childcare educator.

The typical duties and responsibilities of a childcare educator include the following:

• preparing the learning environment: as a childcare educator, you ensure children and infants have a safe place to learn and grow. You prepare a safe and productive learning environment. That includes ensuring no hazards can harm children and preparing necessary materials like pencils, papers and worksheets. You prepare materials, such as literacy and numeracy resources, or create visual displays that improve learning outcomes.
• building trust with children: to be an effective childcare educator, you should build trusting relationships with children. Some ways to build trust with children include encouraging them to express their feelings and designing play activities that establish positive bonds. Take an interest in children's lives and learn about their cultures and family backgrounds. Showing interest in what's important to them builds good relationships.
• reviewing children’s progress: as a childcare educator, you monitor children's progress and find ways to improve their development. You regularly review the children's progress based on the learning outcomes and development needs. If a child fails to meet the learning or development expectations, you find new approaches to improve their development.
• supporting holistic learning: as a childcare educator, you meet all the stages of childhood development, including cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. That means you should understand these development areas and find activities to promote development.
• updating parents and caregivers: as a childcare educator, you ensure parents and caregivers stay abreast of the changes in children. You also keep them updated on the behaviours affecting the children’s learning capacity. For instance, you recommend ways to deal with issues that children face, such as nutritional needs or behavioural changes.

Childcare educators work in diverse settings, helping to provide children with a healthy and clean environment. You can work in family daycares, crèches and childcare centres. You may also work in community centres that care for children with special nutritional or education needs. For instance, mining communities usually have occasional care centres for workers' families.

As a childcare educator, you work indoors and outdoors, helping children in diverse work environments. For instance, in childcare centres, you spend most of the day indoors and assist children at the playground.

Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include behaviour support practitioners, care workers and case managers. You might also be working in close proximity to early childhood teachers and primary school teachers, as well as other specialists that could include, but not be limited to, social workers, special education teachers and secondary teachers.

The typical work schedule of a childcare educator depends on the employer. When you work in crèches or childcare centres, you are likely to work during the day, usually from 7 am to 6 pm. Some childcare centres offer 24/7 services, and you work in shift schedules. Full-time schedules are up to 40 hours a week, but in part-time roles, you work a few hours weekly. You can find part-time roles in occasional care and family daycare settings.

As a childcare educator, you play a crucial role in children's development and prepare them for school. The position is in high demand, and the projected job growth is 5.9% over the next five years. You also have promising opportunities for career progression. Childcare educators can become early childhood educators or lead educators in kindergartens. If you work in a childcare centre, you enjoy opportunities to progress to higher roles, such as childcare centre manager.

Finding your childcare educator job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:

• a wide variety of training and development opportunities
• an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
• a range of opportunities in your area
• get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
• temporary and permanent contracts

Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a childcare educator is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.

As a childcare educator, you provide care to infants and young children to ensure proper development. You supervise their activities and engage them in age-appropriate activities. You identify the abilities and interests of the children under your care. It is important to create experiences that allow them to enjoy life and feel safe.

As a childcare educator, you earn an average salary of $65,000 annually. Your remuneration package fluctuates based on various factors, including experience, educational qualifications and location. When you are joining the profession, your minimal skills lower your salary to $60,000 annually. Experienced childcare educators take home over $70,000 per year.

If you hold a primary teaching qualification in Australia, you can become a childcare educator. The role requires knowledge of handling children, which you learn through Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. Aside from educational qualifications, you need a current Working with Children Check and Police Check.

Aside from educational qualifications, you need specific skills and traits to excel in the role. For instance, you require interpersonal skills to interact and work well with other care workers. Interpersonal skills make you approachable, and you can build relationships with children. You also require patience to handle children and help them.

Working as a childcare educator is a promising career with good salary prospects and great opportunities for growth. Most childcare educators specialise in early childhood education or become lead educators.

Applying for a childcare educator job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area. Then send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.