Child Care Careers: Exploring Different Career Paths

There are a number of child care careers paths you can take in the child care sector. And they're all different in their own unique way. Each of these child care settings do lead to career progression, if you wish to be in a more senior role. And you can boost your chances of achieving a promotion by gaining the right qualifications. This blog post aims to give you an overview of each child care setting. I am not going to share the pros and cons of each setting, only because everyone has their own preferences. My advice to you for deciding a career path is to try and gain some experience in each setting and then decide which one is best suited for you. And if you can, talk to people who work in these child care settings. This way you'll get different perspectives. And on that note, here are the four different child care settings that you can work in:

Nurseries

Nurseries are very popular places for child care careers. By working in a nursery, you are part of a team that helps to care for babies and children up to the age of five. As a nursery worker, you work alongside both parents and carers to ensure children get the best possible care. Many parents tend to drop their kids off at nurseries during the working day. So most nurseries open during the weekdays, and they tend to close during weekends and bank holidays. There are many types of nurseries. There are privately-owned nurseries, local council, voluntary and community groups. Some colleges and schools also have their own nurseries as well. Besides providing care, nurseries organise a whole host of creative activities and trips. This helps to ensure children are having fun, and learn at the same time. By law, half the workforce who work in a nursery must hold an accredited childcare qualification. Meaning, most nurseries look for a good mix of qualified and non-qualified people. For you, this is good so you can gain some experience and decide whether working in a nursery is right for you.

Pre-Schools

Pre-schools are exactly what they are. They help to prepare children from the age of two to the age of five for school. Pre-school workers play an important role in teaching children about the wider world. But more importantly, they play a key role in the development of their social and learning skills. These are essential skills to learn before they begin primary school. Most pre-schools workers work for either a morning or afternoon session. And they usually take place during term-time. Parent are often asked to help out. That means pre-school workers have a great deal of flexibility during their working hours so it can fit around their busy lives. If you decide to work in a pre-school, you will be working alongside parents and keeping them up-to-date on a variety of issues whilst ensuring the children you're looking after are having fun in a safe environment. Like nurseries, Ofsted require half the people to be qualified. If you don't have a qualification, you can start off as an apprentice and work towards your qualification.

Childminding

Childminders are generally self-employed and they work from home. They look after children of all ages and they set their set their own hours and fees. Childminders need to register themselves with Ofsted to look after anyone under the age of eight for more than two hours a day. You are not eligible to register if the child is a close relative or if you are looking after children between the hours of 6pm to 2am (this is know as babysitting). Before registering with Ofsted, you need to complete an introductory to child care careers course and also get a paediatric first aid qualification.

Children Centres

There are more the 3,600 Children's Centre in England. Children's centre provide a variety of advice and support for both parents and carers. Their services are available to parents from pregnancy right through to reception class at primary school. Chlldren's centre are a great place for children to make friends. Parents can also get professional support and advice on family matters and health. Most children's centre do have child care facilities so there are opportunities to find work in this setting

How The Learning Station Help You?

The Learning Station are an accredited training provider who specialise in online distance courses. All of our courses offer flexible learning where you can study in your own time and at your pace. We've helped many individuals in the North London area achieve their dream of pursuing a career in child care. For more information, please visit our child care courses page. Thanks for reading. Featured Image: Pexels