CASE STUDIES - PART A
Case Study One -
You have been assigned the task of devising a menu at Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. You can find out more about Sparkling Stars at their website: Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre
Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre has a general menu designed for children over the age of five. However it does not take into account younger children. You have been assigned the task of developing a menu suitable for younger children.
Devise a 2 week menu (Monday to Friday), suitable for children aged 3-5 years that caters for morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, late afternoon snack and drinks. Your menu needs to be suitable for use in a child care setting and include the following:
50-75% of the recommended number of serves for each food group each day
A variety of ingredients and textures
A range of foods from different cultures
One red meat-free day per week
Vegetarian options for each meal period
No repetition of menu items (excluding drinks)
Please view the scenario and required templates here: Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre Brief for Two Week Menu
You are required to:
a) Present your menu in an attractive, easy-to read format and submit it.
b) Choose an item from your menu that contains an ingredient that may trigger a reaction from a child who has coeliac disease. Submit the recipe for that menu item.
c) Alter the recipe for the menu item so that it would be suitable for a child with coeliac disease.
d) Pick one lunch offering and explain how this meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
Case Study Three -
This scenario involves Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. You can find out more about Sparkling Stars at their website: Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre
Trang is working as an assistant educator in the Sparkling Stars Early Childhood Education and Care Centre observing a group of children in the outdoor play area and notices that four of the boys are running around screaming. She monitors their behaviour for any unsafe activity but besides being very noisy their behaviour is safe.
After a few minutes of doing this the boys start pushing each other. Trang quickly tries to intervene but unfortunately Simon pushes Isaac too hard and he falls, tripping over the step rail surrounding the sand pit. You rush over and notice Isaac, holding his left arm and huffing and puffing strangely but appears to be unhurt, the next thing Trang hears is Isaac screaming as he realises there is blood on his fingers. Trang approaches Isaac to inspect his arm. She notices that he has an abrasion that is approximately 2 centimetres and a cut that is about half a centimetre.
You must answer the questions below explaining what actions Trang should take in dealing with this situation.
1. What is the immediate action Trang should take?
Guidance: Describe what actions should occur if Trang is following the policies and procedures at Sparkling Stars.
2. What is the secondary action Trang should take?
Guidance: Describe in your own words what actions should occur if Trang identifying the process as described in the policies and procedures at Sparkling Stars.
3. Complete the Incident/Accident Report Form located on the Sparkling Stars website and submit it to your assessor.
4. If Isaac's injury had been more severe such as a broken arm or a heavy laceration, what action should Trang take?
Guidance: Describe your response in detail.
CASE STUDIES - PART B
Case Study 1: Sleep and Rest
All children have individual sleep and rest requirements. Children need a comfortable relaxing environment to enable their bodies to rest. This environment must be safe and well supervised to ensure children are safe, healthy and secure in their environment.
Scenario 1: You are working as an early childhood educator in Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. You are in charge of taking care of the following two children:
Tim: Tim is 3 years old. He likes to sleep with his favourite blanket that his mum packs for him when he goes to the centre. His mum has informed you that Tim gets very agitated throughout the day when he does not get his afternoon nap, and prefers that the centre ensures he gets his nap before she picks him up in the afternoon.
Tim does not like to eat vegetables. However, his mum is very particular about his diet:
- A portion of vegetables in every meal (he is not allowed to have desert unless he finishes all his vegetables)
- He can only have desert after lunch provided he finishes all his vegetables.
- He is not allowed to have sweets between 1PM to 2PM and past 5PM
- He is lactose intolerant and very sensitive with other milk-based products
He is a very active and playful kid. He loves playing physical games with other kids such as tag, hide and seek, catch, etc. He gets easily bored with activities like storytelling, craft making and any other activities that do not involve physical play.
Kevin: Kevin is 2 years old and is still used to sleeping in a cot. He just started going to the centre and is still afraid to be left in the centre without his mum. Hearing his mum's voice calms him down and helps him go to sleep. So his mum provided the centre with a recording of herself reading bedtime stories to play for Kevin when he is having difficulty sleeping.
Aside from him being very shy around other kids and new people, Kevin is very easy to take care of. He follows his diet without any problem and does not require a lot of attention when he is awake. He likes to keep to himself watching educational programs for children while holding his favourite stuffed toy. He is still being potty trained, but he knows how to call an adult he is familiar with when he needs to go to the toilet. When no one familiar is around when he needs to go to the toilet, he soils himself and becomes very embarrassed and wouldn't let anyone but his mum clean him up.
