How to become an early childhood educator

Friday, October 18, 2024 /

Do you love children, seeing them grow and develop, and begin to understand life right before your eyes? Early childhood education could be the career for you. It is both a challenging and rewarding career, and with no shortage of job growth in the future, training to be an early childhood educator can be the dream start to your future.

With South West TAFE you will learn skills such as nurturing creativity in children, leading teams and designing curriculum. Early childhood education is a growth industry with plenty of opportunities.

We’re going to show you why a career in early childhood education is a good idea for you, and how you can give back to the community.

Why a career in early childhood education?

Early childhood education is an immensely rewarding career choice. Seeing the beaming smiles on the young faces can fill you with joy. You will be responsible for imbuing them with social skills, creative problem solving and teaching them some foundation skills that will set them up for success.

Sure, there can be meltdowns and tantrums, but this teaches you conflict resolution and how to handle upset toddlers. The overall feeling from childcare is one of warmth and fun and joy.

Early childhood education is an in-demand industry with no shortage of jobs. There are a projected 170 000 job openings until 2031. Salary expectations are around the $60 000 mark, but an August 2024 announcement by the Australian Government is looking to raise the wages of childcare workers in Australia.

There is never going to be a shortage of early childhood educator jobs, so your employability is almost guaranteed.

Is childcare right for you?

You may have all the best intentions and love looking after your nieces and nephews, but you need to ask yourself some hard questions and understand what childcare can be about.

Kids can be a handful: They can throw tantrums, screaming and yelling and crying. Young kids can be hyperactive and run everywhere and throw things around. They can get very dirty too and need a clean up. Understand the good, the bad and the ugly of childcare, and feel if it is right for you.
Communication: You will need to communicate clearly with children and their parents, and sometimes the parents will be the more difficult party to talk to. If you use the communication skills you learn through your studies you’ll handle both eloquently.
Patience: This will be needed in abundance. It can be frustrating trying to calm down a crying child when there are ten more children demanding your attention. If you can maintain a good attitude while waiting, then you will shine in a childcare role.
The need to study more: Throughout your career you will need to refresh your skills and update your qualifications. Some people enjoy the constant learning and upskilling and being current with their skillset.
Dependable: You will be responsible for someone’s child, which is a huge responsibility. You will be looked up to by the children themselves, so you must set a good example for them to build from. You will be judged by the child’s parents, so stand up and be proud of what you’re doing.
Stress: Childcare can be stressful. Often you’re switched on at one hundred percent when you walk in and don’t switch off until you get home. Having ways to unwind and relax is essential.

How to begin a career in children’s services

To become an early childhood educator or education support worker in Australia, there are three non-negotiable requirements: being formally qualified, being fully vaccinated, and having Police checks and a Working With Children check completed.

First and foremost is completing the relevant approved education: Through South West TAFE that would be a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30121), and/or a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50121). You can continue with the pathway into higher education from here if you’d like.
Vaccination: You must be vaccinated annually against the flu virus, plus you must be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations, measles, rubella and pertussis. The young children you will be looking after do not have fully developed immune systems and are more susceptible to infection. Plus they are not as hygienic as adults, and germs can spread quickly amongst the kids, and inevitably you, their care worker.
Working With Children Check and Police Check: You legally cannot work with children without either of these checks being performed. Complete your Working with Children Check here , and visit the Victoria Police site for your national police check.

Graduating from South West TAFE with a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50121) gives you many job opportunities. Roles such as an Early Childhood Educator, a Family Day Care Educator or a Nanny will have you teaching kids physical well being, social skills, emotional maturity, school-based language and cognitive abilities and much more.

You may become a Playgroup Supervisor, a Room Leader or a Centre Director, utilising the skills you learned in TAFE but also learning valuable on-the-job skills that can take you further.

Roles and responsibilities of a childcare worker

The roles and responsibilities of an early childhood educator is more than finger painting and feeding children fruit at morning break. There is more nuance to just playing games, there are more responsibilities than just ‘babysitting’. This list will help you both understand what else is asked for in a childcare worker, but also what to prepare for when you are applying for advertised roles.

Providing care and satisfying basic needs for toddlers and young children. You are looking after these children, sometimes for a whole day. You provide care in the form of medical and first aid, hugs if they’re feeling sad or even help tying up shoelaces. Basic needs include food and hygiene, feeling included and treating them with respect.
Planning and implementing early learning educational programs. Kids learn best through gamification. You have a wonderful opportunity as an early childhood educator to teach kids basic motor skills, understanding concepts such as colour and shape, and so much more through the programs and games that you plan and execute.
Organising games and recreational activities. Childcare is not all about learning, it is also about fun and games. Coming up with different activities to engage the children can be challenging, but the results will be a lot of fun. Organise counting and spelling games, games of hide and seek, or digging for treasure in the sand pit, there are lots of different ways to engage with your children. This fits in nicely with the above point, giving young kids education through games.
Preparing food and snacks. The fuel tanks of our little ones need to be refilled, and you want to ensure they’re eating right. Give the children the right number of servings of fruits and vegetables every day to keep them fit and healthy. Plan healthy lunches, not junk food or foods high in sugar.
Managing children's behaviour and supporting children's social development. Keeping everything under control can sometimes feel like herding cats, but managing behaviours is a mighty skill to obtain. By doing so you’re also helping teach children how to be social with one another, how to act and behave around other people and how to show respect and empathy to others. You are teaching them to respect boundaries and to establish boundaries of their own.
Monitoring kids’ hygiene. Kids can be grotty. Playing in the sandpit, or with food or paint or who knows what else. And while you can’t keep a child one hundred percent clean, basic hygiene such as washing hands and faces, proper toilet etiquette and using hand sanitiser, are excellent life tips you can provide.
Encouraging interpersonal skills through mediating social interactions. Often children are meeting other kids for the first time. How they introduce themselves and behave with first impressions is important. Helping children navigate social interactions, misunderstandings and disagreements, in constructive ways, is a key element of your future role in early childhood education.
Taking legal responsibility for children’s health and safety. For the time these children enter the door, until they leave with their parents, you are legally responsible for their health and well being. This means you’re in charge. You have the power to do and say things that enforce their safety. It will involve incident reports, knowing safety protocols, fire evacuation protocols and more, but establishing rules and boundaries for their safety is important.
Supervising kids on play equipment. Following on from the above, you want to ensure that while kids are having fun, they’re doing it in a safe way and won't hurt themselves or others.
Working as part of a close-knit team of carers. You won’t be working at a childcare centre solo. You will coordinate and work with other qualified carers. You can synchronise play and educational activities, and ensure all areas of responsibility are covered. Be a united team that all the children, and their parents, love.

As you can see, a career in early childhood education is rich and rewarding and challenging, as all good careers should be. No one day will be the same, which is exciting!

All children's Services courses are FREE TAFE! so enquire about starting your career today. South West TAFE can help you embark on a rewarding career in early childhood education. Learn more and contact us to begin your journey towards success.