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Early education and childcare practitioners lead the learning and development of and care for children from birth up to five years of age in a school, nursery, or childcare environment.

Main tasks

  • Promotes and leads physical activities and children’s games, play, creativity, and problem solving .
  • Provides a secure and supportive environment and supervises young children at mealtimes .
  • Coordinates nurturing care in bathing, dressing, preparation of feeds, feeding babies, and in changing babies and toddlers clothing whenever necessary .
  • Supervises and supports other early education and childcare workers .
  • Communicates with parents, colleagues and external professionals on children’s development and health and well-being .
  • Leads on preparing children for transitions to different settings, including school. .
  • Identifies and responds to health and safety issues .
  • Coordinates observation and assessment on children’s play, development and learning.
  • Plans children’s day and activities and leads on social, language and numerical development .

Source: Office for National Statistics.

Salary and earnings

Potential earnings

£25,689.77

Average earnings

£17,832.99

Source: Office for National Statistics' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

Skills & knowledge

The top 5 most important skills and knowledge requirements relevant to this career.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behaviour and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioural and affective disorders.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

English Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

What course level do I need to study?

The level of study required will vary with each job, sector and company. The table below shows the level of study achieved by those currently working in this career choice.

Educational requirements: Level 2 NVQ; GCSE at grades A*-C

Source: Office for National Statistics.

Level of study Percentage achieved
Level 0 1%
Level 1 3%
Level 2 18%
Level 3 40%
Level 4-5 (Higher Education) 16%
Level 6 (Bachelors) 18%
Level 7 (Masters or equivalent) 4%

Source: Labour Force Survey (LFS) data.

Economic data for careers is provided by Lightcast and also available through our Career Coach app. Job postings, employment and earnings information is represented at the regional level for the East Midlands.