Your task: Ensure sleep and rest practices are consistent with approved standards and meet the children's individual needs by creating a checklist that you can use for the children described above. Use the safe sleep and rest time guidelines.
Scenario 2: Tim would not go to sleep during nap time one afternoon and kept pestering the other children in the centre to play with him. You explained to Tim not to bother the other children because they are trying to take a nap. After talking to him and explaining how taking a nap would help him feel stronger and better after he wakes up, Tim still insists on not going to bed and playing instead.
Your Task: Provide three (3) options for appropriate quiet play activities for Tim by creating a plan that outlines the steps you need to take as well as the resources you will require to implement the plan. Fill out the table below to create your plan:
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Quiet play activity
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Description of the activity
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Resources required for the activity
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1
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2
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3
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Case Study 2: Providing Children Supervision
Ensuring the children have adequate supervision at all times is one of your responsibilities as an early childhood educator in the centre.
The Scenario: You have been taking the lead in providing care for Tim and Kevin since they started going to the centre. In two weeks you will be taking a 3-day vacation leave.
Your Task: You are required to provide detailed instructions to Jenny, the educator who will be taking the lead while you are away, and Michelle, the assistant educator you have been working with.
You have to make sure that your instructions contain all the essential information needed to ensure the children have adequate supervision at all times. Use the templates provided below to document the instructions you provide Jenny and Michelle:
1.1 Your email to Jenny Liberman:
1.2 Your email to Michelle Schiffer:
Case Study 3: Organisational WHS
The Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act, 1986, requires that anyone who can affect health and safety must protect the well-being of themselves and others.
As an early childhood educator in a childcare centre, you have an important role to play in this and should be aware that your actions at work directly influence the safety of you, your work mates, the children and their families.
Scenario 1: You are an early childhood educator working in Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. To ensure everyone's safety, Sparkling Stars requires all its employees to undergo a self-assessment exercise to help them understand their own levels of stress and fatigue.
Your Task: Using your own experience as an early childhood educator in your vocational workplace, answer the questionnaire below to reflect on your own levels of stress and fatigue at work:
Job demands and working conditions:
Do you have enough time to get your job done properly?
Are you exposed to unfavourable physical conditions in your work (for example unfavourable climate, noise, radiation, chemicals, sharp or moving objects, slippery surfaces, constant repetitive work, heavy lifting or strenuous work)
Participation and control:
Can you choose your own work methods, pace, and/or order?
Can you decide yourself when to take a break?
Are you involved in decision making?
Are there regular meetings to discuss work?
Can you improve any unfavourable physical loads in your work?
Interpersonal relationships:
Do you receive support from your supervisor and/or colleagues?
Are you isolated from others during work?
Are you treated differently, for example, because you are your race, gender, ethnic origin or disability?
Do you experience violence from customers, clients, patients or members of the public?
Career development and job security:
Do you have good career prospects?
Are you able to develop your skills and intellect in your job?
Is your job security good?
Is it likely that during the next couple of years you will be in the present job with your current employer?
Working hours:
Do you work long hours?
Do you work evenings, nights, and/or weekends (shift work)?
Do you have irregular working hours?
Role in the company and information:
Do you have conflicting tasks/roles?
Do you receive enough information to do your work properly?
Do you receive feedback on your performance?
Income:
Is your income sufficient to support yourself and your family?
Scenario 2: Letting the designated person know your concerns relevant to work-related stress and fatigue is an essential step in resolving potential safe work issues in the future.
Your Task: Review the relevant workplace procedures in the link provided below and follow the outlined reporting process.
Scenario 3: Maintaining currency of relevant safe work practices in the workplace is another excellent way of ensuring your own safety. As such, Sparkling Stars makes sure that all employees maintain their currency by conducting an annual safe work practice currency check among all its employees.
Your Task: Identify ways to maintain currency of safe work practices by listing your strategies according to the different categories and contexts outlined below: An example is provided for your reference (in blue)
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Safe work practice relevant to:
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Specific example relevant to your centre:
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How you maintain currency of safe work practices relevant to each category:
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Equipment
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Baby bottle warmers and sterilizers
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I ensure that I have read and understood the manual before operating the equipment.
