These days a career in childcare offers many opportunities – not only to work with children but gain qualifications and, importantly, get real job satisfaction. Even if it is a career change you are thinking of, it is not impossible – and you can go far, as Pat Townshend explains.

Have you ever thought about working with children – in childcare? A silly question? What does work in childcare involve? Most people find working in childcare incredibly fulfilling and rewarding. You can do a number of jobs, with a range of exciting opportunities on which to build a career. The majority of jobs in childcare are in:

• Settings providing care for children in their early years.
• For older children in breakfast clubs and after-school settings.
• Extended school programmes or holiday play schemes.
  

A real privilege

Being with children as they grow, develop and learn is a real privilege. And working with them is fascinating. Childcare work can also be personally and professionally very challenging as the lives of children and their families are not always plain sailing. During difficult times, a childcare worker can represent stability and a vital support to children and their families.

A growing sector

Over the last few years, the childcare sector has grown and developed. As a result, new services and layers of management are emerging, giving childcare workers more career opportunities. For example, Sure Start programmes and other services that help parents and children get the most out of family life present one set of new opportunities. Roles in  management of larger settings and increasingly comprehensive family services give you more career options. With higher- level qualifications, you may c be  able to move into other fields of related work such as teaching and social work.

How do I start?

Childcare workers need a high level of maturity. To be able to provide the best quality childcare, you also need appropriate qualifications and be able to maintain your professional development through training and personal study. So how can you work in childcare? A number of routes are available to you. For school leavers, the clearest route is through a full-time college course and on to employment as a qualified worker. The apprenticeship route is suitable for anyone aged between 16 and 24. Apprentices are employed to work in settings and train ‘on the job. Your employer provides training themselves or they will arrange this with a training provider. An apprentice can work towards getting the following qualifications:

• An NVQ qualification in Children’s Care Learning and Development at level 2 or 3 (a qualification assessed in the workplace).
• A Technical Certificate at level 2 or 3 (a vocational qualification that tests knowledge and skills).
• Key skills awards in Communication and Application of Number at the appropriate level.
  

Thinking of a change of career?

It’s not just younger people who are keen to work in childcare. Many parents become interested through involvement with their children’s early years setting. It may be a career change for them, inspired by the experience of becoming a parent. And parents often enter the childcare workforce as an unqualified worker, often after working as a volunteer in a setting.

Levels of qualification

By law, settings are required to have a leader with a level 3 qualification. Half of the rest of the staff must have at least a level 2 qualification, enabling the setting to employ a few unqualified staff. However, all staff must be given a properly planned induction, explaining the work, and the policies and procedures of the setting. Unqualified staff should be encouraged to become qualified as soon as possible.

You can gain qualifications in a range of ways. You can study for level 2 and 3 NVQ awards through local colleges, the National Extension College, distance learning or the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The Pre-school Learning Alliance and Council for Awards in Children’s c Care and Education (CACHE), the childcare awarding body, run suitable part-time training, often at local colleges and community education services.

Support to succeed

A good starting point is the CACHE vocational award level 1 Getting Started in a Pre-school Setting. This short course (30 hours) provides foundation knowledge and an introduction to the skills needed for a career in childcare. It’s ideal for parents thinking about a career change or for newly appointed unqualified staff.

Many people enrolling on this course are returning to education for the first time, after a period of work or full-time parenting. They may worry about being able to cope with studying again and whether it will feel like school. However, studying in a further or community education college or with the Pre-school Learning Alliance as an adult is very different to being at school. In good adult education, tutors respect other adults returning to education and you can work with tutors as an equal. In fact, most students find that tutors give them full support and are keen for them to succeed.

Next steps

After the CACHE level 1 Getting Started in a Pre-school Setting, the next step is a level 2 vocational qualification. The CACHE level 2 Certificate in Pre-school Practice is an excellent award and enables childcare workers to become one of the qualified staff. Training is nearly always offered on a one day-a-week basis. Sessions often take place   through the morning and early afternoon, which means parents are free to pick up older children from school, or in the evening. The course takes about one year to complete and is assessed through assignments. As well as core knowledge, students have the option to learn about the needs of children with special educational needs or to work in a community-based setting with parents and families. CACHE issues a certificate to successful candidates with pass, merit or distinction grades. This award is the equivalent vocational level to GCSEs.

Leadership qualifications

The next step is the leadership qualification CACHE level 3 Diploma in Pre-school Practice. It teaches you about the knowledge and skills needed for leadership roles and therefore enables you to hold a leadership position. Managing a childcare setting is a complex role. It involves having a well-rounded knowledge of children’s development, how the setting can meet children’s learning and developmental needs and the needs of families alongside their children, plus the laws, regulations and ethics of the sector. Diploma students can choose to specialise in work with children with special educational needs, family literacy and numeracy or in developing the community work of the setting. This vocational qualification is equivalent to A levels. Students taking this award are graded A to E and many adults are surprised at successfully achieving high grades when returning to study!

Continuing professional development

Having achieved these essential qualifications for work, it’s important to continue your professional development. The setting where you work should offer all staff programmes of continuing professional development. Staff need to be updated on changes in the sector and focus on unfamiliar or uncommon areas of work that are still important, such as first aid for child carers and safeguarding children.

If a setting develops its services to include, for example, an after-school club, staff involved in the new services should try to become qualified in playwork. This has recently been made easier by the creation of a new award that helps level 3 qualified early years workers become level 3 qualified playworkers (and vice versa), without having to take a whole new award.
 

Further qualifications

You can get further qualifications with the level 4 awards at university. These are available as NVQs and as Early Years Senior Practitioners Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degrees. All courses are on a part-time basis – to enrol, students must be in relevant work in a setting.

Foundation degrees exist in a number of fields of work, and take students to the same level as two years of a standard three-year undergraduate degree. With a foundation degree, you can expect to work as a senior practitioner in an early years setting. As well as working with children, you provide guidance to other staff. You may also want to think about working towards a full undergraduate degree and perhaps moving on to teaching or social work.

Further information

The following are sources of local and national information to help you find out more about working in childcare.

Local authorities and local education authorities
Your local authority website may advertise job vacancies and information on local training opportunities.  

Apprenticeships
Go to www.connexions.gov.uk and www.cwdcouncil.org.uk for information about apprenticeships from your local Connexions website and the Children’s Workforce Development Council.

Local colleges
The websites and prospectuses of your local colleges will tell you about courses in childcare. Use a search engine to find your local college.

Pre-school Learning Alliance
Your local or regional office of the Pre-school Learning Alliance will be able to let you know of courses for which students are being recruited. Go to www.pre-school.org.uk for the contact details of your regional office.

National Extension College
Go to www.nec.ac.uk for information about the Certificate in Pre-school Practice and the Diploma in Pre-school Practice by distance learning.

CACHE
Go to www.cache.org.uk to search colleges offering the award you need.

Early Years Senior Practitioner Sector-Endorsed Foundation Degrees
www.surestart.gov.uk/improvingquality/qualifications/earlyyearsfoundationdegree gives you a list of universities offering the foundation degree.