Early years and childcare careers

Are you looking to start a career in early years education and childcare? Our guide explains what to expect.

Places you can work and roles

The places you can work in include:

  • Day nurseries - usually daycare for babies aged approximately three months to children aged four years-old. Working hours vary, but many open 8am-6pm all year round.
  • Pre-school and nursery schools - usually care for children aged three to four years-old. Some also care for two year-olds. Opening hours can vary with children attending either morning sessions, afternoon sessions, or both. They are usually only open during term-time. 
  • Before school, after school, and holiday clubs - provide care to school-aged children before school, after school and in the school holidays
  • Childminding settings - childminders care for children in the childminders' own homes and can also spend some, or the majority, of their time working from approved non-domestic premises. There is also the option for childminders to register specifically as a 'childminder on non-domestic premises', meaning they only care for children from approved premises which are not domestic e.g. a community centre, village hall, school etc.
  • Nanny - nannies care for children in the child/children's own home. They can choose to be registered with Ofsted but it is not mandatory.

GOV.UK's website has profiles on the different job roles in early years education and childcare. They'll tell you what the jobs are and career progression:

Qualifications

Some workplaces employ unqualified staff, but for most jobs you'll need a specific early years education and childcare qualification. Workplaces must have a certain number of qualified staff caring for children at any one time.

There are different qualification levels depending on what job you want to do. There are usually different ways of achieving these qualifications too.

Government Early Years Careers Website

The Government has launched an Early Years Careers website to help those interested in working in early years and childcare. The site gives information on where you can work, what's involved and the qualifications and skills you'll need. There is also a 'real stories' section where you can watch videos of current early years practitioners sharing their experiences of how they got into their roles and what it's really like to work in early years and childcare.

Do something big - Early Years Careers

Early years careers

Search for jobs

Once you're ready to search for jobs, you can use:

Contact us

If you have any questions, contact earlyyearschildcare@norfolk.gov.uk

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