Pennsylvania requires licensed childcare staff to complete 12 hours per year of continuing education as a condition of state licensing. Child Development training counts toward these requirements — topics such as child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying categories under the Pennsylvania DHS OCEL continuing education requirements. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Pennsylvania and offers IACET‑accredited Child 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 |
| Child Development maps to | child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science |
| 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 |
| Child Development courses in Pennsylvania | View brightwheel courses |
About Child Development (CDA VIII)
Child Development — CDA Competency Area VIII — is the cross‑cutting knowledge base that connects all eight CDA competency areas. It covers principles of development across cognitive, social‑emotional, language, and physical domains, with particular depth on the birth‑to‑five window when brain growth is most rapid and most responsive to quality caregiving.
Understanding how children develop is the foundational skill of early childhood practice. Educators who know developmental milestones, understand how the brain builds neural pathways in early childhood, and recognize the lasting impact of early experiences are better equipped to make every caregiving interaction count.
Pennsylvania Child 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. Child Development training counts toward these hours — child growth and development, developmental milestones, and brain science are recognized qualifying CE topics. brightwheel Professional Development is accepted in Pennsylvania and offers IACET‑accredited courses aligned with the Child Development competency area.
Staff complete brightwheel’s Child 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 Child Development training covers
brightwheel’s Child Development courses cover the knowledge and skills early childhood educators need to support children in this competency area. Topics include:
Keystone STARS and Child 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 Child Development training requirements with brightwheel
Brightwheel offers IACET‑accredited Child 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.