Maternal and Child Health Workforce Training Program
In recognising the importance of sleep for a child’s long term development and for the wellbeing of families, the Victorian government developed a new evidence-informed Sleep and Settling Model of Care (the model). The model was developed with consultants from KPMG in consultation with MCH and other Advisory groups.
Tweddle Child and Family Health Service, together with the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare (CFECFW), have delivered a three-phase training package for the MCH workforce. This training program is supported by the Victorian Government.
Health professionals who do not work in Victorian Maternal and Child Health Service teams located in Local Government, Regional Health Service, Early Parenting Centre or ACCHO are not eligible to attend this training course.
Tweddle now offers training in Sleep and Settling in a similar workshop format to other Community and Health Professionals who are not working in MCH services. Visit Tweddle’s Professional Development page for more information.
This training program consists of three phases:
- Online training – a prerequisite to be completed before the workshop
- Workshop – available with priority for EPC staff and those organisations that may not have access to a Sleep and Settling Trainer. Registration is now open for Thursday, 14 March.
- Train the Trainer (This training is no longer available) – in May 2022, Tweddle trained 5-10% of the MCH workforce in Sleep and Settling – Train the Trainer. Each team now has a Sleep and Settling champion who can support and train their peers in the model, including MCH workforce staff and recent graduates.
Who Can Undertake the Online Training?
The Sleep and Settling training was designed for the MCH sector only, and as a result the Department of Health funding is limited to the MCH sector.
Your MCH Coordinator (or equivalent role) can register eligible staff to receive this training. The following staff are required to undertake the training:
- MCH Coordinators and Team Leaders
- MCH Nurses
- MCH Line Staff
- MCH Support and Allied Health staff working in the Enhanced MCH Program
- MCH Nurses, Team Leaders and Early Parenting Practitioners working in Early Parenting Centres.
- Students currently completing the Graduate Diploma in Child and Family Health Nursing
- MCH Nurses and Aboriginal Health and Family Support Practitioners working with families in Aboriginal organisations through the Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health Program.
Online Training (Phase 1)
The online course consists of an overview, six learning modules, videos and the library. Each module provides an overview of the many elements that impact babies’ sleep and settling behaviour.
This includes detailed information from the model and evidence-based research, visual representations; videos that include interviews with experts and best practice examples of MCH and Early Parenting Practitioners working with families. Each module takes approximately 60-90 minutes to complete.
The online course is hosted on the Learning Management System (LMS) of the CFECFW until June 2024 for eligible staff and university students. If you are new to this course please register on this site. For assistance with existing participant logins, please contact the CFECFW.
Workshops (Phase 2)
Since June 2021, Tweddle has delivered over 50 workshops across the state. The workshop schedule has included 79 LGAs, ten Aboriginal Organisations, three Early Parenting Centres and three universities.
It is anticipated that with the opening of new and expanded Early Parenting Centres (EPC) from late 2023, there will be many new EPC staff across these new centres. Consequently, there is an opportunity for eligible new EPC staff, who have not yet completed the Sleep and Settling training course, to attend one of the Tweddle-delivered Sleep and Settling training workshops.
During 2023-24, there will be four sessions as follows:
- Wednesday 20 September 2023
- Thursday 7 December 2023
- Thursday 14 March 2024
- Thursday 6 June 2024
Registrations for the final workshop on 6 June 2024 will be made available by mid-April 2024.
Registrations are limited to the MCH workforce, with priority given to new EPC staff, (eligibility criteria as above) and will close at 12 noon on Monday prior to the workshop date or until they are fully booked.
Train the Trainer (Phase 3)
Tweddle has trained 5-10% of the MCH workforce in Sleep and Settling – Train the Trainer. Each team now has a Sleep and Settling champion who can support and train their peers in the model, including MCH workforce staff and recent graduates.
Please note, this phase is no longer available.
Using the Course Information with Families
The workbook and videos were written for the MCH sector as a professional development tool and can be shown to Victorian MCH service teams for further discussion. The course information is not suitable to be shared with families in its entirety. However, once the MCH Service has completed the Phase 2 workshop, the MCH service can share pages 25 and 68-71 of the workbook with families. When an original source, such as Purple Crying, is located on the internet, these can also be shared with families. These original sources are included in the workbook’s references.
Sleep and Settling Fact Sheets
A suite of 14 sleep and settling fact sheets have been developed to provide information and support to parents, caregivers, and service providers. These will support consistent and evidence-informed approaches to sleep and settling information sessions. Sleep and Settling Simple English Fact Sheets and Community Languages Fact Sheets have also been developed. Visit the Sleep – Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler page to view the fact sheets.
Further Information
Are you part of the Victorian MCH Workforce and want to know more information about the Sleep and Settling training program? Please email your questions to sleepandsettling@tweddle.org.au.
Tweddle acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government.
