ONLINE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES —
Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspectors Program
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This interactive online course will give you knowledge and understanding to inspect the outdoor play area for safety. You will have four weeks to complete the course on your own time. The pictures, graphics, discussions, readings, and assignment will help create an experience level necessary to be considered an Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Human service regulatory professionals, human service providers, independent consultants, allied professionals from the health, safety, and legal disciplines, professionals from Departments of Human Services, professionals from Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, licensing consultants, military personnel of child safety, CDC staff, NAEYC centers, NARA members, corporate child care centers, insurance agents, and any individuals that want to be a Certified Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector!
PURPOSES OF THIS COURSE
- Learn how to inspect the physical layout of the outdoor play environment. This includes understanding how the area should be arranged, types of physical and environmental hazards that may be present, and regulations regarding shade and fencing.
- Learn how to inspect the area for good sight supervision. Assessment of supervision includes examining blind spots and other physical elements that can inhibit supervision.
- Learn how to inspect for age appropriate design. Inspection of age appropriateness includes determining whether or not appropriate equipment is present and if areas are separated properly.
- Learn how to inspect the surface materials of a play area. Inspection of surfacing materials includes inspecting the composition of the material, height of equipment, depth of material, use zones, and maintenance.
- Learn how to inspect common play components that are typically found on childcare center's play environments. Inspection of each play component includes examining head entrapments, protrusions, entanglements, sharp points, and pinch, crush, and shearing points.
- Be held accountable for the techniques and ideas learned by passing an exam, answering a survey, and completing a site evaluation that includes a written report.
MISSION
Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspectors should have an understanding of NAEYC, NHSPS, CPSC, and ASTM guidelines and standards necessary to inspect the childcare outdoor play area for safety.
VISION
NPPS understands that achieving the Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector Certification does not make one an automatic expert in the inspection process of an outdoor play environment in a childcare setting. However, by providing a framework, based on national standards and guidelines by which an individual can gain the knowledge and specific competencies necessary to conduct an inspection of an early childhood outdoor play environment, NPPS is providing the opportunity to produce experts in this area where none exist. The knowledge and skills that are gathered in this course, through independent study of course materials, and by an inspection field assignment will help create an experience level necessary to be considered a Certified Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector.
NPPS's vision includes training at least one person from every state agency, child care licensing department, CDC staff, corporate child care centers, licensing consultants, nurse consultants, and Head Start associations. These inspectors will share their knowledge with other childcare professionals in order to help create and maintain safe outdoor play areas for children.
CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
The Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector Code of Professional Conduct sets forth the standards of professional conduct to be observed by Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspectors upon confirmation by the National Program for Playground Safety as they act in the capacity of that certification.
Certificates shall, in their professional activities, sustain and advance the integrity and honor of their certification by
- Holding the safety of play area users paramount in all professional services.
- Utilizing the most current standards of care acceptable by NAEYC, NHSPS, CPSC, ASTM, and NPPS.
- Maintaining competency in the outdoor play environment through inspecting procedures including knowledge of current safety criteria.
- Prioritizing all identified non-compliance's according to a standard norm of foreseeable consequences.
- Advising employers or clients of seriously dangerous conditions in the most prompt manner as well as part of a written report.
- Never conducting a safety inspection without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the outdoor play area.
- Never conducting a safety inspection of the outdoor play area with the intent to discredit a manufacturer or to promote sale of other equipment or products.
- Never providing findings of an inspection to anyone other than the owner of the area unless authorized by the owner to do so.
Certified individuals failing to practice these professional standards shall be subject to loss of professional certification upon a negative finding by a review process established by the National Program for Playground Safety.
BECOMING AN EARLY CHILDHOOD OUTDOOR PLAY INSPECTOR
An Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector enables one to inspect outdoor play environments that are located in public childcare centers. The criteria for which, are learned in this online course that sets forth information from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Health and Safety Performance Standards (NHSPS), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), and the National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS).
CLOCK HOURS
The course has a total of 12 clock hours. You will receive 1.2 CEUs
COST
The cost of this course is $495. This includes
- Course
- Certification
- CEUs
- National Registry List (determined upon if pass course)
- Course Materials
- NPPS's Child Care Assessment Manual
- S.A.F.E. Play Areas: Creation, Maintenance, and Renovation textbook
CERTIFICATION
If you pass the examination you will be awarded the title as an Early Childhood Outdoor Play Inspector. Individuals who pass the examination will be mailed a certificate from the National Program for Playground Safety approximately four weeks after the exam and assignment are graded.
If you pass the examination, you are eligible to be on the list of state registered individuals provided by NPPS. This option provides for the individual to be referenced and contacted by child care organizations or individuals who are in need of an outdoor play environment inspection within your area. NPPS will list these registered individuals on the NPPS web site. Listing of the individuals is at the discretion of those who wish to be listed. Names appearing on the list merely indicate an individual who has passed the certification requirements and does not imply an endorsement of their services.
Our certification is valid for three years. Expiration dates are dated the first of the month following the month that the exam was taken; plus three years. For example, if you passed the course on October 15, 2006, your expiration date for your Certification would be November 1, 2009. To continue your certification you must pass a re-certification examination every three years offered by NPPS.
In order to renew certification inspectors must pass an exam. You will be given access to review the content and any new information that needs to be learned. The cost of the renewal is $100. You have 30 days to renew your certificate without re-taking the course.
REGISTRATION
| CLASS SESSIONS | PAYMENT DUE |
|---|---|
| May 5 - May 30, 2008 | April 28, 2008 |
| May 19 - June 13, 2008 | May 12, 2008 |
| September 22 - October 17, 2008 | September 15, 2008 |
| October 20 - November 14, 2008 | October 13, 2008 |
| January 26 - February 20, 2009 | January 16, 2009 |
| February 9 - March 6, 2009 | February 2, 2009 |
