Early childhood services

These modules will help you identify common food allergens, how to make food swaps and some practical ideas when making changes to your recipes. 

The tips and tricks provided ensures your menu continues to meet the Victorian Government’s Menu planning guidelines for long day care while meeting the needs of children with allergies and other dietary requirements. 

There are 11 modules that you can complete at your own pace, and according to your needs.

The 11 modules will help to build your confidence and knowledge of:

• the common food allergens and how to make appropriate food swaps
• where to look for allergen information on product labels
• cross contamination and how to minimise risk
• the difference between coeliac disease and wheat allergy and how to practically manage coeliac disease
• the difference between lactose intolerance and cow’s milk allergy and how to practically manage lactose intolerance
• other food intolerances such as FODMAPs and food chemicals
• other common dietary requirements, such as vegetarian, halal and kosher, and how to make appropriate food swaps.

Each module will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. You can progress at your own pace and save and exit after each module.

A certificate of completion will also be available for you to download after each module. You do not need to complete all modules; you can complete the ones that are relevant to you and your centre. 

Early childhood education and care service staff are in a unique position to support children's development and growth, and to promote good eating habits.

This module will give you the confidence to:

• introduce foods to children at your service in fun and engaging ways to help deal with food refusal and fussy eating 
• role model healthy eating to the children in your care 
• make healthy eating the ‘norm’ not the exception in your room 
• reflect on what your centre does to promote healthy eating 
• communicate your learnings back to your centre being a champion for change 
• promote healthy eating changes to the families at your service .

This training module has been designed to take 45 minutes to complete. You can progress at your own pace and save and exit after each topic. 

A certificate of completion will also be available for you to download once the training module and post module feedback has been completed.

As a cook or educator working in long day care, you can affect the health and eating habits of children in your care.

By completing this training module you will learn:

• Why healthy eating is important for children
• How long day care services can help children develop healthy eating habits
• How to plan a menu using the Menu planning checklist for long day care
• How to deal with challenges such as food costs and allergies
• How the Healthy Eating Advisory Service can help you

This training module has been designed to take 45-55 minutes to complete. You can progress at your own pace and save and exit after each topic.

A certificate of completion will also be available for you to download once the training module and post module feedback has been completed.