By BEST Childcare Consulting
Global Handwashing Day, celebrated every year on 15 October, is an ideal opportunity for early childhood education services to highlight the importance of handwashing as a simple, powerful way to keep children healthy. Handwashing with soap and water is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs that cause illness, helping reduce absenteeism and supporting children’s overall wellbeing. In early childhood settings, where play, exploration, and shared resources are part of daily life, teaching and reinforcing proper handwashing routines empowers children to take responsibility for their own health. By celebrating this day through hands-on activities, songs, and science experiments, educators can make hygiene education fun, memorable, and embedded into daily practice — supporting compliance with the National Quality Standard and building a culture of health and safety that lasts all year.
Why is handwashing so important?
- Handwashing with soap helps remove microbes (“germs”) that we pick up from objects, surfaces, or people, reducing the risk of diarrhoeal and respiratory illnesses.
- Studies show that promoting handwashing can reduce diarrhoeal disease by 23–40% and respiratory illnesses by 16–21%.
- Yet, many people—especially children—don’t wash their hands adequately or at critical times. The global campaign aims to raise awareness and change that behaviour.
Goals for early childhood settings
- Help children understand why we wash hands (germs, health, preventing spread)
- Teach how to wash hands properly (wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry)
- Embed handwashing into routines (before meals, after toileting, after play)
- Make it engaging, fun, and memorable
Activity Ideas for Early Childhood
- Pepper & Soap Experiment – Sprinkle ground pepper (“germs”) over water, let children dip a finger, then add soap and watch the pepper scatter. Dramatic visual for how soap works.
- Glitter Germs – Put glitter on children’s hands to show how germs cling. First try washing with just water, then with soap to see the difference.
- Handwashing Sequencing Cards – Use picture cards showing each step (wet → soap → scrub → rinse → dry). Children order them correctly or glue into a sequence.
- Handwashing Song or Rhyme – Sing along to ensure 20 seconds of scrubbing. Adapt tunes like “Twinkle, Twinkle” or “Baby Shark” with fun, soapy lyrics.
- “Pass the Germ” Game – Pass a ball or “germ sticker” around to show how germs spread. Discuss how handwashing stops the chain.
- Germ Art & Monster Drawings – Children imagine what germs look like, then draw or paint them. Display near sinks as a visual reminder.
- Poster or Banner Making – Create colourful handwashing signs to display around sinks and bathrooms.
- Dramatic Play Area – Set up a “handwashing station,” hospital, or soap shop where children role-play teaching others proper handwashing.
- Storytime About Germs & Hygiene – Read books about staying clean and healthy, then discuss characters’ actions.
- Interactive Templates & Colouring – Use resources from Global Handwashing Partnership or Twinkl for colouring pages, quizzes, and templates.
- Simple Science Experiment – Show how soap breaks down oil in water to reinforce why soap is essential for removing dirt and germs.
QIP write ups for Handwashing
QA1 – Educational Program and Practice
Embedded Practice: Handwashing is explicitly taught through engaging science experiments, sequencing cards, and songs, ensuring that hygiene is part of everyday learning rather than a one-off activity. Educators model correct handwashing and narrate steps to build vocabulary and understanding.
Critical Reflection: Educators reflect on children’s understanding of germs and hygiene habits during programming meetings, adjusting experiences to support children who may struggle with sensory issues around water or soap.
Meaningful Engagement: Children contribute to handwashing posters and displays, strengthening ownership and agency over their health practices.
QA2 – Children’s Health and Safety
Embedded Practice: Daily handwashing routines before meals, after toileting, and following outdoor play are consistently applied. Global Handwashing Day is used to refresh and reinforce these routines with visual reminders and fun activities.
Critical Reflection: Educators review illness data and hygiene policies to identify improvements (e.g., upgrading soap dispensers, ensuring visual prompts at child height).
Meaningful Engagement: Families are provided with information on handwashing at home, and children share what they learned, building consistent hygiene habits across home and service.
QA3 – Physical Environment
Embedded Practice: Handwashing stations are kept clean, stocked, and child-accessible every day. For Global Handwashing Day, they are decorated with children’s artwork to increase engagement.
Critical Reflection: Educators discuss how the physical layout supports (or hinders) handwashing (e.g., crowding at sinks) and make adjustments such as staggering transitions or adding step stools.
Meaningful Engagement: Children suggest where posters and reminders should go, ensuring the environment reflects their voices and choices.
QA4 – Staffing Arrangements
Embedded Practice: All educators consistently model handwashing practices, including following the correct steps themselves.
