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Nursery managers run early years childcare centres, providing day care for babies and young children from birth to 5 years.
You could work: early mornings; on a rota
As a nursery manager, you would:
You could work in a nursery.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.
You can get into this job through:
You can do a foundation degree or degree in child development or a related subject, such as:
Some nurseries may prefer you to have early years teacher status (EYTS).
You'll usually need:
You could start by doing a Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce.
You can also take other childcare qualifications but they must be at least level 3 if you want to become a manager.
You'll usually need:
You could do an Early Years Educator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship or an Early Years Lead Practitioner Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship.
These can take from 18 to 24 months to complete.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a nursery worker. With further training, for example, the Level 5 Diploma for the Early Years Senior Practitioner, you could apply for management jobs.
You'll usually need at least 2 years' work experience with children in a nursery to apply to become a manager.
You'll need to:
You will need a paediatric first aid certificate to work in a nursery.
You can get more advice about working in childcare from Early Years Careers and Coram PACEY.
You can contact Early Years Careers by phone or email to get answers to questions about starting a career in early years education.
With experience, you could:manage a group of nurseries within an local area or region; become a trainer or assessor on childcare courses; move into nursery inspection; train as an early years teacher or children's social worker; set up your own private nursery