Become a CAPEA Certified Educator or Trainer

To qualify as a CAPEA Certified Educator, you must supply the following evidence that indicates competence as a Childbirth and Early Parenting Educator:

1. CAPEA membership
2. Provide evidence of attendance at/ or completion of any courses relevant to Childbirth and/or Parenting Education and group facilitation, minimum requirement being 20 hours. Please provide attendance record or transcript of the course content, identifying:
   • When the course was completed?
   • How many hours were completed?
   • Who conducted the course?
   • Course outline
   • Assessment process
   • Examples include: Certificate IV in Training and Education; Bachelor/Master of Adult Education; Parenting Educators’ Course, John Hunter Hospital; Calmbirth; Hypnobirthing; Positive Parenting Program; Bringing Baby Home trainers course; Circle of Security trainers course; Australian Breastfeeding Association Group Facilitation course; NCT (UK) Antenatal teaching Degree or Diploma; Lamaze Certified (USA) Childbirth Educator.
3. Provide evidence of Competency as described in the National Competency Standards 2019.
   • Examples include: completed CAPEA Parenting Educators’ Assessment Tool  by self and/or peer assessment with peer review; evidence of workplace Performance Assessment; client evaluation results.
4. Provide evidence of recency of practice, being a minimum of 30 hours of facilitation of courses related to Childbirth and/or Early Parenting over the past 4 years.
   • Examples include: Workplace diary or website page indicating dates and hours of education conducted by applicant; facilitating courses to expectant and/or new parents; facilitating courses to new and/or experienced childbirth & parenting educators.
5. Provide evidence of professional development relating to facilitating Childbirth and/or early Parenting Education courses, the minimum being 20 hours over the past 4 years.
   • Examples of evidence include: certificate of attendance or completion of professional development activities identifying:
     • name of seminar/s, workshop/s, conference/s, webinar/s, online learning package/s, journal article
     • reflections provider of the course
     • dates completed
     • hours completed

To qualify as a CAPEA Certified Trainer, you must supply the following evidence that indicates competence as a Childbirth and Early Parenting Educator AND functioning in a leadership role enhancing the professional development of childbirth and early parenting educators and/or the integrity of CAPEA.

1. Meet all the criteria to be a CAPEA Certified Educator or is currently a CAPEA Certified Educator.
2. Provide evidence of completion of, or currently undertaking, a Certificate or postgraduate studies in Childbirth/ Parenting Education and/or Adult Education.
   • Examples include: Certificate IV in Training and Education; Bachelor/Master of Adult Education; Birth International Childbirth Educators’ Diploma; John Hunter Hospital Parenting Educators’ Course (150 hours); NCT (UK) Antenatal teaching Degree or Diploma; Lamaze Certified (USA) Childbirth Educator Trainer, or other relevant qualification.
3. Provide evidence of functioning in a training role, that is, facilitation of at least 40 hours training and/or formal mentoring to prospective, new and experienced childbirth & parenting educators over a period of the past 4 years, identifying:
   • name of course/ program
   • when the course/ program was completed
   • how many hours were completed
   • who conducted the course/ program course outline
   • number of new and experienced educators who completed the course/ program
   • Examples of evidence include: fliers for course, lesson plans, course objectives, course outline; documented mentoring program, records of mentoring session/s; development/ review of training program/s.
4. Provide evidence of a leadership role by meeting at least 4 of the following 7 criteria:
   1. development of resources: for peers and/or clients of childbirth & early parenting programs
   2. contribute to peer development: at team meetings; in-services; seminars; workshops; conferences; co-facilitation/mentoring new educators
   3. work as a consultant/adviser/supervisor/mentor to other educators
   4. active contribution to CAPEA: proof of attending or contributing to Branch or National meetings, seminars, workshops and/or Conferences, website and/or social media
   5. participate in the CAPEA Further Education Committee that considers guidelines for competency of educators, endorsement of training programs  and educational events and products, and review of same
   6. contribute to the CAPEA journal Interaction and/or other relevant professional journals
   7. co-ordinate or contribute to research/quality improvement into childbirth/parenting  education at local, state or national level.
5. Provide names of two referees (including workplace, role, contact email and phone number, relationship with applicant) who will be contacted by CAPEA assessors to attest to the validity of the applicant’s claims.