Critical Reflection: Team meetings include discussions about role-modelling hygiene and supervising sinks effectively, especially during busy transitions.
Meaningful Engagement: Educators share strategies and ideas with one another and with relief staff, ensuring consistent practice across the team.
QA5 – Relationships with Children
Embedded Practice: Educators use positive language to encourage handwashing, framing it as a caring act that keeps everyone safe.
Critical Reflection: Educators consider children’s emotional responses (e.g., fear of water, dislike of soap smell) and adapt approaches sensitively.
Meaningful Engagement: Children are encouraged to help peers remember to wash hands, fostering collaboration and peer leadership.
QA6 – Collaborative Partnerships with Families and Communities
Embedded Practice: Families receive newsletters and social media posts with tips for reinforcing handwashing at home.
Critical Reflection: Educators gather family feedback about what works at home and share community resources (e.g., Global Handwashing Partnership templates).
Meaningful Engagement: Invite families to contribute songs, posters, or photos of their home handwashing routines to display at the service.
QA7 – Governance and Leadership
Embedded Practice: Policies on health, hygiene, and illness exclusion are consistently followed and reviewed annually. Global Handwashing Day activities are documented as part of the service’s continuous improvement cycle.
Critical Reflection: Leadership teams review compliance with Reg 77 (Health, Hygiene, and Safe Food Practices) and Reg 88 (Infection Control) to ensure policies are current.
Meaningful Engagement: Management shares outcomes with staff and families in QIP updates, celebrating improvements (e.g., reduced illness rates or improved handwashing compliance).
Extending Global Handwashing Values Throughout the Year
1. Make Hygiene a Visible Part of the Learning Environment
- Permanent Visuals: Keep child-made posters and sequencing cards displayed near sinks all year, updating them termly with fresh artwork.
- Handwashing Songs as Routine: Continue using songs or rhymes before meals and after messy play to make handwashing fun and consistent.
- Rotating Hygiene Stations: Add sensory play (e.g., soap foam tables, bubbles, water play) periodically to reinforce the connection between cleaning and fun exploration.
2. Embed Critical Reflection in Team Practice
- Regular Staff Meetings: Include hygiene review in staff meetings once per term — check soap supply systems, accessibility of sinks, and consistency of supervision.
- Analyse Health Data: Track illnesses (gastro, colds) across the year and reflect on whether improved hygiene is reducing absenteeism.
- Adjust Policies: Update risk assessments, policies, and cleaning schedules based on educator feedback and observed child needs (e.g., extra handwashing cues in winter).
3. Engage Children as Active Participants
- Hygiene Monitors: Give children “handwashing champion” roles each week to help peers remember to wash hands.
- Child-Led Experiments: Repeat the pepper/soap or glitter experiments each term with new children and let older children lead the demo.
- Inquiry Projects: Explore “where germs live” under magnifying glasses or with blacklight kits to deepen understanding and build STEM links.
4. Strengthen Family and Community Partnerships
- Family Newsletters: Include hygiene tips in monthly newsletters (e.g., how to teach handwashing at home, facts about flu season).
- Workshops or Videos: Create short videos or posters to share on social media, showing your children demonstrating proper handwashing steps.
- Community Health Links: Partner with local community health nurses or infection-control specialists to run sessions or provide updated resources.
5. Build a Culture of Celebrating Health & Wellbeing
- Link to Other Events: Connect handwashing education to other health days — e.g., Dental Health Week, Nutrition Week, Immunisation Awareness Week — showing that hygiene is one piece of the whole-child wellbeing puzzle.
- Data-Informed Celebrations: Share improvements in reduced illness rates or improved compliance in your QIP updates with families, turning small wins into celebrations.
- Leadership Focus: Keep hygiene and infection control as a standing item in leadership meetings and as part of your continuous improvement cycle.
6. Evidence and Document in Your QIP
- Photographs & Child Voice: Collect child artwork, quotes, and photos of them role-modelling correct handwashing across the year.
- Staff Reflections: Keep a record of staff observations and changes made in response to reflection — this is strong Exceeding evidence.
- Policy and Training Records: Document when hygiene policies are reviewed and staff are trained or refreshed on correct procedures.
Useful Links & Websites
Official hub for Global Handwashing Day. Offers free planning guides, posters, interactive templates, fact sheets, and ideas for events. Global Handwashing Partnership – https://globalhandwashing.org
Clear, evidence-based resources on why handwashing matters, when to wash hands, and how to teach children proper technique CDC – Clean Hands Save Lives – https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing.
