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Working Abroad Job Vacancies Job Hunting Guide Voluntary Work Working Part-time and Temping Useful Job Hunting Resources Working in Somerset Wages and Employment Rights Child Carers in Somerset CLCI: KEB CRCI: F or V There are children to be looked after everywhere. Jobs include nursery nurse, nursery assistant, classroom assistant and playgroup assistant. To do the work you need to be caring, responsible, thoughtful and creative. You also need bags of patience and a willingness to clear up afterwards. You also have to deal with awkward situations. The job isn't as easy as many people think. For the better jobs you've got to do lots of training and have all sorts of skills and knowledge. To find out more look under the above CLCI/CRCI headings in your careers or Connexions library. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CHILD CARERS IN SOMERSET There are crèches, playgroups and schools throughout Somerset. Some are in towns, others in larger villages. Most places are small, often only employing between five and ten people. Factories, office blocks, hospitals and colleges sometimes have crèches. These help parents living and studying in those places Creches and nursuries are usually small businesses. However a large national operator has recently opened a big day nursery in Taunton. Most local child carers are female but jobs are, of course, open to males. Several Somerset nurseries and crèches speak highly of male workers. HOW DO I GET STARTED?   Get work experience when at school to see if it’s the career for you   Go to college full-time to do a CACHE or BTEC child care qualification   Start as a trainee – or apprentice – in a nursery or crèche and go to college as part of your job USEFUL QUALIFICATIONS   Good GCSEs (including English) are an important start   Various CACHE and BTEC child care certificates and diplomas (through full-time college)   NVQs in child care and education (usually through an apprenticeship) More about qualifications, college and training can be found in Moving On (published by Connexions Somerset) DO YOU KNOW? One of the biggest childcare employers in Somerset is a holiday camp that employs nursery nurses and nursery assistants WHAT IS THE PAY LIKE? Around £80 per week (maybe more) if starting as a new employed trainee or apprentice. Wages can be around £100-120 per week for 18 and 19 year olds, more for those aged 20 and over. Earnings are not high compared with other jobs FINDING A JOB   Connexions centres   Job centres   Through applying for work apprenticeships   School and college careers notice boards   Speculative letters/visits/emails   Newspaper and industry publications adverts   Adverts displayed at premises and on industry/company websites   Job offer after work experience   Word of mouth   A Guide to Job Hunting gives tips on CVs, interviews and job letters. To view click here OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER ABOUT THIS WORK   Childcare jobs are very popular. There are not enough jobs to go around   Nursery nurses have usually been to college for a full-time course   Some nannies (but not all) have childcare qualifications. It’s up to the employing family to decide whether qualifications are important   Classroom assistants are older, maybe over thirty, usually with children of their own   With experience you could eventually become a nursery supervisor or run your own crèche or nursery   Writing, communication, IT and teamwork skills are important   It’s important work so you need to keep good standards. Helping children learn is a big part of the job WHO DOES THE WORK? Steve (19) works as a nursery assistant in Taunton. After GCSEs he went to college to a CACHE childcare and education course. Steve wants to become a supervisor at the nursery to gain more experience so that one day he can open his own child care business Sally (30) works as a classroom assistant at a school in Bridgwater. Sally worked in offices before having children of her own. One day she started helping out on a voluntary basis at a local school. This went brilliantly and last year Sally was offered a permanent job at the school More Info: A-Z careers Careers information dates rapidly. Every effort has been made to ensure that information is accurate but you please check details before making firm decisions. Make text larger Make text smaller Text Only Display Privacy Policy/Terms of Use