How to become a nursery teacher?

This answer relates to the UK, as I'm not sure of your location. If you want to be a proper qualified teacher their are two ways to approach this. (1) You complete a normal 3-year university degree and then apply to take a PGCE (Primary) Postgraduate Certificate of Education course which is required to be a teacher. There are some pitfalls with this route. Firstly, you need to be careful which topic you choose for your original degree. For example, for Primary School teaching Business Studies would not be a relevant degree, but English, Maths, Art, History etc would be. So check that out. Secondly, it is VERY competitive to get onto a PGCE course (especially for Primary) so you may prefer the second route. (2) You undertake a 4 year degree course which is inclusive of your chosen topic e.g Art and a PGCE. They are usually known as BEd courses and you are a qualified teacher after the 4 years. Drawback, if you decide you have chosen the wrong subject or choose not to go into teaching (or dislike it) you are tied in to a 4 year course and would need to change degree completely if you change your mind. You can take a BEd course which specialises in nursery level teaching, drawback being that it does limit you in applying for primary school posts if that is what you are only offering. A general primary school level teaching qualification (whether route 1 or 2) gives you more employment options. For both the above routes you require good GCSE grades and you must have Grade C or above in English, Maths and a Science subject. If, on the other hand, you just want to be a teaching assistant, then this is much less rigorous to get into. Only this week, the government has highlighted the lack of education among many teaching assistants. I have had great teaching assistants, but also have had ones who couldn't spell their own names and (this is true) I caught them playing x's and o's with the children they were meant to be helping during a simple maths lesson! This is despite teaching assistants now needing qualifications such as Early Years Assistant. Many take this as the easier route than full-blown teaching, and treat it as an alternative to Beauty Therapy or Hairdressing. Unfortunately, this is the wrong approach and lets down children. Teaching assistants need to have good qualifications too! If you want to work with nursery level children I would advocate you try for the full teaching qualification as, if you want to be a teacher, you will never be satisfied just being the assistant. And if you are really certain of your profession, try for a BEd or bEd in Early Years. I don't know what subjects you like, but I will say that candidates who can offer Art, Music or Maths are much in demand for these courses, and indeed when you come to apply to schools. I've waffled a bit, but hope this has helped!

In the united states, you just need a bachelor's degree. My advice is to talk to an advisor, you would most likely major in something like Child and Family Studies

BTEC in childrens care, learning and development. On an NVQ 3.

Well, I am a Nursery School Teacher for almost 10 years. I went to a community college and took classes for a degree in Early Childhool Education. It took 2 and a half years but I got my degree and am now working in the same school since. You can work at a school without a degree but as an assistant. The pay would be horrible until you receive your degree. The pay isn't great afterwards but it's a wonderful field to be in. (if you love children AND have patience). So the first step is go to school!!

This Site Might Help You. RE: how to become a nursery teacher? im in school now and i don't have a clue about what i need to take at college and if i need to go uni and the qualifications i will need to become a nursery teacher thanks

In the united states, you just need a bachelor's degree. My advice is to talk to an advisor, you would most likely major in something like Child and Family Studies

BTEC in childrens care, learning and development. On an NVQ 3.