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In the dynamic world of early childhood education, staying ahead isn't just an advantage—it's a necessity. Are your childcare educators equipped with the latest skills and knowledge to truly thrive and deliver exceptional care?
This article dives into why ongoing professional training for childcare staff is not just a regulatory checkbox, but a transformative investment that elevates skills, enriches educational programs, and ultimately, shapes brighter futures for the children in your care.
What is childcare staff training and why is it important?
Childcare staff training equips early childhood educators with the essential skills to properly care for and teach the children in your program. This goes beyond basic instruction, encompassing critical areas such as CPR, advanced nutrition, comprehensive emergency preparedness, and in-depth child development.
Regular and frequent training ensures staff are consistently up-to-date with the most recent and available information on child safety, enabling them to easily recall and put their training into practice in critical situations. This continuous learning directly enhances the safety of the children in your program and ensures your childcare center remains fully compliant with vital federal and state rules and regulations.
Here are additional reasons why comprehensive childcare staff training is essential:
Maintain compliance with childcare licensing
Federal law requires that childcare staff complete health and safety training on topics including:
- Pediatric first aid and CPR
- Safe sleep practices
- Child abuse recognition and prevention
- Child development
- Nutrition and food allergies
- Handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials
- Prevention of shaken baby syndrome and abusive head trauma
- Emergency preparedness for natural disasters and other events
- Water safety
- Transportation and traffic safety
In addition to federal requirements, each state has licensing and health and safety training requirements for childcare staff. Consult the National Database of Child Care Licensing Regulations to learn about your state's childcare staff training requirements.
Keep track of your employees' training hours and certifications with childcare management software like brightwheel. Store records digitally in staff profiles, manage staff schedules, and maintain open communication all from the same software you use to manage your program.
Enhance teaching skills and child development at your program
Training allows educators to confidently navigate real-world scenarios, making a tangible difference in children's lives at your program. Imagine a staff member, thanks to their recent CPR certification, calmly and effectively responding to a child's choking incident, or a teacher using their advanced child development knowledge to tailor engaging activities for a child struggling with social-emotional skills.
Furthermore, as your staff stays abreast of best practices in childcare and early education, they are better equipped to support children in meeting their developmental milestones. It is well established that in the first few years of life a young child’s brain is growing and changing rapidly. Childcare professionals need to be well-versed in how to nurture children’s development across all developmental domains—including social-emotional, cognitive, language, and motor development—during this critical time of growth.
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Build trust with families and drive enrollment
For childcare centers, a highly trained team isn't just an internal asset—it's your most powerful differentiator. When prospective families see that your staff holds certifications in advanced safety protocols, specialized early learning methodologies, or child psychology, it builds an unparalleled level of trust and confidence. This commitment to professional excellence reassures parents that their child isn't just safe, but is in an enriching environment where their holistic development is paramount, making your center the clear choice.
You can significantly draw in new clients by marketing your staff's impressive credentials. Additionally, fostering transparency and engaging your community, you can keep current families abreast of administrative updates by including and celebrating your staff’s new certifications and training in your center’s newsletter.
Childcare staff training and certification programs
Childcare staff can receive training from several early childhood education certification programs. The Online National Administrator Credential (NAC), Child Development Associate Associate (CDA), and Certified Childcare Professional (CCP) certification are credentials that childcare staff can earn. Each certification program has specific requirements.
Online National Administrator Credential (NAC)
The Online National Administrator Credential (NAC) is a certification offered by the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA) Commission. The Online NAC certification is accepted in 13 states.
NAC consists of 10 professional development competencies for administrators of early childhood education programs. Competency topics include professional development, regulations, staff management, marketing, financial management, operations, and leadership.
The Online NAC is a self-paced 45-hour online course for childcare center professionals and directors. You must complete the course within 180 days.
Child Development Associate (CDA) credential
The Child Development Associate (CDA) is a certification the Council for Professional Recognition offers in collaboration with educational institutions nationwide. The CDA teaches early childhood educators how to foster young children's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth.
To receive CDA certification, you must pass an exam that tests your knowledge of basic early childhood best practices and complete a verification visit with a CDA professional development specialist.
Certified Childcare Professional (CCP) credential
The Certified Childcare Professional (CCP) certification is offered by the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA) Commission. It’s designed for early childhood educators and is accepted in 13 states.
A CCP certification course covers topics such as creating an optimal and culturally responsive learning environment, promoting children’s development, classroom management, child development theory and practice, and assessments.
The certification course is a self-paced program that can take from six months to a year to complete and includes an exam and a field counselor performance-based observation. The CCP award needs to be renewed every two years.
Professional development training for childcare staff
Professional development training helps early childhood educators learn about advances in child development research and early childhood education practices. Pursuing ongoing professional development training will help you provide your children with an education that is supported by the newest research.
Ongoing professional development training will help you and your staff improve your skills, build your professional knowledge, grow your career, and create the best learning experience for the children in your childcare program. The requirements for ongoing professional development training for childcare staff vary by state.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) offers a range of online learning and professional development resources tailored for early childhood educators. These self-paced, interactive courses are designed to bridge professional knowledge with practical, everyday application. Training topics include developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), curriculum and instruction, family engagement, play-based learning, and more.
The Childcare Education Institute (CCEI)
The Childcare Education Institute (CCEI) is the industry leader in online professional development for early childhood educators. The CCEI offers an online catalog of over 300 online professional development courses that teach childcare staff how to manage their classrooms, care for and teach the children in their program, and engage their community. The CCEI adds 30 hours of new course content to its course catalog each year.
The CCEI provides professional development courses on the following topics:
- Administration and management
- Diversity and inclusion
- Curriculum and assessment
- Child development and learning
- Family and community engagement
- Guidance and classroom management
- Infant and toddler care
- Preschool care
Help your staff improve their skills by enrolling in childcare staff training today
A childcare center is only as good as its educators. Help your staff reach their full potential by enrolling your center in childcare staff training.
With quality training and professional development, your staff will have the skills to ensure children’s health and safety while creating a safe, accepting environment that fosters their physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development.
Brightwheel is the complete solution for early education providers, enabling you to streamline your center’s operations and build a stand-out reputation. Brightwheel connects the most critical aspects of running your center—including sign in and out, parent communications, tuition billing, and licensing and compliance—in one easy-to-use tool, along with providing best-in-class customer support and coaching. Brightwheel is trusted by thousands of early education centers and millions of parents. Learn more at mybrightwheel.com.
