Why choose a career in Early Years?

Are you full of beans? Adventurous? Creative? Looking for a fun and rewarding job? Now might be the time to think about choosing a career in Early Years, where every single day will be different!

We spoke to Katie Freer, an Early Years Practitioner at Dundonald Nursery, for her experience.

“I left school, applied for the NC Early Years Education course, went on to HNC at Ayrshire College, progressing to university where I completed a degree in Childhood Studies.

"I could have gone straight on to the HNC course, but because I didn’t have a lot of experience, doing the NC first was really beneficial, as it includes doing a year long placement two days a week.

"I was lucky, as my placement was in Troon Primary nursery, then for the HNC year, I worked in the primary school. After working in a private nursery for a few years, I got the job here at Dundonald.

"Being an Early Years Practitioner can be a very busy job. We plan around the children’s interests, choosing what we focus on every 2 weeks.  We have an open door policy here, so the children can choose whether they want to play outside or not. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like!

"Teaching is something that I’ve always wanted to do, but I have to say, I do love working in Early Years. I love working with the nursery age group. It’s great to see all the children progress.

"The most challenging part of the job is maybe supporting the children who have more challenges, for example, speech and language or behaviour challenges. It’s really rewarding to make sure we provide the right support for every child.

"I’d would say it’s a really rewarding job, but your heart has got to be in it. It’s great fun. Hard work, but great fun.”