Working in Childcare
Build a brighter future. A job where no two days are the same. Work in early learning and childcare.
Are you interested in early learning and childcare as a career?
Do you have a passion for nurturing young children, supporting their early learning and providing play activities that enable them to explore and develop? If you do, then working in an early years role could be the career for you and here are some examples of why:
- It’s a job with joy, where laughter happens continuously
- As a practitioner, you will laugh, smile, and your day might be just as much fun for you as it is for the children
- You can really make a difference to young children’s lives
- You’ll teach children skills they’ll use for life
- There is so much variety – you’re never stuck behind a desk all day!
- The little moments of joy that come with working with children makes Early Learning and Childcare careers extremely rewarding
- This is a flexible career – train on the job whilst being paid
- There are great opportunities for career progression
Click the image to open this leaflet on a career in Early Learning and Childcare and read more.
Watch this short video on how rewarding a career in early years can be - there are further videos below on working in different sectors.
Explore the sections below to find out more.
Different Types of Early Learning and Childcare provision
Early Learning and Childcare – types of provision
There are many different roles which fit under the umbrella of ‘early years’, it’s a career path that could see you become self-employed, go into education, or secure a role that makes a difference in your local community. Early years practitioners may work in the following areas:
Childminder:
Childminders look after children at home. Childminding is a varied job, with flexible hours, which could involve looking after under-fives in the day and caring for older children when they are not at school. Childminders are self-employed childcare professionals. Childminders can usually care for a maximum of six children under the age of 8 years and are inspected and regulated by Ofsted.
Each Childminder may offer different opening times, and many can be flexible to cater for individual families requirements by sometimes offering childcare into the evening or even overnight care. Many childminders can offer funded childcare places for 2, 3, and 4 year old’s.
Find out more about Becoming a Childminder and Childminder Training
Nursery schools/ Nursery class:
Often attached to schools. They usually cater for older children (3+) and have a more educational focus which helps to prepare the children for school. The nursery sessions vary dependent on the setting.
Playgroups/Pre-schools:
May be organised by community or voluntary groups and run from community centres, church halls or even out of a school. Opening times for childcare will vary dependant on the setting.
Day nursery:
Day Nurseries can be run by councils, privately, or in schools, colleges or businesses. Many private settings open from 8am to 6pm (or even longer) all year round to accommodate the needs of working parents. Some maintained childcare settings operate in the same way; however, some may open term time only or open for shorter hours during the day.
The National Day Nurseries Association has lots of information about the types of roles available and routes to qualfications on their website ndna.org.uk/firstfiveyearscount/england-early-years-careers
Click on this career map to see where you could end up with a career in early education
Nannies:
Nannies (or home childcarers) take care of children in their own home, keep them safe and clean, plan meals for them and organise creative and educational activities based on their age. The duties may include taking the children to and from school or other extracurricular activities.
Out of School Care
Holiday clubs: cater for school age children during the school holidays and provide a safe, stimulating and fun environment for children to be. Many holiday clubs are school run within the school site, or run by external organisations either on, or away from the school premises.
After school clubs: provide a safe environment for children when school closes at the end of the day. Most afterschool clubs are open until 5.30pm. The clubs are often run by schools, but can also be run by external organisations on, or away from the school premises.
Breakfast clubs: The clubs are often run by schools, but can also be run by external organisations on, or away from the school premises.
Become a Childminder
To become a childminder you can either apply to register with Ofsted or join a Childminder Agency.
Childminder Training
Childminders need to complete pre-registration training before applying to become a childminder.
Visit the Childminder Training page for more details training, guides to registration and links to useful resources
Register with Ofsted
To register with Ofsted to look after children in your home.
You will need:
- a UK criminal record certificate
- criminal record certificates for anyone aged 16 or over in the home
- first aid training for the age group you will look after
- childcare training - speak to your local council
- health declaration booklet
- contact details for 2 references
If you or any of the adults who live in your home have lived abroad in the last 5 years, you’ll need a certificate of good conduct from the relevant embassy.
How much it costs
It usually costs £35 to register with Ofsted.
Find out about other costs.
How long it takes
It should take you about 30 minutes to fill in the form.
It usually takes up to 12 weeks to process your application.
You can apply to register with Ofsted by calling 0300 123 1231.
Further support is available on the GOV.UK website
Register as a childminder with Ofsted
Join a Childminder Agency
@Home Childcare
@Home Childcare is a Nottinghamshire based Ofsted accredited community of professional childminders. We provide an everything-under-one-roof service for childminders including fully funded pre-registration training. Our service is a quality improvement model. This means we provide continual support to help you to be a Good or Outstanding childminder, which in turn, helps children to receive the best start in life. Our inspections are graded the same as Ofsted and we provide on-going training to ensure our entire inspection process is transparent. We also provide funded Level 2 and 3 qualifications in early years.
