9.1 What is the College of ECE

The College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) regulates and governs Ontario’s Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) in the public interest.

The College was established under the Early Childhood Educators Act, 2007 (ECE Act) and came into existence in February 2009 (College of Early Childhood Educators, n.d.).

As of 2024, there are more than  57,000 members in good standing; the College is one of Ontario’s largest professional self-regulatory bodies and is the only professional self-regulatory body for early childhood education in Canada (College of Early Childhood Educators, n.d.).

The College regulates the profession of early childhood education by establishing and enforcing:

• Registration requirements;
• Ethical and professional standards for RECEs;
• Requirements for continuous professional learning; and
• Complaints and discipline process for professional misconduct, incompetence, and incapacity.

(College of Early Childhood Educators, n.d.)