Pennsylvania requires licensed childcare staff to complete 12 hours per year of continuing education as a condition of state licensing. Physical and Intellectual Development training counts toward these requirements — topics such as curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development are recognized qualifying categories under the Pennsylvania DHS OCEL continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Pennsylvania and offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development courses that staff can complete on demand, with all completions tracked automatically in brightwheel. brightwheel courses auto‑post completed hours directly to the Pennsylvania PD Registry (PA Keys).
| Annual CE hours (teachers) | 12 hours per training year |
| Training period | Annual |
| Physical and Intellectual Development maps to | curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development |
| Regulatory authority | Pennsylvania DHS OCEL |
| brightwheel approved in Pennsylvania | ✓ Yes — accepted for Pennsylvania CE requirements |
| Auto‑posts to Pennsylvania PD Registry (PA Keys) | ✓ Yes — completed course hours post automatically to staff registry accounts |
| Physical and Intellectual Development courses in Pennsylvania | View brightwheel courses |
About Physical and Intellectual Development (CDA II)
Physical and Intellectual Development — CDA Competency Area II — covers the skills educators need to support children’s cognitive, language, and physical growth through intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences from birth through age 5.
The first five years represent the most rapid period of brain development in the human lifespan. Educators who understand how children build language, think, and develop physically are better equipped to design environments and interactions that accelerate school readiness and close developmental gaps early.
Pennsylvania Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements
Pennsylvania childcare staff must complete 12 hours of annual continuing education as a condition of maintaining a license from the Pennsylvania DHS OCEL. Physical and Intellectual Development training counts toward these hours — curriculum development, cognitive development, and language development are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Pennsylvania and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Physical and Intellectual Development competency area.
Staff complete brightwheel’s Physical and Intellectual Development courses on demand — each course is 1 hour, self‑paced, and includes an assessment with a certificate of completion. All completions are recorded automatically in the brightwheel administrator dashboard, making compliance documentation straightforward for Pennsylvania licensing audits.
What Physical and Intellectual Development training covers
brightwheel’s Physical and Intellectual Development courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
Keystone STARS and Physical and Intellectual Development
Keystone STARS is Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating and Improvement System. Staff professional development in CDA‑aligned competency areas is a core component of Keystone STARS quality ratings — programs that demonstrate ongoing staff training earn higher ratings. brightwheel’s IACET‑accredited courses align with the professional development requirements recognized by Keystone STARS, and the automatic tracking dashboard makes it straightforward to demonstrate staff training during program quality evaluations.
Keystone STARS →How brightwheel connects to the Pennsylvania PD Registry (PA Keys)
Frequently asked questions
Other competency areas available in Pennsylvania
Meet Pennsylvania Physical and Intellectual Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Physical and Intellectual Development courses accepted in Pennsylvania — with automatic tracking and Pennsylvania PD Registry (PA Keys) auto‑posting built in.
View full course roster
Accreditation: Brightwheel is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.