As a community interest company, our focus is on removing barriers to enable more people to register as childminders. That’s why we fund a large proportion of your business start-up to help you launch your business and to reach more parents looking for childcare. Our start to finish registration process generally takes around 2 - 3 months, depending on your suitability checks.
You can contact @Home Childcare by calling 0115 978 3399, or visit the @Home Childcare website for more information.
Find out more about becomong a childminder early educator with @ Home Childcare www.athomechildcare.co.uk/become-a-childminder-educator
The agency’s most recent Ofsted inspection report can be viewed here: @Home Childcare - Inspection Report - Ofsted
tiney
tiney is a nationwide childminder agency, that gives you the upfront training & tools to supercharge your childcare business, plus the long term support & professional community to help your career thrive
At tiney our mission is to enable affordable childcare for parents, high quality early education for children and amazing careers for childminders.
You can contact tiney on their website www.tiney.co
Find out more about becoming a childminder with tiney www.tiney.co/childminders/new-to-childminding/
Read the latest Ofsted inspection report here: tiney - Inspection Report - Ofsted
SCA Suffolk Childcare Agency
National childcare agency for childminders and oher professionals working in the childcare sector.
We are a Childminder Agency who aim to offer parents high quality childcare by:
- Registering quality Childminders and Assistants on domestic and non-domestics premises
- Providing regular support, training, and networking opportunities to SCA registered childminders and other professionals working in the childcare sector.
You can contact SCA by calling 01728 76970, via email hello@scachildcare.co.uk or on their website SCA Childcare
Find out more about becoming a childminder with SCA Join SCA - SCA Childcare
Read the latest Ofsted inspection report here: Suffolk Childcare Agency Limited - Inspection Report - Ofsted
Working in your local Children’s Centre
Ever thought about a career with your local Children’s Centre Services?
Nottinghamshire Children’s Centres offer a range of opportunities for Early Years Workers, helping improve social, educational, health and emotional wellbeing for children and families.
- Family Support Workers deliver evidence-based parenting programmes and family support, working in family homes, the community and CC buildings
- Early Years Practitioners deliver a range of evidence-based interventions with children, ensuring they meet developmental milestones and are ready for school.
Volunteer Opportunities: are a great way to dip your toe into the world of work. We value our volunteers, who are an integral part of the service offered to families.
More information:
- Ask a Children’s Centre member of staff in your local Centre.
- Go to our webpages: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/childrenscentreservice
- Call us on 0300 500 80 80
- Email us: CCenquiries@nottscc.gov.uk
What's it like to work in childcare? (Videos)
Childminders
Nursery Workers
Early Years Teaching
Men in Childcare
Take a look at these men who are really enjoying working in jobs more usually done by women
Training
Early years and childcare can involve working with children of all ages, from birth to five. You might start your career as a nursery assistant without any qualifications, but training and studying for level 2 or 3 qualifications will allow you to progress and become a qualified Early Years Practitioner. From there, you may have the option to progress further into supervisory and managerial roles.
There are different types of training and qualifications you can undertake such as work based training, apprenticeships (a job with training) and college/university courses – your local college or training provider/university will be able to provide further information.
Early years education and childcare training on offer to childcare providers from Nottinghamshire County Council's Early Childhood Services
Early Years child development training from the Department for Education is a free online 10 module course designed by experts to provide an overview of child development and gives practical advice for supporting the development of children in early years settings.
Job Opportunities
Register for weekly job alert e-mails at Opportunities with us | Nottinghamshire County Council
Look on the Nursery Heroes and Heroines Wanted! Facebook group page. This group is for nurseries and providers to advertise their current vacancies and is local to Nottinghamshire
The Government encourages early years providers to list their job vacancies on the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) Find a Job website. Find a job (dwp.gov.uk)
Job Seekers can find some helpful videos on how to use this service at Find a job service - Jobseeker help - YouTube
Employers can find some helpful videos on how to use this service at Find a job service - Employer help - YouTube
If you decide working in childcare and early learning isn't right for you then you might like to consider becoming a Personal Assistant. Visit the Become a Personal Assistant page to find out more.
Celebrating Early Years in Nottinghamshire
Childcare providers and early years settings in Nottinghamshire received a special thank you from Nottinghamshire County Council recently.