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Systems
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Security System
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Equipment
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Bottle Feeding Equipment
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Processes
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Menu Planning
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Scenario 4: As an early childhood educator, it is also your responsibility to raise the children's awareness of safety. The centre ensures that there are enough programs and activities that promote safety awareness among the children in the centre.
Your Task: Create a poster to help promote safety awareness among the children in the centre. You may choose any topic or theme relevant to child safety or promoting safety awareness among children. Below are some examples of topics or themes you may use for your poster:
- Stranger danger
- Safety in the kitchen
- Safety in the bathroom
- Safety in the park
- Safety in the beach
- Safety in crossing streets
- Hand-washing
Case Study 4: Ensure the health and safety of children
You are working as an early childhood educator in Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. You are in charge of taking care of Sophie, a four and a half year old student with severe asthma. She also has severe allergies to dust and pollen which trigger her asthma attacks.
Review Sparkling Star's Allergy Allergy and Asthma Awareness Policy, found in the link provided below and use it as your guide as you complete the tasks that follow.
Allergy and Asthma Awareness Policy
Scenario 1: After an outdoor activity around 8:30 in the morning you noticed that Sophie started sneezing and coughing. You suspect that the dust from running around in the playground may have triggered her allergies. You checked her records to review if she has any prescription medications for this kind of situation. Provided in the link below is Sophie's authorisation to administer medication form: Authorisation to administer medication - Sophie Lancaster
Your Task: You know that Sophie takes Allegra for acute allergic episodes. However, you also know that she is due for her Advair treatment in the next 30mins. Make a video recording of yourself administering the right medication to Sophie. To ensure your successful completion of this task, please see the guidelines provided below:
- have a volunteer act as Sophie in your video recording
- you must include in your demonstration the following:
- following the standard protocol for medication administration
- administration of the correct medication
- the correct administration procedure
- correct storage of the medication
Print the Authorisation to administer medication for Sophie Lancaster, and fill out the relevant section at the end of the form (Child Care Program Record of Medication Administration) accordingly after your recorded demonstration. You will be required to submit this form after all tasks relevant to the case study have been completed.
Scenario 2: An hour later, Sophie is still sneezing and coughing uncontrollably. This time she started wheezing and showing signs of difficulty in breathing. You suspect that Sophie is having an asthma attack and decided to quickly review her asthma management plan to respond appropriately. See Sophie's asthma management plan in the link provided below: Asthma Management Plan - Sophie Lancaster
Your Task: Make a video recording of yourself following Sophie's asthma management plan for acute asthma attacks. To ensure successful completion of this assessment task, take note of the guidelines provided below:
Administer Sophie's asthma medication
- Follow proper administration procedure (i.e., check medication name, check medication expiry date, etc. Guidance: complete guidelines provided in the Allergy and Asthma Awareness Policy)
- Follow proper storage procedure
- Fill out relevant fields in the authorisation to administer medication form
Scenario 3: Sophie fell asleep soon after her asthma symptoms have calmed down. However, half an hour into her nap, Sophie woke up coughing and wheezing uncontrollably. You rushed to her bedside and knew she required first aid for her severe asthma attack.
After administering asthma first aid to Sophie, her condition still continued to worsen. You decided to call emergency assistance. You then asked the assistant educator on duty to keep an eye on Sophie and keep giving her first aid medication according to the prescribed procedure while you contact the ambulance.
Your Task: Make a video recording of yourself demonstrating the successful completion of the following tasks:
3.1 providing first aid to Sophie as prescribed in her asthma care plan
3.2 provide instructions to the assistant educator on how to administer the first aid medication while you contact the ambulance
Case Study 5: Anaphylaxis
You are working as an early childhood educator for Sparkling Stars Childcare Centre. One of the students under your care is Billy. Billy is a 4 year old boy with severe allergies with nuts and dairy-based foods. Review the anaphylaxis handbook provided in the link below and use it as reference as you complete the tasks that follow: Anaphylaxis Handbook
Scenario 1: One afternoon while Billy was playing with the other kids in the playground, you noticed that he started to look pale and started to wheeze as he grasped for air. His face is slightly swollen too. Upon surveying the scenario you noticed that he has chocolate stains in his hands and shirt and appears to have dropped a chocolate bar on the ground. Upon checking the chocolate you found that it contains peanuts.
