Whether you’ve worked in childcare for years, or you’re completely new to the profession, there are so many avenues to explore when looking for a job with children. Working in childcare can be extremely rewarding and exciting as no two days are likely to be the same when there are little ones around! If you think of yourself as an active, caring, patient and energetic person who loves helping others and are able to set a good example then childcare might be for you!
Contents:
- Getting started in your Childcare Career
- Types of Childcare Provider Roles
- Childcare Qualifications
- Funding Options for Childminders
- General Advice for Childcare Providers
Getting started in your childcare career
If you’re looking to get started in the profession, firstly you need to take a look into all the roles available and decide which best suits your skillset, qualifications and lifestyle. Unlike many other professions it is relatively common for childcare providers to be self employed, as is the case with all childminders and babysitters as well as some nannies, depending on how they decide to operate.
Just like with any job, it is important to really get stuck into researching the position before you decide to take the plunge and launch a career in childcare. Whilst it may seem like there’s an overwhelming amount of information out there, we have set out everything you need to know into manageable guides and sections.
We’ve done all the research for you, so why not check out our guides below!
Types of childcare provider roles:
There are three main categories of childcare provider if you want to work independently, meaning as the sole caregiver rather than in a team setting such as a nursery. Depending on your skill set and resources, you might be better suited to one role than another so it is important to figure out which is best for you when getting started in the childcare profession.
- Childminder: As a self employed childminder, you take care of multiple children for at least 2 hours at a time from your own home. You are able to care for children from different families and of different ages who are usually aged between 0-7 years. For information about how to become a childminder, we’ve compiled a guide of everything you need to know.
- Nanny: The role of a nanny can come in different forms as you can work either as a live-in or live-out nanny, either for one family or multiple families depending on whether you role is full or part time. Nannies usually only care for one family’s children at a time however and there are different types of nannies who can provide different duties such as nanny housekeepers or nanny tutors for example. To find out how to become an (Ofsted registered) Nanny read our helpful information guide.
- Babysitter: As the most commonly sought after type of childcare provider, babysitters often offer informal, irregular childcare solutions such as ad-hoc evening or after school shifts. For the most flexible type of childcare job, find out how to become a Babysitter with our complete guide.
The main difference between childminders and nannies and babysitters is that childminders usually operate from their own homes and can look after multiple children from different families at once, where as nannies are often employed by parents to solely look after their own children in the family’s home.
Childminders also offer more formal childcare options (and sometimes are only available during academic term times) and you are often able to pay for their services through Government funded schemes. Babysitters conversely are the most informal. casual type of childcare provider, as it is very common to hire a babysitter as a one off or on an adhoc basis.
You are able to find jobs all of these positions on Yoopies through our incredible network of families who are always searching for trusted, friendly childcare providers in a wide range of circumstances!
The next step in your journey to becoming a childcare provider is researching any type of qualifications or certifications you might need particularly if you are working as a Childminder or Nanny as many parents will prefer to hire individuals with official credentials. We have made helpful guides and information packs about the most common types of qualifications asked for by parents in the childcare industry to help future applicants get started in their childcare careers. Check out our qualifications guides below!
Childcare Qualifications:
- DBS check: This is the criminal record check and should be undertaken annually by anyone wishing to work with children. Most parents will require this as standard except for perhaps a few casual babysitting positions however it is always best to put yourself ahead of the competition by ensuring you are already DBS checked before applying for roles in childcare.
- Ofsted registration: For Childminders there are a lot of different hoops to jump through when getting your childminding business started, but if you can go through all the stages and processes it can really help boost your business! Ofsted registration can not only prove you have passed all necessary checks but you have also completed essential childcare training and are able to offer
- Public liability insurance: This is a legal requirement for all childminders, alongside the DBS check, a health declaration, first aid training and childcare training. Besides being a legal requirement, having public liability insurance allows you and the parents to have the peace of mind that you are protected if anything should happen whilst looking after children.
- Health declaration Booklet: For childminders again this is essential and is part of the wider Ofsted qualification requirements so make sure you’re up to date with what you need to do!
- Becoming a childcare provider: What qualifications do I need? Whilst all the qualifications can be useful for any type of childcare role, most of them are legal requirements specifically for childminders, so we’ve made a comprehensive guide of how to get started with your childminding business.
Funding options for childminders:
For certain childminders there are options available for parents to receive government funding to pay for your services. Whilst the process can seem complicated and it may be tempting to decide not to go through the hassle, once you are set up there are so many benefits of being able to offer these options to parents.
Your services will become more affordable as parents will be able to benefit from Government funded childcare, meaning that more families will be able to employ you and therefore your customer base will increase. Find out more about all the childcare funding options for parents and how to provide them:
- There is a government funded scheme for all 3-4 year olds in the UK which entitles parents to 15-30 hours of government funded childcare depending on their situation. Offering this scheme as a childcare provider can be very important but might seem difficult to set up, we we’ve created a guide to offering 15 and 30 hours of funded childcare for 3-4 year olds: with everything you need to know.
- A similar scheme exists for certain 2 year olds who are eligible, so why not find out about offering 15 hours of funded childcare for 2 year olds as well whilst setting up your childcare business.
- Tax Free childcare can seem like a daunting and confusing element of your childcare business and for many parents it is tempting to not offer it due to the confusion and difficulty of getting set up and registered. However once you are signed up, it will boost your childcare business greatly and is definitely worth the hassle, so we’ve made a guide to offering tax free childcare: to help you out. It’s an information pack for childminders to offer tax free childcare solutions.
General advice for childcare providers
Getting started in a new job in childcare can be difficult as there are so many aspects of the role that are completely unique to this profession. Acting in a professional manner in terms of a childcare job involves a completely different skillset to acting professional in many other situations like your usual 9-5 office job!
Even for those who have worked in the profession for a long time, it can be great to keep learning and taking advice from other people in the same industry can be a real help as they may have discovered a new approach to the job that you hadn’t considered before. We’ve got so many experienced caregivers signed up to our platform at Yoopies, so why not learn from their expertise by reading our Childminder’s Q&A Advice article.
If it’s your first time stepping into the world of childcare it can be helpful to do some research on how get started and how to best market your business to gain clients. It is also essential that you are fully prepared for interacting with the children and know how best to manage the children whilst on the job. Why not take a look at our articles on how to prepare for a babysitting job or another great article for babysitters, childminders and nannies is the best way to keep children entertained whilst on the job!