Careers in Early Years

York Family Information Service offers support to candidates who are considering a career working with children. Early Years workers experience great job satisfaction and are highly valued. This website is intended to provide up to date information, advice and guidance for people wanting to enter the children’s workforce. Working with children is not just a job – but a career.

These pages are for people considering starting in early years and for those already working in the sector who are keen to see what career development opportunities there are.

There are also links to local training providers, other children’s workforce websites and job vacancies.

Working in York

Interested in working in York? Why choose York and what opportunities for work are there?

Workforce profile

Want to know about the workforce profile of the Children and Young People's workforce in York?

Early Years in York

Find out about the Early Years provision in York.

Childminders

Would you like a rewarding career? Would you like to be your own boss and run your business from home? Then childminding could be an ideal career for you.

Did you know there are around 67,000 childminders in England and Wales? In York almost 200 childminders operate across the city, each and every one provide a unique and quality experience for our children.

Find out more about becoming a childminder or book onto one of our information evenings.

Would you like to work in a day nursery? There are lots of different opportunities available working with babies, watching them grow, supporting them in their pre-school activities and providing an exciting and stimulating environment.

York has 44 day nurseries operating across the city which are generally open generally from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. There are a variety of opportunities available for working within a day nursery. Find out more about working within a Day Nursery.

Would you like to work with children aged 3 to 16 years? Then a career in an Out of School Club could be the right choice.

There are currently over 50 settings in York providing care for children during out of school hours. This essentially means before school (7.30-9.00), after school (2.30-6.00) and during school holidays (8.00 – 6.00). These roles are varied and exciting, read more about working in an Out of School Club.

Would you like to work with children from 2-5 years? If so, then working in a playgroup could be the right choice for you.

York has 41 playgroups all providing play and early education. They generally operate during school term time for 2 hours per session.

Children's centres are places where children under five years old and their families can go to access services in their local area.

They offer a huge range of support including parenting, family support services and much more.

What type of person do I need to be?

It does not matter who you are, how old you are, or what your qualifications are, somewhere in your community there's a job that you can do working with children. If you like working with children, Early Years offers a worthwhile job that could turn into a rewarding career.

It is the government’s aim that by 2015, all early years services will be graduate-led, with a requirement for all staff to have a minimum level 3 qualification.

There is a range of training available and you can find full-time, part-time or work-based training which fits in best with your other commitments.

There are different levels of qualifications suitable for every stage of your career, from leaving school to higher education level. You can gain a recognised qualification in a way that suits you.

On the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) website there is a simplified summary of the different levels of qualification currently suitable for the various stages of a career developing in early years.

There are many different local and national training providers. This section provides some contact details for local training providers who provide Childcare related qualifications. Please note that we are unable to recommend individual training providers.