CPL FAQs

Yes. Under the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007, Ontario Regulation 359/15: Continuous Professional Learning, it is mandatory for you to fulfill the requirements of the CPL Program.

As regulated professionals, all RECEs must do so, regardless of employment status, role or practice setting. This includes members who are retired or working outside the scope of practice.

The College will send you an email regarding your possible non-compliance with CPL Program requirements. The email will include instructions for how you can confirm your compliance. 

If the College does not receive confirmation of your compliance within 30 days, the Registrar will provide a notice of intention to suspend your certificate of registration for failing to comply with CPL Program requirements. You will be asked to submit your CPL records to the College for review within 60 days.

Yes. Your Certificate of Registration may be suspended by the Registrar if you do not comply with a requirement of the CPL Program. These requirements are set out in the Continuous Professional Learning regulation under the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007.

Members who falsely declare compliance with their CPL Program requirements could be found guilty of professional misconduct.

To learn more about what happens if you do not complete your CPL requirements, read the Notice of CPL Program Requirements.

You must complete the Expectations for Practice Module and the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program in your first year of membership.

After you renew for the first time, you will then begin an ongoing professional learning program, the CPL Portfolio Cycle. The CPL Portfolio Cycle is then repeated every year while you are a College member.

If you have extenuating circumstances that interfere with completing your CPL Program requirements during a membership year, we recommend you submit a request for deferral. Visit My College Account to find the CPL Deferral Request Form and to submit your supporting documents to the College.

Log into My College Account, then click on the Continuous Professional Learning tab to check your current CPL Program requirement.

Here’s a tip sheet  to help you understand the CPL Cycle Details table, which you’ll find in My College Account. The table shows your past CPL declarations and current CPL step.

You must keep your CPL Program records for at least two years. At any time, the Registrar may request that you submit your CPL Program records to the College to confirm compliance or for an audit of your records.

The Notice of CPL Program Requirements outlines which CPL Program records you are required to keep.

No, you are not required by the College to submit or share your CPL Program records with your employer. In some cases, employers may integrate aspects of the CPL Program into performance management processes or professional development plans. You are welcome to share and collaborate with your employer or your colleagues in completing the program requirements.

The Sexual Abuse Prevention Program consists of three required elements:

• Commit to Kids – Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training
• Teatree Tells – Put into Practice
• College Resources to Review:

1. 1. Professional Advisory: Duty to Report
   2. Racism and Bias in Reporting to Child Welfare
   3. Sexual Abuse Prevention Program Scenarios 

This educational program builds on the skills and knowledge RECEs already have in sexual abuse prevention and equips them to apply it in their work. The program is available through My College Account, at any time and at no cost, in English and French and must be completed by all members.

Learn more about the required elements.

The Sexual Abuse Prevention Program is a component of the College’s Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) Program.

All new or reinstating members on or after July 1, 2022 must complete the Expectations for Practice Module and the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program before their first renewal. Learn more.

Existing members prior to July 1, 2022 should visit My College Account and review their Continuous Professional Learning tab to confirm their deadline for completing the program.

The first two required elements involve online, interactive member education, offered in partnership with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), a national charity dedicated to the safety of children. They consist of training modules, a knowledge validation test and a quiz that members must complete.

The third required element of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program consists of College Resources to review:

1. Professional Advisory: Duty to Report
2. Racism and Bias in Reporting to Child Welfare
3. Sexual Abuse Prevention Program Scenarios

Members are required to read the resources and reflect on them.

One component of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program, a module called Teatree Tells, equips you to have conversations with preschool children around prevention and personal safety, when/if necessary. Teatree Tells provides activities, lessons and resources on topics such as identifying a safe adult, identifying feelings, naming body parts, establishing personal boundaries, and okay/not okay touching.  

The decision to implement any of the activities or lessons into programming is determined by child care and early years organizations, guided by How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years.

At this time, you only need to complete the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program online training once. However, the College will periodically review this and may evolve the program, according to member needs and feedback.

The College’s Sexual Abuse Prevention Program is public knowledge. While the online education portion is only accessible to RECEs via My College Account, information about the program in general is available publicly.

Decisions to share information from the program with parents and families are determined by child care and early years organizations, and will not be moderated by the College.

Yes. While there are some similarities between the Ontario College of Teachers’ Sexual Abuse Prevention Program (i.e., the “Commit to Kids” module) and the College of Early Childhood Education’s prevention program, our program also includes an online module called Teatree Tells and other resources specific to the practice of early childhood education in Ontario.

RECEs who are also Ontario Certified Teachers will need to complete the Commit to Kids knowledge validation test and all other elements required by the College of Early Childhood Educators.