The celebration evening on Tuesday, 19 July at the Fretwell Complex Mansfield, was a thank you to the hard work and dedication of the sector which makes a difference to the lives of Nottinghamshire’s children and families every day.
The 100 guests included childcare providers, nurseries, early years school settings and childminders, who were nominated by peers and parents for their dedication and passion for supporting children.
Irene Kakoullis, Early Childhood Services Group Manager said “the early years sector has experienced a number of challenges over the last few years including recruitment and retention of staff, increasing overhead costs, as well as Covid 19”
“We have been extremely fortunate in Nottinghamshire as we have a committed and dedicated early years sector who have remained open during the pandemic, have shown great resilience and innovative practice; and have continued to champion the needs of children under the age of 5”
Over 440 nominations were received in total and the event showcased individuals and teams in Nottinghamshire that go the extra mile to deliver high quality early years care and education for under-fives.
Kelly Dowling, from Fernwood Day Nursery and Out of School Club in Newark, was awarded a principal nomination in the leadership category. She said: “It was great to be able to attend such a lovely event to celebrate the achievements of Early Years professionals across the county. It was particularly lovely that all staff were offered the opportunity to attend. We were so surprised to receive so many nominations in the different categories and to have recognition for our team's ongoing hard work and commitment has had a huge impact on staff morale since. I sincerely hope that such an event can be held annually to enable individuals and teams to showcase their skills and practice. Well done to everyone that received a nomination, listening to all the comments made by parents, colleagues and other professionals was heart-warming and reminded us of why we love our jobs!”
Another award-winner, Pauline Nyblen, a childminder from Calverton, was awarded the principal nomination for Exceptional Practitioner, said: “It was an amazing feeling to think that families, friends and other childminders nominated me for the award, it was a complete surprise.
“After 30 years of childminding, dealing with so many changes in the Early Years, knowing how hard we work, it was an evening where we all came together as professionals, and we were all recognised for what we have achieved.
“Childminders have to be qualified to be able to work in the early years, we are not babysitters like a lot of people think. It’s important to promote childminders and the early years workforce as the professionals that we are and the incredible work we do.
“Thank you, Nottinghamshire County Council, for a wonderful evening and for making it special for me.”
Guests were treated to a roll of honour for all the nominations received and each principal nomination was welcomed on stage to receive a framed certificate.
The evening was brought to a close with video by Ben Kingston Hughes from Inspired Children who delivered a closing speech about why the early years is the most important time in a child’s life and why the early years workforce is amazing.
Principal nominations in categories:
Exceptional Practitioner
Christine McGrath Fernwood Day Nursery
Ellie Pitchford Enchanted Garden Day Nursery
Pauline Nyblen Home from Home Childminding
Rebecca McCready Hucknall Day Nursery
Mrs Samantha Roberts Mansfield Primary Academy
Christine Hewitt Ordsall Primary School
Outstanding Volunteer in a Setting
Helen Vale The Old Meeting House, Mansfield
Sheena Worthington Sutton Centre Under 5's PSPG
Excellence in Supporting Parents
Nicola Brown White House Day Nursery
Sophie Johnson Coteswood House Nursery
Tina Manzo Hollies Day Nursery
Kelly Higham Carnarvon Pre-School
Excellence in Leadership
Kelly Dowling Fernwood Day Nursery and Out of School Club
Ashleigh Jackson The Ark Pre-School
Emma Varley Church House Day Nursery
Sue Townsend Brooklyn Day Nursery
Outstanding Team
Nestlings @ Rampton Primary School
Cherubs Wynndale
The Playroom Day Nursery
Children's House, Southwell
Tweenie Team @ Bright Sparks Nursery
Bracken Lane Primary Academy
Excellence in Partnership Working
Ryan House Day Nursery
Pat Trotter, West Street Pre-School
Rachel @ Mansfield Museum
The Village Nursery Pre School
Article courtsey of Nottinghamshire newsroom
Further Resources and Links
Career Resources
Choosing Early Years as a Career from the CACHE website
Early Years Career Progression Map: from the CACHE website
Further Useful Links/Organisations
National Day Nurseries Association
PACEY - Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years
GOV.UK guides to Providing Childcare Services in England provides information on what you need to do if you want to become a childminder, nanny, open a nursery or other type of daycare
Related Links
Downloads
External Links
- Gov.uk - Providing Childcare Services in England
- Early Years Alliance Business and Management advice
- Early years education and childcare training from Nottinghamshire County Council
- Prepare for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) changes in Sep 2021
- Early years staff wellbeing: a resource for managers and teams
- Childcare Works Resources