December 4, 2024

REGULATIONS: FIRST AID IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Explanation about the anticipated regulatory change and its impact.

During the last week of November, the Ministère de la Famille announced upcoming changes to first aid courses for childcare workers. In this e-mail statement, the Ministère explains that these changes will require the practical portion of first aid courses to be taken face-to-face.

For nearly 6 years, the Académie Saint-Bernard has been successfully training many educators using a fully online platform. Being especially affected by this announcement, we would like to highlight the implications of this future change on the validity of our certifications.

CURRENT REGULATIONS

As the regulatory change is still under development, any recommendations made in the Ministry's press release are suggestions and do not invalidate current regulations.

The current requirements are as follows:

"Must hold a certificate not older than 3 years attesting that the person has successfully completed a minimum 8-hour early childhood first aid course including a component on the management of severe allergic reactions or a minimum 6-hour refresher course updating the knowledge acquired as part of the early childhood first aid course." 
(Educational Childcare Act, S.Q. 2017, c. 31, a. 24.)

“A daycare center wishing to offer this training to its staff can hire the firm of its choice, based on criteria it defines: quality of training, special needs, cost, schedule flexibility, etc. The Ministère de la Famille does not recognize or certify trainers in this field. The Ministère de la Famille does not recognize or certify trainers in this field. 
([Translation] Gouvernement du Québec, 2024, Démarches pour devenir éducatrice ou éducateur de la petite enfance)

In other words, any certification obtained before the regulatory change came into effect and meeting the above requirements remains in good standing, for the duration of the certification's validity.

The Académie Saint-Bernard has always ensured that its training courses are of the highest quality, enabling participants to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to act in an emergency. Thanks to its online platform, the Académie offers a flexible formula to suit everyone's pace and schedule. This means everyone can take all the time they need to fully assimilate each notion.

CONCLUSION

The Académie Saint-Bernard team is well aware of the need to adapt to this change. We are therefore determined to find solutions to ensure the validity of our training courses once the new regulations come into force, while preserving the essence of our unique formula.

In the meantime, we would like to assure you that as long as these regulations remain in force, any “First Aid - Adapted to Early Childhood” certification obtained at Académie Saint-Bernard with our fully online formula remains in good and due form, for the duration of the certification's validity.