All about Allergens: Training for Food Service in Children’s Education and Care
This course for children’s education and
care (CEC) providers and staff to learn about food
allergens, and to develop best practice procedures to ensure the right food is
given to the right child.
This course should be done before "Managing allergies and other dietary requirements in Children's Education and Care".
Who this course is for:
This course is suitable for managers, directors, cooks and chefs, other kitchen staff, educators and teachers working in:
- Long daycare
- Family daycare
- Preschool or kindergarten
- Outside school hours care
- Vacation and occasional care
- Other education and care services
This course is also suited to services where all children bring their own food to the service. Even when food is brought from home, food must be stored and served safely, and children must be supervised when eating.
This course should be completed by staff and volunteers who:
- Make decisions about suitable menu items such as menu planning, choosing recipes, choosing suppliers and ingredients and placing orders.
- Prepare food and drinks. This includes educators preparing food in rooms with children as a planned learning experience.
- Serve or supervise children eating and drinking.
- Are likely to be asked about ingredients or allergens in foods.
In this course, you will learn all aspects of managing food allergens in children's education and care. The supporting resources mentioned in the course will help you implement best practice food allergen management in your day to day work.
How to complete this course:
There are four units for all participants in the All about Allergens: Training for CEC course.
Each unit has a short quiz at the end. You must score at least 75% for each unit before you can start the next unit. After you have done all 4 units there is a Final Assessment. You must get a score of at least 90% in the Final Assessment to be issued with your Certificate of Completion.
If you are a manager, director or supervisor you can do Unit 5 once you have passed the course. Your Certificate of Completion will say you have done unit 5 if you complete it.
Course length: This course takes approximately 1 to 1.5 hours to complete.
Your progress is saved along the way, so you can stop and come back to the course at any time. It is recommended you complete the course within 2 weeks.
How often to undertake this course : You should undertake this training at least every 2 years.
If you have not done this course, or if has been longer than 2 years since you did All about Allergens for CEC, do this course first. If you have done this course in the last 2 years, you can do "Managing allergies and other dietary requirements in children's education and care" below.
Managing allergies and other dietary requirements in children’s education and care (CEC)
This course was developed by the Healthy Eating Advisory Service* in partnership with the National Allergy Council.
The modules in this course are a companion to All about Allergens: Training for Children's Education and Care. If you have not completed All about Allergens within the last 2 years, you should complete that course first.
The modules in "Managing allergies and other dietary requirements" will help you develop extra knowledge and skills to manage specific food allergens.
The practical ideas provided will help you make sure your menu meets the Victorian Government’s Menu planning guidelines for long day care while catering for children with allergies and other dietary requirements. Although it was developed with the Victorian guidelines, it is suitable for all CEC services in Australia.
Who is this training for: This training is for cooks and chefs working in long day care services. It is also useful learning for managers and educators.
How to complete this course: There are 11 modules to choose from. You can complete them at your own pace and in any order. Each unit will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. Your progress is saved along the way if you need to stop and come back to the course.
A certificate of completion is available for you to download after each unit. You do not need to complete all modules; you can complete the ones that are relevant to you and your centre.
You will build your confidence and knowledge of:
- Each common food allergens and how to make appropriate food swaps to meet nutrition needs of children
- How to find allergen information on product labels
- Cross contamination and how to minimise risk
- The difference between coeliac disease and wheat allergy and how to manage them
- The difference between lactose intolerance and cow’s milk allergy and how to manage them
- Other food intolerances such as FODMAPs and food chemicals
- How to manage meals for multiple food allergies
* The Healthy Eating Advisory Service is delivered by the National Nutrition Foundation, with support from the Victorian Government.