A career in childcare is incredibly rewarding.
Whether you’re looking after children on a daily basis, or working in a management position at a nursery, the fact that you’re contributing to just one child’s development is amazing.
And if you’re doing that for lots of children, year after year, then even more so.
There are lots of different childcare options. You could be a babysitter, or nanny or a childcare practitioner, either way you will be making a valuable contribution to children’s lives.
We always enjoy welcoming new staff at one of our four nurseries – in Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield and Oldham.
There are lots of benefits to working for us, including discounted childcare and a structured career plan.
If you’d like to learn more about a career in childcare at Shine, then read on.
Childcare Practitioner
Many of the roles available at Shine are what we call Childcare Practitioners, who work with children on a daily basis.
These types of positions are found at each of our nurseries.
If you want to work directly with children, aged 0-5, then this is likely what you’re looking for.
Childcare practitioners spend their day looking after children, caring for them, playing with and teaching them – generally helping their development.
You will also often interact with parents, who are keen to know their child is being well looked after.
We generally require staff to have a minimum of NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) in childcare, and ideally at least a year’s experience somewhere rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Other Childcare Roles
It’s not just childcare practitioners we hire – there are other positions available too.
Check out our current listings here for an idea on other career opportunities. We even have staff working in China at our Kindergarten in Shanghai!
There are managerial roles too. People who will help with the running of our nurseries from a business and administration point of view.
You need to have the appropriate qualifications and experience, which will be listed on any job posting.
Leadership qualities are also essential. If you consider yourself to be an excellent organiser, with a passion for driving things forward, a managerial role might suit now or in the future.
What Qualifications Do You Need?
Each job listing will set out the requirements for that role. That includes information of what qualifications we expect you to have.
As mentioned, childcare practitioners are required to work towards having a minimum of NVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) in childcare, and we do help staff with training programs either directly or as part of an apprenticeship.
You can read all about childcare qualifications on this guide.
To earn these qualifications, you obviously need to enroll on the appropriate courses. We also have a guide on childcare courses you might be interested in.
And don’t forget, experience is just as important as a certificate. We generally expect applicants for roles to have at least a year in the industry, working somewhere rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
Working in China
Have you ever considered working abroad?
Shine is offering you the chance to develop your career in childcare whilst working at a Kindergarten (nursery school) in China.
Our Shine Recruiting website has all the details.
This is a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience, test yourself with a new challenge, and learn a lot about childcare in the process. Any role that we provide in China will involve using Shine Childcare’s International Bilingual Curriculum which has been developed by our International team located in the UK.
You can find a list of current vacancies on this this page.
We’re always keen to encourage people to seek opportunities in the childcare sector. We love welcoming new staff.
If you’re eager to start a rewarding career, then we’d definitely recommend childcare as the right path for you to take.