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) and meet the teacher's standards by completing an early years initial teacher training course. There are several ways to do this:
- do an undergraduate degree in a subject related to early childhood studies or child development, along with course placements
- take an early years initial teacher training course after you finish your first degree
- complete teacher training part-time, if you already have a degree and are working in an early years setting
You can also have your teaching skills assessed over 3 months to make sure you meet the teacher's standards. For this route, you must be a graduate with a lot of experience across the 0 to 5 age range, and 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).
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
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Work
You could work your way into this role by starting as nursery worker or teaching assistant and doing a part-time degree in childhood studies or child development.
Volunteering
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.
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Career tips
You can search for jobs in schools through the Teaching Vacancies service.
Further information
You can find out more about teaching in early years from Get Into Teaching.
You can also get details through CACHE and the early years career progression map.