Students

ECHE6010 – Health and Well-being in Early Childhood

2026 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-infrequent, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Sonja Maric
sonja.maric@mq.edu.au
Contact via Via iLearn/ Dialogue or Email
25 Wally's Walk
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MTeach(0-5)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit aims to cover many of the health issues that face children and families in both early childhood settings and at home. Early childhood professionals have an added duty of care that necessitates a comprehensive knowledge of likely and unlikely medical events in children's lives. It is also essential that these professionals are familiar with Australian regulations designed to protect children and ensure their optimal well being. With technology and medical knowledge increasing at an exponential rate, it is important to develop a critical awareness of controversies and differences of opinion concerning practices. An awareness of others' beliefs and levels of understanding is necessary. Debate is encouraged regarding health and medical choices and practices.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Know and understand of current health policies and regulations in early childhood services
  • ULO2: Use relevant skills in accessing, evaluating and using information gained from diverse sources in competent practical ways
  • ULO3: Promote positive health practices for young children in the family and early childhood services
  • ULO4: Evaluate early childhood programs in the context of preventive health and child wellbeing and optimise environment for young children
  • ULO5: Demonstrate awareness of current medical and scientific research affecting children and families
  • ULO6: Analyse factors involved in various controversies and debates
  • ULO7: Examine diversity of opinion and reasons underlying this diversity

General Assessment Information

General Submission Information

Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing. All assessments must be submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. Failure to submit work in an acceptable format may result in delays in processing your submission and potential penalties for non-compliance with assessment requirements. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file. It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments. If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to contact the unit convenor. Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit. Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked. Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic integrity (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3).

Special Consideration / Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day to late submissions, up until the 7th calendar day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. Important to note: · Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. · Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor (or equivalent). · Where an application for Special Consideration is approved and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes. · A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Applications must be made via Service Connect.

Marking

All assessments are marked using a rubric. Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.

University Policy on Grading

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading System and University Assessment Policy. To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment (MQTPA - in final WIL/PEx units) is marked as Not met, Met or Exceeds.

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit Service Connect.

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact your course progression

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI assisted?
Major Essay 50% No 01/04/2026 Individual No Open AI
Health and Safety Problem 50% No 13/05/2026 Individual No Open AI

Major Essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 38 hours
Due: 01/04/2026
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open

The major essay will cover a contemporary topic in early childhood health. 2000 words.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Promote positive health practices for young children in the family and early childhood services
  • Evaluate early childhood programs in the context of preventive health and child wellbeing and optimise environment for young children
  • Demonstrate awareness of current medical and scientific research affecting children and families
  • Analyse factors involved in various controversies and debates
  • Examine diversity of opinion and reasons underlying this diversity

Health and Safety Problem

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 43 hours
Due: 13/05/2026
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI assisted?: Open

You will be provided with a health and/or safety problem and work towards a realistic solution. 2000 words.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Know and understand of current health policies and regulations in early childhood services
  • Use relevant skills in accessing, evaluating and using information gained from diverse sources in competent practical ways
  • Promote positive health practices for young children in the family and early childhood services

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Resources

Required and recommended texts

Please consult Leganto for the recommended texts. 

Information about the unit iLearn site

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn. Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password.

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help.

Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk: via email onehelp@mq.edu.au or Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357. On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook