Nutrition in OSHC Program
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In This Issue
THEME - BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
Lunchbox Resources
Preparing Safe Lunches
Healthy Lunchbox Week 2023
Christmas Food Safety
Christmas Recipes
Christmas Craft
Events and Training Opportunities
How to Download your Subscription Certificate
How to Access Previous OSHC E-newsletters
Monthly Update from Nutrition Australia Qld
The team at Nutrition Australia Qld wish you and your staff a very
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Nutrition in OSHC 2022
Theme 3 - Building Positive Relationships
The third theme for the subscription year is Building Positive Relationships. This very important topic encompasses a range of Quality Areas within the National Quality Standard and will be explored in depth by the Nutrition in OSHC team over three months, from October to December 2022.
We hope you enjoy this newsletter and the targeted information for your setting.
Lunchbox Resources
Element 2.1.3 - Healthy Lifestyle
Healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child
In preparation for vacation care and the upcoming 2023 school year, here are some useful visual tools that we have put together to help families pack a balanced, healthy lunchbox using the five food groups. They are great to put on the fridge as a guide when packing lunchboxes with children. Click on the images to download and feel free to share these with families.
Preparing Safe Lunches
Element 2.1.2 - Health Practices and Procedures
Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented
Packing a lunchbox safely is important to keep the food enjoyable and safe to eat. Food poisoning bacteria grow in warm conditions between 5°C and 60°C. This is known as the Temperature Danger Zone. It is important to keep high risk food out of this zone by keeping it cool and securely packed when transporting food. As we head into the warmer months, this is a great reminder to prioritise food safety.
Here are our top 6 tips when preparing safe lunches:
- Choose insulated lunch boxes, use freezer packs, or wrap a frozen water bottle
- Leave lunches in the fridge or freezer until leaving for school
- Encourage children to keep lunches in school bags, out of direct sunlight
- Throw away leftovers at the end of the day
- Try to use containers or other forms of reusable packaging where possible
- Be cautious about cross contamination when preparing lunches
For more information, be sure to download our Packing Safe Lunchboxes resource!
Healthy Lunchbox Week 2023
Save the date for Healthy Lunchbox Week, which is on in Term 1 from 5th - 11th February!
The Healthy Lunchbox Week website features a range of user friendly recipes, fact sheets and guides, as well as videos. These resources may also be useful within OSHC services as you utilise lunchboxes during vacation care. Be sure to inform families of this great annual initiative led by Nutrition Australia, which inspires Australian families to create healthy lunchboxes for their children.
Christmas Food Safety
Food is central to Christmas celebrations, however many Christmas foods come with a higher risk of food poisoning. With foods sitting out on a bench or table for longer periods of time in the temperature danger zone, and leftovers coming in and out of the fridge in the days after Christmas, we need to take extra care with food safety.
This factsheet has some useful tips on how to keep your food safe for family and friends this Christmas. Click here or on the image below to download.
Christmas Recipes
Here are three Christmas themed recipe ideas that you might like to create with children this festive season! Please feel free to share these recipes with families.
Christmas Craft
Here are a few Christmas themed craft ideas that you might like to create with children this festive season! Please feel free to share these with families.
Carve Potatoes - Use Them for Stamps
Make homemade wrapping paper with a potato stamper.
Cut out potato slices into various shapes, like stars, apples, Christmas trees or wreaths. Children can stamp them with ink on brown paper to make their own personalised wrapping paper.
Christmas Tree - Food Collage
On paper, draw and cut out the shape of a Christmas tree. Children can cut out pictures from magazines or brochures of foods from the five food groups available in December. Children can glue these pictures onto the Christmas tree cut out. They might even want to hang them up as a decoration.
Homemade Ornaments
Make homemade ornaments with a salt dough made from salt, flour and water. Ensure children are supervised and have the necessary skills for preparing the dough and making into different shapes (e.g. using cookie cutters or hand prints). Cooking can be completed by an adult.
Salt Dough: 1 cup table salt + 4 cups flour + 1.5 cups water
Mix the above ingredients together until a dough forms a ball around the spoon. Knead the dough well, adding water if too crumbly. Create ornaments. Set the oven at 150°C and bake until hard (keep an eye on it in the oven). Once cool, ornaments can be painted and decorated.
Fishing for Foods
Children can cut out pictures from magazines or brochures of foods from the five food groups. Have the children glue these pictures onto a fish/Christmas themed shape cut from construction paper. Slip a paper clip onto the front of each fish/shape.
Make a fishing pole from a dowel and tie a magnet onto the end of the string.
Label five small buckets with the name/picture of each food group.
Have the children try to catch a fish and encourage them to decide which food group the food belongs to and then put the fish in the correct bucket.
Events and Training Opportunities
Online Training
We offer a suite of online training programs through our partner In Safe Hands. Click on the following links for more information and to register.
Level 1 - Nutrition Requirements for OSHC Educators
Are you up to date with the nutrition requirements for Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) settings? This training covers the nutrition basics that all staff working in the OSHC sector need to be aware of including the Australian Dietary Guidelines and nutrition in the National Quality Standard. Our online nutrition training can help settings meet and exceed their requirements under the National Quality Standard.
Level 1 - Safe Food Handling for OSHC Educators
Are you up to date with the food safety requirements in OSHC services? Our Online Food Safety training covers the food safety basics that all staff working in the OSHC sector need to be aware of. Our Online Food Safety training can help settings meet and exceed their requirements under the National Quality Standard.
Level 2 - Safe Food Handling for Outside School Hours Care Settings
This session is level 2, the second in a series of food safety courses designed for OSHC educators. This session builds on knowledge gained from level 1 by exploring more complex food safety concepts. It also takes an in-depth look at food experiences with children and important steps we can take to ensure these valuable learning experiences are safe for all.
Safe Knife Skills
Are you new to the kitchen environment or would you like to refresh your knife skills? This online course has step by step instructions to equip you with the knife skills to ensure competency.
How to Download your Subscription Certificate
Remember to download your certificate of subscription to display on your centre wall by clicking on the button below.
To download your certificate you must be logged in to the subscriber section
of the website.
To login, please click on the green 'Subscribe / Login' button on the top right hand side of our website. Your email to login is the email which this newsletter is sent to. If you do not know your password, click on the 'Forgot Password' link.
How to Access Previous OSHC E-newsletters
Did you know you can access previous OSHC E-newsletters on our website?
To access these E-newsletters you must be logged into the subscriber section
of the website.
Click on the link below and then scroll down to 'E-newsletter'. Enjoy!
Upcoming Events from Nutrition Australia Qld
Interested in our upcoming events and some more recipe ideas?
Check out our Upcoming Events eNewsletter via the link below and please feel free to forward on to families!
Do you have a question for the Nutrition in Outside School Hours Care team?
Feel free to give us a call (07 3257 4393) or email through your questions to oshc@naqld.org
Nutrition Australia Qld
Ph: (07) 3257 4393
Email: oshc@naqld.org
Website: www.naqld.org
Nutrition Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we work on and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.
