THEME - BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS 

Communicating with Families

Transitioning to Prep and OSHC

The Adult - Child Feeding Relationship

Webinar Recording - Building Positive Relationships

Recipes

Events and Training Opportunities

How to Download your Subscription Certificate

How to Access Previous OSHC E-newsletters

Monthly Update from Nutrition Australia Qld

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. 

Standard 6.1 
Respectful relationships with families are developed and maintained and families are supported in their parenting role 

A service is shaped by meaningful engagement with families that builds strong and collaborative relationships. There are a variety of ways we can communicate about food and nutrition. Here are a variety of different communication ideas that you can reflect on for your service:

• Orientation – share food policies and set expectations, find out dietary requirements, routines at home, food culture, refer to food & nutrition orientation checklist.

• Get collaborative – involves families in the creation of food themed events and resources, i.e., invite families to share a recipe to be included in a service recipe book.

• Seek out feedback – a service that provides food should send out a survey at least every 6-12 months to get feedback on the menu, have a clear process so that parents know how they can provide feedback i.e., feedback forms, acknowledge feedback and act on it, report back any changes.

• Sharing food stories – share positive food stories about children’s food experiences with families. i.e., cooking experiences, a child that has tried a new food.

• Talk about food & nutrition regularly – share information every week so that families become familiar and comfortable hearing and talking about healthy food. Include recipes or healthy eating tips in newsletters. 

• Communication pyramid – strengthen relationships by utilising multiple communication strategies, including foundational strategies, strategies for common problems and strategies for individual problems.

• Difficult conversations – some topics can be hard to bring up in a sensitive way. When having difficult conversations it is important to be an active listener, reinforce positive actions taken by the parent, use policies to support what you need to say, and ask a supervisor for assistance if you are not confident.

• Policies – have a clear policy that parents all read and sign. Don't forget to include information on food and nutrition for mealtimes practices. Share key points in policies with families through newsletters or emails.

Check out our resources below

Element 2.1.3 - Healthy Lifestyle 
Healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child 

Starting school and attending OSHC for the first time can be a tremendous change in a child’s eating patterns. They may be used to eating at different times, school/prep may have snack breaks and lunches shorter than they are used to. Here are some strategies to help with the transition to school and OSHC.

Check out these resources about supporting the transition to school and OSHC

Element 5.1.1 Positive educator to child interactions
Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident and included. 

OSHC Live Subscriber Webinars

Over this subscription year we will continue to offer subscribers free live webinars to aid in professional development. Our Nutrition in OSHC dietitians will present for 15 minutes on a topic related to our theme, with a further 15 minutes for questions and discussion.

Our most recent webinar was on the topic of Building Positive Relationships. If you were unable to join us for this session or would like to share this with your colleagues at your service, check out the video recording below!

Here are some recipe ideas that you might like to try at your service! Aim for meals/snacks that provide opportunities to include plenty of vegetables and colour such as these options.

Please feel free to share these recipes with families.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Nutrition Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we work on and pays respect to Elders past, present and emerging.