COURSE OVERVIEW:

Welcome to the Infection Control in Childcare course. This program will equip you with the knowledge, procedures, and practical skills required to maintain a healthy and infection-resistant childcare environment. You will explore how infections arise, how easily they spread among young children and staff, and how effective infection control prevents outbreaks, reduces absenteeism, and protects vulnerable individuals. This course also examines workplace responsibilities, hygiene practices, and the environmental controls essential for safe childcare operations.

This course begins by examining the importance of preventing and controlling infection in childcare workplaces and the essential concepts that underpin infection control. You will explore what causes infections, how infections spread, and how the chain of infection operates. This section explains how germs can spread through coughing or sneezing, breathing contaminated air, direct contact, animals, and food. You will also explore how diseases spread in childcare workplaces, how different germs spread in different ways, and the main ways infections can be prevented by applying consistent hygiene and exclusion practices. This section includes an overview of effective hand hygiene, considerations for hand hygiene and eczema, exclusion procedures for ill children and staff, recommended minimum exclusion periods, and the importance of immunisation. You will also explore how to encourage parents to vaccinate their children and how infectious diseases can be controlled through vigilant, daily infection prevention practices.

The next learning area focuses on environmental and procedural infection control within childcare settings. You will explore how cross infection from animals can occur and why childcare facilities must have appropriate areas for handwashing, cleaning, and waste disposal. This section explains how to deal with blood and other body fluids safely, the proper procedures for nappy changing and toileting, and how to handle dirty linen and contaminated clothing. You will also examine the proper procedures for handling food to reduce contamination risk, how to clean toys, clothing, and work areas effectively, and how to keep sandpits safe and hygienic. This section also explores procedures for maintaining wading pools, including cleaning and disinfection measures that prevent waterborne infections.

A further part of the program addresses training, supervision, and protective measures that support safe practice. You will explore the importance of providing training on infection control procedures to all childcare staff and the importance of adequate supervision to ensure that everyone follows policies and procedures consistently. This section explains how personal protective clothing and equipment should be used to increase protection, the appropriate use of gloves, and the reasons hands must be washed before and after wearing gloves. You will also examine cough and sneeze etiquette, effective environmental cleaning methods, and other hazards in the childcare industry that require attention to safety and hygiene. This section concludes with an overview of the general requirements of health and safety laws for employers and employees, reinforcing the shared responsibility for maintaining a safe childcare environment.

By the end of this course you will be able to understand how infections spread in childcare settings, apply effective hygiene and exclusion practices, manage contaminated materials correctly, maintain clean environments, reinforce protective behaviours, comply with health and safety requirements, and contribute to a childcare setting where infection risks are controlled and children’s wellbeing is actively protected.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• The importance of preventing and controlling infection in childcare workplaces
• The concepts in infection control
• What causes infections?
• How do infections spread?
• The chain of infection
• How germs can spread through coughing or sneezing?
• How germs can spread through breathing contaminated air?
• How germs can spread through direct contact?
• How germs can spread through animals?
• How germs can spread through food?
• How can diseases spread in childcare workplaces?
• How different germs spread in different ways?
• The main ways to prevent infection
• What is effective hand hygiene?
• Hand hygiene and eczema
• The exclusion procedure of ill children, educators and other staff
• The recommended minimum exclusion periods
• The importance of immunisation
• How to encourage parents to vaccinate their children?
• How to control infectious diseases in childcare workplaces?
• Cross infection from animals
• The importance of having facilities for hand-washing, cleaning and disposal of waste in childcare workplaces
• How to deal with blood and other body fluids?
• The proper procedures for nappy changing and toileting
• How to handle dirty linen and contaminated clothing?
• The proper procedures for handling food
• How to clean toys, clothing and work areas?
• The proper procedures for keeping sandpits clean
• The proper procedures for keeping wading pools clean and disinfected
• The importance of providing training for infection control procedures to all childcare staff
• The importance of providing adequate supervision to ensure everyone follows the policies and procedures
• How personal protective clothing and equipment should be used to increase the level of protection?
• The appropriate use of gloves
• Why wash hands before and after wearing gloves?
• The cough and sneeze etiquette
• Effective environmental cleaning
• Other hazards in the childcare industry
• The general requirements of health and safety laws for employers and employees

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.