You may choose to complete the program alone, with colleagues or with a trusted person. Engaging in reflection and dialogue with colleagues may enhance your learning. Each member must complete the knowledge validation test and quiz in their own profile and confirm completion of the program components upon renewal.

Absolutely. You can complete the modules in a way that suits your schedule, learning needs and learning style.You do NOT need to complete the full program in one sitting.

Although the program is designed with a focus on prevention, the College recognizes that participating in the program can be emotionally, mentally and physically distressing given the sensitive nature of the content. For some, this content can be particularly difficult due to lived experience related to abuse, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse or violence.

To support our members, the College developed Caring for Self and Others, a resource offering guidance on how you can prepare and care for yourself and possibly other RECEs, before and during participation in the program. It includes strategies for self-care while completing the program and also includes contact information for organizations that may offer you additional support.

You also have the option of applying for a deferral of your CPL Program requirements if there are extenuating circumstances that significantly interfere with your ability to comply with CPL Program requirements.

To learn more about submitting a deferral request or get more information, log into My College Account and click on the Continuous Professional Learning tab. Once there, click on the button to start a deferral request. Note that this is a temporary measure and not an exemption from completing the program requirements.

You will confirm completion of all three elements of the Sexual Abuse Prevention Program upon renewal.

The automatic notifications to the College regarding Commit to Kids and Teatree Tells will be used to verify members’ confirmation of compliance with CPL Program requirements upon renewal.

In My College Account, your Sexual Abuse Prevention Program row will remain blank in your CPL Cycle Details table until you renew and respond to the CPL confirmation question on your renewal form.

Your first CPL Portfolio Cycle will begin in the year following completion of the required Sexual Abuse Prevention Program.

When it is time to begin your first CPL Portfolio Cycle, you will receive an email inviting you to request a hard copy of the CPL Portfolio Cycle Handbook. The handbook is also available electronically.

When it is time for you to begin the one-year CPL Portfolio Cycle, you will receive an email from the College with a link to download a copy of the CPL Portfolio Handbook. You will also have the option to request a hardcopy of the handbook to be mailed to you.

No, you do not need to send your portfolio to the College when you renew your membership.

You must, however:

• Fulfill your CPL requirements by the time of your annual renewal;
• Confirm compliance with your CPL requirements when you renew your membership; and
• Keep your portfolios and documentation (electronically and/or print) for two years.

Members who falsely declare compliance with their CPL Program requirements could be found guilty of professional misconduct.

The College is committed to supporting the learning needs and styles of all RECEs and accepts various formats for CPL Portfolio documentation.

You may choose to keep your CPL Portfolio documentation in any format that works for you (e.g., paper, electronic, audio/video/voice recordings, web- or app-based portfolio platform), and that reflects the required content of the Portfolio components.

You must be prepared to share or provide access to your documentation if the College requests it. It is your responsibility to ensure that your records, whether maintained on a web-based platform, app or as a hard copy, are safely stored for future access.

No, you are not required to complete a specific number of hours or take part in specific professional learning activities for your portfolio. The choice of learning activities or experiences and how many you engage in to meet your goal is up to you. Here are some examples.

Yes. The CPL Portfolio is separate from and different than a general professional portfolio, which you may maintain throughout your career (e.g., résumé, professional development, certificates of achievement, samples of work).

Generally, eligible members are selected at random for an audit. The Registrar, however, has the authority to request information and documents from a member to demonstrate their compliance at any time. There may be circumstances in which a member may be selected specifically for an audit.

Each year the Registrar will determine the number of members to be selected for an audit of CPL Program records.

You will receive a notice from the College via email and mail, if you are selected for a CPL Program audit.

All members must keep CPL records for at least two years and make them available to the College if requested to submit them.

The College will accept CPL records electronically or hard copy. Members selected for an audit will be provided instructions for submitting a copy of their documents to the College. Members are advised not to submit original documents because they will not be returned.

The College is committed to supporting the learning needs and styles of all RECEs and may accept the use
of alternative formats in the completion of the portfolio components. Please contact the College for more information.

Members who are selected for an audit will have 30 days to submit a copy of their documents to the College.  Members are advised not to submit original documents because they will not be returned.

Members who do not submit their complete CPL program records within 30 days will be deemed to be in non-compliance with CPL program requirements and will be sent a Notice of Intention to Suspend their Certificate of Registration. The suspension will be carried out after 60 days if the member fails to provide the required documents.

The College will take an educational approach when auditing member’s CPL records, providing remedial feedback, as needed.