Working in Early Years and Childcare

Early Years and childcare is a dynamic and vitally important sector. Those who work in it play a crucial role in shaping the lives of future generations. It's a career that you can rightly be very proud of.

A career in Early Years and childcare is rewarding, enjoyable and profoundly important. Children will use some of the skills they learn with you, such as how to get on with other children, for the rest of their lives. There is no other career choice which will provide you with as many laughs and smiles during the working day.

There are many different roles in the early years sector with opportunities for everyone to start a career, whether you want to work full time or part time and in a range of roles. If you're interested in management, you could end up being your own boss, running your own nursery, with responsibility for staff, budgets and building effective relationships with parents. As you progress your Early Years career you could aspire to become an Early Years teacher, combining both high level practitioner skills and leadership in a variety of settings.

Some of the work you might expect to be involved in when working in Early Years include:

encouraging children to develop social skills and discover more about the world through play
helping children to develop number and language skills through activities like counting games and storytelling
feeding, bathing and dressing babies and youngest children, changing nappies and preparing bottles or baby food
taking care of children's personal needs and helping them to learn skills like dressing themselves, using cutlery and using the toilet
ensuring appropriate health and safety and child protection requirements are met
working with and supporting parents and other family members to improve their child's development
observing and assessing children and producing written reports on each child's development
consulting and attending meetings with other professionals, for example social workers, health workers or speech therapists

If you have passion, enthusiasm, and enjoy working with very young children (birth to 5-years-old), this could be the career for you.