Working with children can be very rewarding, there is nothing like the satisfaction of watching a child improve in skills that you have helped them with. Quality care and play for children up to the age of 14 makes a huge impact on a child’s life and no other career can give you the satisfaction of knowing you played a part in that.

The satisfaction you gain however comes with a price and a career in childcare is not for everyone, a lot of patience is needed along with enthusiasm and the job can be demanding. If you can answer yes to most of the questions listed below then maybe childcare is the career for you:

Questions you should ask yourself

• I love being around young children.
• I have excellent communication skills.
• I am sensitive to the needs of parents.
• I am creative.
• I am willing to take training.
• I can be flexible.
• I am able to work with people from any background.
• I am patient.

What qualifications do I need?

Qualifications for working with children in teaching and play are needed at different levels and generally the higher level of qualification you have the higher the pay. As a very rough guide:

• Level 2 – This level allows you to work with children under supervision.
• Level 3 – This level gives you the freedom of working on your own with children and you are able to use your own initiative when planning and organising work or activities, this level also allows you to supervise others.
• Level 4 – This level is for managerial positions.

The qualification or level needed will depend on the position you apply for in childcare, an example would be half the carers who work in a day nursery must have qualifications in early years care level 3.

What choices are there for working in childcare?

There are several opportunities for working with children depending on the age of child you prefer working with, whether you want to work for just a few hours or full time. There are four basic choices which are Nursery and nursery assistants in schools, playgroups and pre schools, child minding and play work.

Nursery work

Nurseries provide full or half day care, play and education for children up to the age of 5 years, they can be run by local authorities, community groups or be privately owned. Some nurseries particularly those run by local authorities are attached to junior and infant schools and work close with them in easing the transition from nursery to infant schools. You would normally be helping in planning and providing activities, taking care of needs such as washing, taking to the toilet, feeding and providing nap time.

Pre-school and playgroups

Children attending pre-school or playgroup are normally between the age of 2 and 5, they provide you with working part time, full time or just in term time and you would usually assist in providing play and educational activities and help in the general care of the children such as washing, changing and nap times.

Child minding

This type of work will involve working with children of all ages and consists of either working in your own home with the children or working in the child’s home. One thing to bear in mind if you want to go into child minding is that you have to be registered.

In the UK as is the case in many other countries your home has to be inspected for suitability for providing childcare by the office for standards in education. Usually you will be able to take care of a maximum of two children per adult.

Play work

Play work usually involves out of school clubs, holiday schemes and breakfast clubs, children can range from the age of 4 to 14 years and this type of work is usually offered by local authorities, voluntary organisations, privately owned or community centers. Your role would be helping to run and organise various activities and the overall welfare and safety of the children attending.