For the past year, I've been working with babies and young children in a couple of nurseries. Let me tell you now, the title of this post is NOT a reflection of reality. The idea that nursery workers just get to play with and cuddle children all day for a living is far from the truth, and I'd like to take a look at, and de-bunk some early years myths, so let's think thoughts about childcare...!
Childcare Workers Are Just Babysitters
A worker can look after up to 3 babies, 4 toddlers, or 8 preschoolers at one time.
Every child will be at different stages in their development (communication and language - personal, social and emotional - physical - art and design - understanding the world - literacy - mathematics).
It is both essential to meet every child's needs AND to help all children further develop in all of these areas! (This is why we have so much training about the development of children).
We don't just "put out toys" to keep all of the children occupied, but actively make sure they are furthering their development!
Working In Childcare Means You Just Play All Day
Yes, we do play with the children. Play is how children learn. For example:
Babies will explore their sense of self through playing peek-a-boo and looking into mirrors.
Toddlers will begin understanding the world through playing with dolls and role-playing.,
Preschoolers can develop their mathematics and language by incorporating numbers and words into play.
Play is ESSENTIAL to a child's wellbeing and development, however, it's not the ONLY thing we do all day.
Nappies, cleaning, feeding, settling arguments, teaching about sharing etc, dealing with running and screaming, observations, filling out accident/incident/head injury/nappy/medication/sleep and handover forms - and lots, lots more.... including more cleaning!!
Anyone Can Work in Childcare
Staff members MUST have a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) which checks if a person has a criminal record or not.
Considering an apprenticeship, level 2 and level 3 qualifications take a total of 2 years to complete until a worker is fully qualified to be left alone with a group of children (without another staff member present).
Staff members MUST go through further training, throughout their career usually on training days: Safeguarding, child protection, and paediatric first aid training are ESSENTIAL.
Like in the nurseries I have worked in, a food hygiene and safety level 2 qualification may be required.
Training days may involve learning about changes to how observations are carried out (how we assess what stage a child is at in their development) and how we can recognise whether a child is under or overdeveloped in the different areas of learning.
Training can also include things like, how to involve more maths and literacy into play, how to deal with more challenging behaviour, how to work with children who have SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), or how to involve parents in their child's learning.
Additional safeguarding training is ESSENTIAL so that we can recognise signs of abuse. (ANY marks or injuries MUST be documented, whether they were made during the day at nursery or whilst at home). Safeguarding training may involve talking about things like culture, witchcraft, arranged marriages, different kinds of bruises and different types of abuse, and neglect.
On top of all the training, you must have certain qualities to succeed in childcare. Some of these include the ability to control groups of children, creativity for when you pre-plan or in-the-moment plan activities that are both fun and educational and you must have patience, especially in situations where EVERY child wants to speak to you at the same time, or when the children do not want to listen to instructions!
So... is working in childcare "all play and no work"? NOPE, far from it. Just like any other job, you need qualifications, experience, and a few really important qualities. Childcare workers have some huge responsibilities to make sure they "get it right", especially when it comes to meeting needs, administering medication, and safeguarding children. Childcare workers TEACH children (this may look like "just playing" but lots of thought must go into the different activities that have been planned for children, making sure that they are accessible to children at different stages of development.
Working in childcare is A LOT of hard work - ask any nursery worker. Having to come into work every day with enthusiasm and a smiley face can be really hard when you don't feel well, you have issues in your personal life, or are struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue. However, seeing a baby take their first steps, seeing a toddler begin exploring their emotions, and seeing a preschooler start writing their name is absolutely priceless. Knowing you have been a part of a child's journey is so precious and is the reason why so many people go into childcare!
I hope this has been a useful and enjoyable read, and that it has de-bunked just a few myths about working in early years childcare. Please drop me a line to tell me what you think and I look forward to seeing you at my next post!
Go Gently,
P xx
*Some images used in this post do not belong to me - thank you
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