Basic Health & Safety Training

Welcome to the Initial Basic Health and Safety Training. (FREE, No Cost) (Updated 11/14/2023)

The Basic Health and Safety Training update for calendar year 2023 is now available. The training is free and only available online. More information

You will need technical knowledge and skills to participate in this online training course. These skills include but are not limited to the following:

  • Using a mouse
  • Typing information
  • Using email
  • Viewing videos
  • Navigating the Internet
  • Printing pages from a browser

If you do not have technical knowledge and these skills, contact a trainer to complete the training in face-to-face format. Find a trainer in your area here.

A Spanish version of “Health and Safety Basics: Requirements for Certification” is available from Penn State Better Kid Care. Certificates are issued for CEU credit so a small fee is charged by Penn State for processing. This is currently the only Health and Safety Training available in another language recognized by MSDE- Office of Child Care. Information will be updated with additional training offerings in other languages as it becomes available. http://extension.psu.edu/youth/betterkidcare/lessons/espanol

To meet state and federal requirements of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), all child care providers must successfully complete a basic health and safety training. In Maryland, this requirement extends to all staff, substitutes, and adults responsible for the care and safety of children in a licensed child care program. The purpose of this project was to revise and update the current Basic Health and Safety Online Training to reflect on best practice with connections to relevant Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). Learn more about the Basic Health and Safety course here.

Registration

A valid email address is required to register for this course. Registration for the Basic Health and Safety Training is open for one week every month. (See registration schedule and dates below.)

Participants enrolled in the course will receive an email that will contain login instructions and instructions on how to access the course before it opens (keep that email for your records). All correspondence regarding the course is sent via email. Registrants that have not received their username and password at the start of the course should check their spam/junk folders in their email accounts.

(Registrants that have previously taken the training and did not meet the minimum requirements to receive a certificate will not be enrolled in course again.)

Complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTRATION button below.

We do not accept late registrations.


Time Frame

Training must be completed prior to the course end date.  Once the course has ended, registrants will no longer be able to access the course. Most months the course runs for 21 days unless there is a holiday or special situation that requires a course extension.

Participants must print their certificate of completion prior to the course end date.  In the event of loss of a certificate or printing issues, you will have to re-register for this course and complete the full course again.  Copies of certificates will not be held by MSDE and will not be available once a course session has ended.


Completing the Training

Complete all four (4) modules and the Final Review and Survey to obtain the certificate of completion. Once you complete and submit your Final Review and Survey, your Final Review and Survey will be scored. You will receive a grade after hitting SUBMIT. We do not email scores or certificates.

Completion of all four (4) topics will take three (3) hours to complete and you must move through all topics in order. The current topic must be completed before the next topic will become available for viewing. You do not have to complete the entire training in one sitting, users are allowed to stop and return without having to start over. Before you begin, you may want to have paper and a writing tool available to take notes for the Final Review and Survey required at the conclusion of this training and to answer reflection questions along the way.

Once you are ready to complete the Final Review and Survey, it must be completed in one sitting.  If you leave before completing the Final Review and Survey, the system will submit any questions that were answered and register it as an attempt. Unlike the topics in the training, the Final Review and Survey cannot be accessed without completing the Introduction. 

IMPORTANT**  When the course is closed, you will no longer have access to the course and your certificate.  Please save it to your device, email it to yourself, or print multiple copies in case you need another copy.  The Division of Early Childhood will not keep copies of your certificate on file.**


Passing Grade and Getting a Certificate (For Courses Beginning On and After June 1, 2020)

You must score a minimum of 80% points on all topic reviews and Final Review and Survey to receive a certificate of completion. Submissions are scored immediately. You will be allowed to retake the Final Review and Survey one time if you do not score 80% or higher the first time. If you are unable to score a minimum of 80% on the course including the Final Review and Survey​ after two attempts, you will be required to obtain this training in an approved face-to-face format (MSDE does not provide face-to-face training. A list of approved trainers is listed below.)

If you score 80% or higher, you will immediately receive a certificate of completion in your My Achievements section. Print your certificate of completion and place it in your personnel file at your program for review by a licensing inspector. Copies of certificates will not be held by MSDE and will not be available once a course session has ended.

Registrants that have completed the course one time and scored below 80% will not be allowed to register for the online course again. The grade will stand as their final grade for the course.

If you do not meet the minimum requirement to receive a certificate in a course you must complete the training in the face-to-face format in order to receive a certificate. (Providers credentialed at a Level 2 or higher, can be reimbursed for taking the training face-to-face with an approved trainer.) MSDE does not host or hold face-to-face trainings for Basic Health and Safety course. A list of approved trainers is available below.


Registration Schedule 

**We do not accept late registrations.**

March cohort - Registration opens February 15 at 9:00am and registration closes on February 23 at 12:00pm

March cohort participants must complete training between March 1 - 22. All accounts in the March cohort will expire on March 22 at 9:00am.

