Working with children can be an extremely rewarding job and requires commitment and dedication from empathetic and patient individuals.
Here at Middlesbrough College, we aim to equip our childcare students with all the necessary skills required to excel in a career in childcare. These include creating the right environment for children to develop, workplace professionalism, and safeguarding policies and practices.
There are lots of roles available within the childcare industry, in this blog we will take you through 6 careers you could go into with a childcare qualification.
Youth Worker
Youth workers support and mentor young people that may be in difficult circumstances such as being a carer or being at risk of offending. They will work with social workers, teachers, police officers, and any other relevant authorities to ensure the safety of the young people they work with. They may also work within the wider community by organising activities for young people and running projects to educate you people on issues like health, bullying, crime, and drugs. Youth workers need to have an excellent level of verbal communication to carry out their primary role in caring for young people, other helpful attributes include sensitivity, understanding, and patience.
Nursery Manager
As a nursey manager you will be required to create a safe and stimulating environment for young children to learn and develop. As well as working and building relationships with the children, you will also need to liaise with and manage your own staff, update parents and carers on their child’s progress, and work in line with environmental, health and safety, and fire regulations. A nursey manager will need to have business management and leadership skills as well as teaching experience and the ability to design educational programmes.
Primary School Teacher
A primary school teacher’s main responsibility is to help educate and inspire young children in some of their most developmental years. As a teacher your main tasks would include planning and teaching lessons, preparing classroom materials, and marking work. There may be a need to work out of usual working hours in this job for things like training, meetings, trips, events, and after school clubs. Primary school teachers should be dedicated and passionate about providing education to children and able to create the best possible environment for them to learn new things. Necessary skills include strong communication, knowledge of teaching practices, and the ability to control a larger group of children.
Nanny
Being a Nanny is a big commitment as you will typically be responsible for the children in one family, and they may even want you to live with them. As a nanny you will build close relationships with the children you are looking after and the parents you are working for. A lot of your day-to-day tasks will depend on the routines of the children and the requirements and expectations of the parents. These tasks may include helping the children to learn through play, organising and attending play opportunities to help the children mix with others, preparing meals and snack, and teaching the children basic hygiene. To be a nanny you will have to be a sensitive and understanding person who can remain calm in stressful situations, you must be able to work independently, and be flexible to the family’s routine.
Childminder
Childminders offer professional ‘home from home’ childcare most often, before and after school, and sometimes on weekends and holidays. Childminders look after a small group of children, from different families, whose age range varies, within their own home. Childminders will engage in activities like reading, storytelling, and creative play to stimulate the children and support their language development. They also have a responsibility to provide healthy meals and snacks for the children, while following any dietary requirements. Childminders should be flexible and open to change as well as sensitive and understanding with excellent communication skills.
Family Support Officer
As a family support officer, you could be working with lots of different people in a variety of situations including people with addictions, parents in hospital or prison, children or parents with a disability, and families who have marital or money problems. Day to day tasks may include attending court sessions in relation to a case you are involved with or working with families to develop parenting skills. To excel in this role, you should be a patient and empathetic person with a non-judgemental approach, who can work well with others and has a strong desire to help people.
We have a range of courses in Childcare and Early Years to prepare you for your future career. Take a look at what we have to offer here.
Want to find out more about courses at Middlesbrough College? Why not join us at one of our upcoming Open Events where you can take a look around campus, meet course leaders and discover our student benefits!