Your task: Make a video recording of yourself responding to Billy's anaphylactic emergency. Follow the prescribed in Billy's action plan for anaphylaxis provided in the link below: Action Plan For Anaphylaxis - Billy Johnson
To ensure successful completion of this task, take note of the following guidelines:
1. Have a volunteer act as Billy in the recording
2. Demonstrate how you survey the area and remove the hazard/s immediately
3. Provide first aid intervention for anaphylaxis as prescribed in the anaphylaxis handbook:
a. Lay Billy flat. Do not allow him to stand or walk. If breathing is difficult in this position, allow him to sit
b. Give EpiPen (use a makeshift EpiPen)
c. Phone ambulance
d. Phone family/emergency contact
Scenario 2: Billy's mum arrived immediately and the ambulance soon after. Billy's condition improved after you administered the EpiPen, but to make sure that Billy is out of danger, his mum had the ambulance take Billy to the hospital anyway.
Task 1: Complete the relevant forms to document the incident. Review the centre's Incident, Accident and Trauma Policy to ensure you are compliant with the centre's relevant workplace policies and procedures:
Task 2: Apply the risk management plan for Billy by completing the checklist provided in the link below. Complete the column "Detail how this will be implemented and any additional strategies" by answering according to the organisational risk-management strategies from your relevant work experience in childcare centres/vocational work experience.
Supplementary Question: The physician prescribed 6ml of dipenhydramine every hour for six hours. All required authorisation are complete. The child's parent supplied the medication in its original packaging as well as the measuring cup for the medicine. However the bottle only has 30ml left in it.
Will you have enough medicine to follow the doctor's prescription?
Scenario 3: You are preparing snacks for Billy. Below are the food labels of the available snacks:
3.1 Which of the two snack options is most appropriate for Billy?
a. Snack option A
b. Snack option B
3.1.1Explain your answer:
3.2 Supplementary Questions: dietary requirements
3.2.1 Give an example of a common dietary restriction for children with type 1 Diabetes (Juvenile diabetes):
3.2.2 Give an example of a common dietary restriction for Jewish children:
3.2.3 Give an example of a common dietary restriction for Muslim children:
Case Study 6: Meal Planning
Scenario: You are helping create a meal plan for two brothers who will start going to the centre in the next week, Johnny, 5 years old, and Lucas, 11 months old.
Johnny has no special dietary restrictions. While Lucas has just started eating solid foods. Lucas only drinks breast milk. Their mum, Kelly, expresses her breast milk in the morning and packs it for Lucas to drink in the centre.
1 Your Task: Create a meal plan for Johnny outlining a cycle of menus, detailing the food that will be provided to him for a week. The meal plan should include breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner for five days.
1.2 Your Task: Create a one-page guide for Lucas' mother to assist her with expressing breast milk by hand and it at home to ensure food safety procedures are followed according to the relevant prescribed guidelines.
PROJECT: ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR CHILDREN
PART 1: Review and evaluate performance in establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for children
If you have prior work experience in a childcare centre, you may complete this task reflecting on your experience. If you do not have prior experience working in a childcare centre, you may complete this task after you have been immersed in your vocational work placement.
You are required to review/reflect and evaluate both your performance and the service's implementation of policies and procedures related to the establishment and maintenance of a safe and healthy environment for children attending the centre.
To document your evaluation, answer the questions below and provide the information being asked.
In supporting each child's health and safety needs:
1. WHS policies and procedures are set in the centre you are having your vocational placement with.
Provide a brief description of the centre's relevant policies and procedures regarding safety assessments.
2. Individual medical management plans for children with specific heath care need are in place and readily available at the service.
Does the service have available individual medical management plan forms for children with a specific health care need?
In providing for each child's comfort:
3. The groupings of children are configured to provide for each child's comfort and to minimise the risk of overcrowding.
Does the service have a specific policy or procedure in organising the groupings of children in the centre to minimise risk of overcrowding, to minimise the risk of illness and/or to minimise the risk of injuries?
In promoting and implementing effective hygiene practices:
4. The service accesses information on current hygiene practices.
Where does the centre get current and up-to-date information on current hygiene practices?
