Stay Current with Training and Safety Certifications Using Child Care Management Solutions

Types of Child Care Training

There are two main categories of training and certification that care providers must complete according to Child Care Aware. These are initial training and annual training.

Initial Training

Before starting a daycare center, owners, administrators, and staff have to undergo initial training and coursework in daycare management. This often includes receiving a degree in early or elementary education, as well as continuing education credits. These courses teach daycare providers how to build curriculums and handle the business and administrative aspects of running a child care center.

Initial training courses are those that are completed once during a care provider’s career. Though still important, it is generally simpler to track these credentials for each instructor.

Annual Training

Annual training refers to training and certifications that must be renewed on a yearly or biannual basis, as many states require these courses to be taken by care professionals every two years.

This type of training is generally focused on emergency safety and ensuring that child care providers can recognize and monitor developmental or emotional issues.

Emergency Safety Training

Kids will often push their limits without realizing the dangerous consequences associated with their actions. That is why it is important that care providers have up-to-date first aid training and CPR certifications. Required certifications might vary based on the age group your center serves. For example, there is an entirely different set of recommendations when it comes to CPR for infants. These trainings include both indoor and outdoor safety to ensure teachers can create a safe environment for students.

Annual emergency training will also ensure that instructors are prepared to handle natural disasters, such as fires, as well as man-made emergencies.

Child Development Training 

In addition to emergency training, care providers must renew certifications that inform them on the development process. This includes the ability to recognize and diagnose cognitive disabilities or areas of physical development that might need more attention. This will also include training to care for children with special needs. Finally, caregivers will have to attend trainings that enable them recognize potential cases of child abuse, and teach them the proper protocol to report it.

The most effective way to track the completion of each of these types of training is with child care management solutions.

Using Child Care Management Solutions to Track Trainings

Keeping track of all of these certifications is necessary to ensure the safety of students, and that your center is compliant with state regulations. However, tracking the initial, annual, and continuing courses being pursued by your staff can be difficult to do manually.

With child care management solutions you can track child care training and certifications on an individual level, and set reminders for when they need to be renewed.

For example, Procare helps child care centers track employee training and continuing education hours using the Requirements or Benefit Hours settings in the Employee Data Module.

Incorporating a software solution at your child care center can ensure that your staff is always up to date on necessary training and certifications – thus creating a safe and healthy learning environment.

Final Thoughts

To meet state regulations and give parents peace of mind, child care providers must continually learn the most effective methods for teaching and caring for their students. When caring for children each day, it is easy to get busy and lose track of individual training records. With child care management solutions, tracking employee training and setting reminders gives providers more time to engage with and plan activities for their children.

Learn more about how Procare’s child care management solutions help organize employee and family data.