How do I get a career in childcare?

If you're considering joining the childcare industry but not sure where to start, follow this guide to understand what to expect and what kind of future you can have. Working with children is a fantastic career opportunity. It can be enriching yet challenging at the same time. For example, you could be taking care of ages from birth up to 19 years of age.

This guide will give you all the necessary information, such as what a childcare worker does, what skills and qualifications are required, an average salary you can earn and where you can progress.

What is a childcare worker?

A childcare worker is reliable, responsible and qualified to care for a child's health & safety and wellbeing while their guardians are working or carrying out other vital responsibilities.

What sort of jobs would a childcare worker be responsible for?

It will depend on which setting and age range they will be caring for, but in general, they will be responsible for the child's development, environment and wellbeing. There are many laws and legislation that workers will have to follow and enforce.

What kind of skills should a childcare worker have?

Each worker will have their own style and method of taking care of the children; however, it's generally expected that workers should have:

• Enthusiasm – workers should enjoy working with children and spending the time to teach and engage with them
• Creativity – children have fantastic imaginations, and child carers need to be able to come up with new ways for children to fulfil their creative side
• Patience – children are often learning the world (obviously in different ways depending on age). Workers will find themselves possibly repeating themselves often and having to deal with certain behaviours, but they know that they need to hide their frustration and are aware that children will express themselves differently from adults
• Inclusion and respect for diversity – workers will typically work with children and parents/guardians from different ethnicities and backgrounds. It's important to teach children about equality and inclusion of everyone as early as possible
• Leadership – the worker, being the adult, will often be looked onto for guidance. Child carers know how to be confident in situations and decisions without arguing too much with children.

What kind of salary could I expect to get?

The average salary for Childcare workers is £36,000 p/a, that's £3000 a month before tax! And that's just average; there are often higher paying salaries depending on experience and location, e.g. The City of London's average salary is £52,500 p/a.

You can see more information here

So, what is the right kind of childcare work for me?

Let's ask some basic questions first:

What age range you'd like to care for?

1. Early Years – 0-5 years old
2. Children and young people – 4-19 years old
3. All age groups
4. Supported or Disadvantaged Children

Do you know what setting you would like to care for them in?

1. Nurseries (0-4 years)
2. Primary Schools (4-11 years)
3. Secondary Schools (11-16 years)
4. Private residences and Residential homes (0-16 years)
5. Your own home (0-16 years)
6. Creche's (0-5 years)
7. Playgroups (0-5 years)
8. Private or public healthcare settings, like hospitals and doctor's surgeries (0-16 years)

You will need training first.

Most students will go and get a qualification.

This is because it tends to be what most managers will seek when combing through CVs before experience. In fact, just enrolling on your course is enough for managers to consider you. It shows you have taken the initiative to progress yourself.

Take a look at the flow chart below to see which qualification you need to take to get your career started in childcare: