Early childhood is a critical time in the development of sleep patterns with significant consequences for children's health, behaviour, and learning. The preschool period represents a particularly important period for sleep development, with many children transitioning away from regular daytime sleep. Children’s needs for sleep, rest, and relaxation can vary significantly during this period presenting challenges in implementing practices that meet the National Quality Standard.

ISSR has developed a series of professional development workshops to assist early education professionals to: understand best practice in sleep, rest and relaxation; respond to changing regulatory frameworks; and promote healthy sleep development in young children. This training is the proud result of collaborations with our research partners: the Queensland Government Department of Education and Training, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Queensland University of Technology.

Learning objectives

Participants will learn about the current scientific evidence for what works (and doesn’t work) when it comes to early childhood sleep practices, and how educators can make a difference to improve long-term learning and development outcomes for children through adopting best practice in managing children’s sleep, rest and relaxation. These workshops are specifically designed to assist early childhood professionals in identifying and implementing appropriate sleep and rest policies and procedures in their work.

These sessions provide:

  • Critical information about normal sleep development in infants and toddlers, including day time sleep, and how early sleep needs change in response to age, health, and their environment.  
  • Discussion of the range of strategies that early childhood education and care services use in meeting sleep rest, and relaxation needs.
  • Mapping of sleep, rest, and relaxation practices against the National Quality Standard for early childhood education and care.
  • An opportunity to reflect on how current knowledge from sleep science can inform best practice policies and procedures for sleep, rest, and relaxation in early childhood education and care.

Training and advisory sessions

ECEC Sleep 0-3 (1/2 day): A workshop on best practice sleep, rest and relaxation for babies and toddlers in early childhood education and care.

ECEC Sleep 3-5 (1/2 day): A workshop on best practice sleep, rest and relaxation for children aged 3-5 years in early childhood education and care.

ECEC Sleep 0-5 + Policies (1 day): A workshop on best practice sleep, rest and relaxation across the early years (0-5 years) in early childhood education and care, including how to integrate best practice in internal policies and procedures.

ECEC Sleep Practice Consulting (on demand): Customised training and advisory services are available to ECEC educators in developing sleep and rest policies and procedures for their service.

Please contact our team directly for more information.

Costs:  Half-day training is $300 pp (excl. GST) and full day training is $600 (excl. GST).

Contact: To hear more about sleep research at ISSR or to discuss your development needs:

s.staton@uq.edu.au
+61 (0)7 3346 7470

Join our mailing list:  issr@uq.edu.au