April cohort - Registration opens March 12 at 9:00am and registration closes on March 21 at 12:00pm

April cohort participants must complete training between April 1 - 22. All accounts in the April cohort will expire on April 22 at 9:00am.

May cohort - Registration opens April 12 at 9:00am and registration closes on April 23 at 12:00pm

May cohort participants must complete training between May 1 - 22. All accounts in the May cohort will expire on May 22 at 9:00am.

 

                                                                         Register here

You will receive a copy of your registration form via email as a confirmation of submission. Misspelled or incorrect email addresses will prevent us from reaching you or cause login issues once the course begins. Also, if your email addresses do not match we may not be able to reach you or cause login issues once the course begins. If you don't receive the confirmation email you will need to register again, your submission did not go through. In order to ensure you are able to receive your username and password, please add maryland.gov and instructure.com as safe email accounts. Otherwise, your username and password may end up in your spam/junk folder.

Already registered https://msde.instructure.com/ 

Learn how to log in and navigate the training by watching this video.


Questions? Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to get the answer!  FAQs

I did not receive my username and password.

To set your password and access your account, please follow the directions below.

  1. Go to https://msde.instructure.com/.
  2. Click the phrase "Forgot Password?".
  3. Enter your username - it is the email address used to register for this course. ( Check your confirmation email for the email address used to register for this course. Misspelled or incorrect email addresses will prevent us from reaching you or cause login issues once the course begins. Also, if your email addresses do not match we may not be able to reach you or cause login issues once the course begins. )
  4. Click the button that says Request Password.
  5. Within 30 minutes, you will be sent an email to your email address with directions on how to set your password. If you do not receive this email, please check your SPAM folder or complete the request password process again.

Review these instructions and watch this video to learn how to log in and navigate the training. 

Instructure doesn't recognize my username and password.

All Health & Safety Training accounts created before the current course have expired. 

Once your account is expired you will no longer have access to Instructure. MSDE does not have a copy of your certificate. We cannot send copies of certificates, they are only available in active Instructure accounts. If you still need to complete the training you will need to register for a new account and complete the course again.

If you previously took the training but did not pass you are not allowed to complete the online training again, your account has been deleted or removed from the course. You must complete the training in the face-to-face format. If you did pass, you will need to complete the entire course again in order to receive a certificate of completion.

When will I get my score? How long does it take to get my certificate?

Complete the Introduction and Super Four sections to obtain the certificate of completion. Once you complete and submit your assignments, your Final Review will be scored. You will receive a grade after hitting SUBMIT. We do not email scores or certificates. Grades are in your "My Grades" section of your account.

**When completing the second attempt please note that Instructure uses your highest score. If your score does not change that means your second attempt score was either the same or lower than your first attempt score.** 

What is my score?

We do not email scores or certificates. You can check your score in your Instructure account. Use the username and password used to take and complete the training to login to Instructure. After completing the Knowledge Check in Structure, you can access the grade earned through “Grades” from within your Instructure account. If no score is in your account, there is an error and your Knowledge Check hasn't been scored. 

I didn't pass, now what?

If you have taken the Knowledge Check one time you can re-take the Knowledge Check as long the course is open. Just log back into your Instructure account and complete the Knowledge Check. You do not have to complete the entire training again, you can go directly to the Knowledge Check. 

If you have used both of your attempts and did not meet the minimum requirement you are required to take the face-to-face training. Find approved trainers here http://earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org/system/files/filedepot/3...

Where is my certificate?

If you have scored above 80% your certificate is available on your "Certificate of Completion" module.  

Can you send me a copy of my certificate?

Unfortunately, we are unable to.  All accounts created prior to the current course have expired and been removed from Instructure. Certificates and scores for expired accounts are no longer available. MSDE does not have a copy of your certificate. To offer the course for free to providers we do not have or save certificates. Saving copies of all of the certificates created in Instructure would require MSDE to charge participants for the course. You will need to complete the course again in order to receive a certificate of completion. 

How do I complete the annual update?

The training must be completed by March 31, 2024. All family child care providers and child care center staff are required to complete this annual update. Upon completion of the course, individuals will be awarded 1.5 hours of continued training. Staff hired during December 2023 must complete the 3-hour Basic Health and Safety training and update by March 31, 2024.

Upon successful completion of the training, the system will produce a “Certificate of Participation”. Please download and save the certificate. Please save it to your device, email it to yourself, or print multiple copies in case you need another copy. The Division of Early Childhood will not keep copies of your certificate on file.

3 Steps to Accessing your Basic Health and Safety Update 2023 

Training

Course resources

Still have questions?

For questions please email healthandsafetyocc.msde@maryland.gov.

 

List of Approved Face-to-Face Basic Health & Safety Trainers is available here. Approved Virtual Basic Health & Safety Trainers is available here.

Need an alternative way or place to take the Health & Safety Training? No computer? Your public library has computers available for your use to complete the training! Want to take it face-to-face? Providers credentialed at a Level 2 or higher, can be reimbursed for taking the training face-to-face with an approved trainer.