Early years teacher
Teaching and Education

How to become an early years teacher

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• working towards this role

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

Early years teacher status qualifies you to teach children up to age 5. If you want to teach older children, or teach in a primary school, you'll usually need to get qualified teacher status (QTS).

University (Entry requirements)

You'll usually need:

• 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

Work

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.

Volunteering & Experience

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.

More info

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

What it takes

Skills & 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

Restriction & Requirements

You'll need to:

• pass numeracy and literacy skills tests
• pass enhanced background checks, as you may be working with children and vulnerable adults

What you'll do

Day to day

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 and progression

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.