Both courses are run by Babyem, an accredited training agency, and get an OCN accredited certificate at the end of the course.

1. OCN Level 3 & 4 Sleep Training Blended Course  

This practical sleep course is suitable for maternity nurses, nannies and other childcare professionals. It is designed to teach candidates the different approaches to supporting families with sleep, how to create the right sleep environment, and how to effectively complete sleep consultations with parents, exploring real life case studies.

The course explores key factors that contribute to babies and children waking in the night including sleep regression, developmental milestones, cognitive changes, nutritional and environmental factors. 

The course also addresses sleeping behaviours in older children including child psychology and how different types of attachment can manifest into sleep problems.

The goal is to provide gentle evidence-based information for families that is respectful of babies and parents and promotes attachment as well as infant and child mental health.

The post course assessment can be completed at level 3 and level 4, and is accredited through Open College Network London. 

The course modules are: 

Module 1 – Reasons why babies and children wake in the night

• Exploration of key factors that contribute to babies and children waking in the night including sleep regression, developmental mile stones, cognitive changes and nutritional factors and unmet needs in the day

Module 2 – Sleeping behaviours in older children (including child psychology)

• Understanding of cognitive and developmental milestones that may affect sleep in older children.

Module 3 – Understand how different types of attachment can manifest into sleep problems

• Understanding attachment focused strategies for dealing with older children’s sleep problems

Module 4 – Different influencing approaches to sleep training

• Understanding of the developmental, biological and nutritional influencing approaches to sleep coaching at different ages and stages i.e. babies, toddlers and young children.

Module 5 – Creating the right sleep environment

• Creating the ideal sleep environment for children

• Creating a safe sleep environment

Module 6 – Supporting families with sleep

• How to implement of a programme to effectively support sleeping habits in babies

• How to implement gentle and sustainable sleep routines – including the use of gentle sleep coaching methods

• Knowing how and when to involve a child and how to do this.

Course Cost: 

Level 3 - full payment £220 or 3 instalments of £81 or 6 of £47. 

Level 4 - full payment £295 or 3 instalments of £105 or 6 of £72. 

For more information, the next available dates or to book it please visit Babyem’s website here. 

2. Online Gentle Sleep Educator Course – babies 0 - 18 months 

This online course is for maternity nurses, night nannies, new born care specialists and other professionals who want to deepen their knowledge and ability to help families to overcome common sleep challenges. 

It provides candidates with an understanding of the science of normal sleep for newborns and infants and strategies to help families improve sleep.

The course modules are: 

• What is Gentle sleep Educator

• Sleep philosophies

• The impact of sleep deprivation and factors that affect sleep 

• What can impact sleep

• Circadian rhythms

• Sleep cycles and circadian rhythms

• Normal infant sleep 0 – 3 months

• Sleep in newborn – 3 month old babies

• Normal infant sleep in 3-6 months

• Normal infant sleep 6-18 months

• Naps

• Night Feeds

• Sleep associations and regressions

• Self-soothing; is it a myth?

• Controlled crying

• Causes of SIDS and how to reduce risk factors

• Bed-sharing

• How to reduce the risk of SIDS

• Preliminary considerations and quick wins for easier sleep

• Sleep Hygiene

• Creating a good bedtime routine

• Getting started on promoting better night sleep

• Sleep Strategies

• Feed reduction strategies

• Troubleshooting and Positioning Families for Success

• Sleep schedule and logs

• Supporting Clients and Better Sleep for Adult Sleep

• Sleep Assessment

• How food affects sleep and how to heal the gut

• Why sleep habits are important

• Why babies wake in the night

• 4 Month Developmental Milestone

• Cognitive Changes and Sleep

• Nutritional Factors and Sleep Disturbance

• Other challenges that disturb sleep and solutions

• Behavioural, developmental, biological and nutritional approaches to sleep coaching

• When is sleep coaching appropriate

• Understanding and preventing toxic stress

• Different types of attachment and how they can manifest in sleep problems. 

Course Cost: 

Level 3 – full payment £295 or 3 instalments of £105

Level 4 – full payment £345 or 3 instalments of £122

For more information about this course or to book it please click here.

Both courses have similar core modules. The main differences are that the OCN Level 3 & 4 Sleep Training Blended Course is 6 hrs online training and 1 day attendance in London and contains information on how to work as a sleep coach. The Gentle Sleep Educator course is fully online and does not contain information on how to work as a sleep coach.