Physical Development, Obesity and Self-Care (NDNA)

This half-day course enables people to understand the importance of physical development and how it is covered in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It provides guidance on national guidelines for children under five regarding physical activity, sedentary behaviour and obesity. Practitioners also learn to support children to take risks in a safe and secure environment, and understand their role in supporting the physical development of children.

FOOD AND NUTRITION

Level 2 Award in Healthier Food and Special Diets (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health)

The course aims to give a good basic understanding of nutrition principles and terminology, the requirements of a balanced diet, identifying differing needs, allergies and food intolerances, the current legislation, the impact of food processing and the importance of accurate nutritional information.

Food Safety and Nutrition in Health and Social Care and Early Years and Childcare Settings (City & Guilds)

Developed to help raise the awareness of food safety and the importance of nutrition and hydration.

Level 3 Supervisor Food Hygiene Training (NDNA)

NDNA and The Safer Food Group are offering a Level 3 intermediate food hygiene online training course. It is ideal for 'nursery cooks, chefs, supervisors or managers who are looking to develop their food safety and management knowledge' and the course is popular with school cooks. Developed, written and verified by working environmental health officers.

Nutrition and Healthy Eating (NDNA)

Online training course for nursery practitioners, including cooks and chefs, to support children's health and well-being through a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet.

The Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings in England (Children's Food Trust)

This one-day course, accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health, is designed to help settings understand and use the Voluntary Food and Drink Guidelines for Early Years Settings in England, and evaluate their impact on food and drink provision.

It includes guidance on basic nutrition and the guidelines, practical activities on menu planning, and portion sizes and reading food labels.

Creative Food and Environment Training -Focusing on Working with Early Years and Families (Squash Nutrition)

Squash Nutrition's Liverpool courses offer ideas to encourage people to eat healthy foods, inventive ways to engage people with the natural environment, simple container growing of fruit and vegetables, outdoor cooking and seed-saving.

FOR YOUR SHELF

The A to Z of Children's Health: a parent's guide from birth to 10 years by Dr Norman Saunders, Dr Jeremy Friedman and Dr Natasha Saunders (Robert Rose, 2013). A comprehensive guide by the paediatric experts at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

A-Z of Inclusion in Early Childhood by Mary Dickins (OUP). Aims to develop practitioner understanding of inclusion by examining barriers and challenges and advising on how to establish inclusive practice.

Health and Safety in Early Years and Childcare by Bernadina Laverty and Catherine Reay (NCB). Addresses the need for all staff to understand the importance of health and safety legislation and its relationship to the EYFS.

The Shape We're In: how junk food and diets are shortening our lives by Sarah Boseley (Guardian Faber). A look at the complexities that underpin the UK's obesity crisis and the connections between junk food and poverty.

Fat Chance: The Hidden Truth about Sugar, Obesity and Disease by Dr Robert Lustig (Fourth Estate, 2014). A look at the dangers that sugar and processed foods pose to all of us, fat or thin.

Healthy Families: right from the start with HENRY by Candida Hunt. In this practical and easy-to-read guide, HENRY co-founder Candida Hunt aims to set parents on the path to a sustained healthier lifestyle for the whole family. Included are strategies for embedding healthy lifelong habits from an early age.

Exploring Well-Being in the Early Years edited by Julia Manning-Morton (Open University Press). Explores how well-being is interpreted in the early childhood field today and includes snapshots of what our youngest children think about their personal well-being.

Young Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development by Marion Dowling (Sage, fourth edition due out August 2014). This fully revised edition has been updated to include working with vulnerable children and new guidance on working with parents.

Exploring Outdoor Play in the Early Years edited by Trisha Maynard and Jane Waters (Open University Press, 2014). A look at the significance of outdoor play in early learning and development, and the implications for practitioners.

Play in Children's Development, Health and Well-Being by Jeffrey Goldstein. A review of recent research on play. Downloadable here

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