World Health Organization campaign materials with posters, infographics, and global messaging about hygiene and disease prevention WHO – Hand Hygiene in Community Settings – https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hand-hygiene-day.
Child-focused hygiene campaigns, handwashing education strategies, and behaviour-change tools. UNICEF – Hygiene Promotion – https://www.unicef.org/wash/hygiene
Printable sequencing cards, posters, and hygiene-themed activities designed for preschool and early years. Twinkl Handwashing Resources (AU) – https://www.twinkl.com.au/resources/early-years-healthy-living/early-years-hygiene.
Digital game encouraging children to scrub properly for 20 seconds. Soapy Hero! Interactive Handwashing Game – https://www.lifesavvy.com/soapy-hero-handwashing-game
National infection prevention and control guidelines, great for linking policy compliance to everyday practice. Australian Department of Health – Infection Prevention – https://www.health.gov.au/topics/infection-control
Step-by-step child-friendly handwashing guide with illustrations. Better Health Channel – Handwashing Guide (VIC Gov) – https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/handwashing
Parent-friendly factsheets to share with families about why and when to wash hands. Kids Health Info (Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne) – https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Handwashing/
Guidance on meeting National Quality Standard requirements for health, hygiene, and safe food practices (Regs 77, 80, 88). Infection Control in ECEC – ACECQA – https://www.acecqa.gov.au/resources/supporting-materials
“Palmolive Clean Hands / Good Health” Program
Palmolive offers a program called Clean Hands Good Health (CHGH), which provides educational resources and free kits to support hand hygiene education in schools and early childhood settings. The CHGH program has been around “since 2010” and aims to make learning about hand hygiene fun and accessible. Palmolive describes CHGH as supporting parents and teachers (K-6) by providing education kits and online materials to help children develop good hygiene routines and habits.
What Resources Are Available
From Palmolive’s site, you can download or order:
- “Handy the Octopus Saves the Day” — a children’s book that teaches when and how to wash hands. Palmolive Australia
- “When to Wash Your Hands” poster — shows critical moments for hand hygiene (e.g. before eating, after toileting). Palmolive Australia
- “How to Wash Your Hands” poster — step-by-step visuals to guide children. Palmolive Australia
- Handwashing Champion Stickers — awards for children who demonstrate good hand hygiene. Palmolive Australia
- Educational kit ordering (free) via their website. Palmolive Australia
How You Could Use This in Your Early Childhood Setting
Here are suggestions for how you might incorporate Palmolive’s program and materials to strengthen your hygiene curriculum and embed exceeding practices:
- Order the free kit / download resources
Use the Palmolive website’s “Order a Free Kit” or “Resources to Download” pages to get posters, storybooks, and stickers for your setting. This gives you ready-made, child-friendly visuals. - Use the characters / story in teaching
Introduce “Handy the Octopus” and friends to children to personify germs and hygiene. Use the story “Handy the Octopus Saves the Day” as a read-aloud, then follow with discussion and model the steps. - Integrate with your existing program
- Use their “When to Wash” and “How to Wash” posters at your sinks, in bathrooms, and in classrooms.
- Use the Champion stickers to recognise and celebrate children who follow hygiene routines consistently.
- Add extension activities: drawing “Handy and friends,” sequencing steps, or dramatizing the story.
- Embed in your QIP and continuous improvement
- Document when you use Palmolive CHGH resources (dates, classes, children’s work)
- Use them as evidence of embedding external high-quality resources into your practice
- Reflect with your team about how children respond, and adapt your further hand hygiene planning accordingly
- Connect with families
- Share the storybook, posters, or simple handwashing tips (from Palmolive) with families so children get consistency between home and centre
- Maybe host a “Handy Day” where children demonstrate hygiene routines and families are invited to see the materials in use
- Revisit the materials across the year
- Use the posters and story not just on Global Handwashing Day, but periodically (e.g. start of term, flu season) to refresh interest and commitment
- Encourage children to take ownership (e.g. “Which poster should go next to our sink?”)
BEST Childcare Consulting
At BEST Childcare Consulting, we believe that good hygiene habits lay the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing. By making Global Handwashing Day fun, meaningful, and part of your everyday practice, you’re not just meeting compliance requirements – you’re embedding a culture of care, respect, and responsibility that supports children, families, and educators alike. Together, let’s keep little hands clean and big ideas growing – all year round. As always, use these inspirations to lead your service throughout the whole year in your everyday practices to truly earn an exceeding rating.
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