Early Years Teacher

Typical Salary

£18,000 To £30,000

Typical Hours

32 to 34 variable

between 8am and 6pm on a rota

How To Become a Early Years Teacher

You can get into this job through:

a university course
working towards this role

College / University

You'll need to get early years teacher status (EYTS) by completing an early years initial teacher training course. There are several ways to do this:

undergraduate entry if you're taking an early childhood-related degree, and maybe working in an early years setting
graduate entry if you have a degree but limited experience with children and are not currently working with them
graduate employment if you have a degree and are working in an early years setting
assessment only if you're a graduate with a lot of experience across the 0 to 5 age range, and also have knowledge of key stage 1 and 2 in schools

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English, maths and science

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship are not listed for this job.

Routes into this Career

You could work your way into this role by starting as nursery worker and doing a part-time degree in childhood studies or child development.

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
sensitivity and understanding
the ability to work well with others
patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
the ability to understand people’s reactions
the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
to be flexible and open to change
excellent verbal communication skills
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day To Day Tasks

In this role you could be:

planning and preparing activities and materials
setting out activities before classes and tidying up afterwards
speaking to parents and carers about their children’s development
monitoring children’s progress, and identifying and dealing with any issues
supervising nursery workers, teaching assistants and volunteer helpers
attending parents’ evenings and training sessions

Working Environment

You could work in a nursery or at a school.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You may need to wear a uniform.

Career Path & Progression

Once qualified, you could move into management of a nursery or group of nurseries.

You could also work as a supply teacher or take further training to become a primary school teacher or play therapist.

Volunteering Opportunities

You'll usually need experience of working with children and young people through paid work or volunteering at a school, through youth work or on a holiday scheme.

Tips & Information

Career tips

You can search for jobs in schools through the Teaching Vacancies service.

Further information

You can find out more about teaching in early years from Get Into Teaching.

You can also get details through CACHE and the early years career progression map.

Restrictions & Requirements

You'll need to:

pass enhanced background checks, as you may be working with children and vulnerable adults