National Early Years Teacher Day
Did you know today is National Early Years Teacher Day? It is an opportunity to celebrate Early Years Teachers and the setting they work in. Early Years Teachers are specialists with youngsters up to the age of 5 years old. Graduates are required to undertake further training but there are a variety of training routes you can take to gain EYTS (Early Years Teacher Status).
How to become an Early Years Teacher?
Via university.
- You can complete your early years initial teacher training course by taking an undergraduate degree in a subject related to early childhood studies or child development, along with course placements. Alternatively you can study for an early years initial teacher training course after you finish your first degree. You can also study teacher training part-time, if you already have a degree and are working in an early years setting.
Via work and experience
- To qualify for this route, you must be a graduate with a lot of experience across the 0 to 5 age range, and have knowledge of key stage 1 and 2 in schools. You are likely to need your teaching skills assessed over 3 months to make sure you meet the teacher’s standards.
To learn more about career pathways as an Early Years Teacher, click here.
Areas of work
As well as nursery settings, EYTS also may work in primary schools. However, to do this, you normally need to get qualified teacher status (QTS). For many years there have been a shortage of specialised teachers working in early years settings. The current Princess of Wales over the last several years has tried to spearhead increasing awareness of the importance of early years. She has unveiled a project called ‘Shaping Up’ and was quoted as saying:
“During this time we lay the foundations and building blocks for life. And it is when we learn to understand ourselves, understand others and understand the world in which we live. This is why it is essential to not only understand the unique importance of our earliest years, but to know what we can all do to help raise future generations of happy, healthy adults.”
To learn more about the project, click here.