Give at least one (1) local council/health organisation/public health unit and one (1) additional resource (website, journals, books, etc.) the centre accesses.
You may need to ask your supervisor or other educators for you to be able to complete this question.
Additional resource:
Provide one (1) example of the information the centre has currently researched on current hygiene practice from the sources/resources that you have written in the previous question.
Give a brief description of the information, for example: "There is new practice on how centres can actively support children to learn hygiene practices using modelling and role playing."
In taking steps to control the spread of infectious diseases:
5. Service procedures are followed, in relation to notifying families of illness or injuries that affect children while in education and care.
Interview an educator or your supervisor in the service who has had experience with notifying parents/primary caregiver/family of an illness or injury that affects one of the children while attending education and care at the centre.
Describe the step-by-step procedure the educator/supervisor implemented.
Obtain a copy of the centre's procedure in notifying families of illness or injuries that affect children while in education and care. Did the educator/supervisor follow the centre's procedure? Was there some discrepancy (specify the discrepancy)?
Submit a copy of the centre's procedure for your assessor to review.
6. Current records of children's immunisation status are up-to-date and a procedure is in place to maintain the currency.
Find out how your vocational work placement keep current records of the status of each child's immunisations.
a) Does the service have a procedure in place to maintain the currency of immunisation records? Submit a copy of the procedure and write the filename.
b) Does the service have a process for obtaining information from families about their children's current immunisation status? Describe the process in detail or submit a copy of the service's written process. Provide the filename below.
In ensuring adequate supervision of children:
7. New or relief educators are informed of supervision arrangements and of what they are required to do in relation to supervising children.
Were you provided with details and responsibilities of supervising children when you started in vocational work placement?
Briefly describe the details and responsibilities provided to you below.
Were you given an induction/welcome pack on your first day of work?
Was the information regarding supervision arrangements and responsibilities included in the induction/welcome pack?
Scan or take a picture of the page/section in your induction/welcome pack which provides the information regarding supervision arrangements and responsibilities. Submit the scanned document or photo and write the filename below.
Were you given a copy of the centre's supervision policy?
Submit a copy of the centre's supervision policy and write the filename below.
In ensuring adequate supervision of children:
8. Safety checks are consistently implemented and action is taken as a result of the checks.
a) Find out when was the last time your vocational work placement implemented safety checks and took action as a result of the checks. You need to coordinate with your supervisor or with the staff in-charge of doing the safety checks for the service.
b) Fill out the Safety Checks Log provided in Sparkling Stars intranet.
c) In completing the log, you may:
Ask for a copy of the safety checks log, report or document the service has. Copy the content needed to complete the log provided, or
Consult with the person or staff in-charge of the service's safety checks and ask him/her about the following:
- Date of the last safety check
- Premises/sections/rooms in the service that was checks
- General remarks and results of the safety checks
- Areas of concern
- Actions taken and the date actions are done
- Date for the next safety checks
d) Once you have completed the log ask your supervisor or the staff you have consulted to fill out the confirmation form at the end of the document.
e) Submit the document to your assessor and provide the filename.
9. Basic training and testing on how to move and fit car seats, restraints and booster seats is available to all educators.
Find out how educators may avail of the basic training and testing on how to move and fit car seats, restraints and booster seats. Write down how and where they can avail of this training and testing in your vocational work placement.
You may need to consult your supervisor to be able to complete this task.
PART 2 : Implement WHS procedures and work instructions
Following the centre's policies on conducting safety assessments, survey the children's learning and play environments including all toys and equipment for safe use, as well as the general environment in the centre as a safe workplace for you. Once completed, write the relevant safety assessment report.
To ensure successful completion of this step, your report must include the following information:
- Existing hazards identified
- Potential hazards identified
If the centre's standard template for safety assessment reports do not include the required information listed above, use the space provided below:
Existing and potential hazards identified:
Toys and equipment:
Are toys and equipment safe for children?
- If answer is yes: Describe how toys and equipment are kept safe for children
- If answer is no: Describe why the toys and equipment are not safe for children?
Are toys and equipment safe to use in their proposed areas?
- If answer is yes: Describe how toys and equipment are kept safe to use in their proposed areas.
- If answer is no: Describe why the toys and equipment are not safe for use in their proposed areas.
Attachment:- Case Studies.rar