Work Environment
Childcare Workers typically work in the following Career Sectors:
Videos on the Web
- Childcare Worker- from: Youtube Search
- Child Care Worker - from: YouTube Video
Most commonly reported Work Activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Thinking Creatively Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Getting Information Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
- Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritise, organise, and accomplish your work.
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events Identifying information by categorising, estimating, recognising differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Performing General Physical Activities Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
The Work
Childcare workers supervise and monitor the safety of children in childcare settings.
This can encompass organising meal and nap times, keeping the children entertained, helping them with their hygiene, and facilitating their development with learning activities.
The Childcare worker will have to ensure the daily routine provides the with enough physical activity and rest, as well as watching out for their physical and emotional safety.
Most commonly reported Work Tasks
- Maintain a safe play environment.
- Observe and monitor children's play activities.
- Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
- Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for the handicapped.
- Sanitise toys and play equipment.
- Dress children and change diapers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
- Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
- Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
Further Information
- Childcare Worker - from: N.C.S. [UK]
- Childcare Worker - from: N.C.S. [UK]
Qualities - Childcare Worker
You will be a helpful person, who is good at communicating with children and is able to keep track of multiple tasks at a time.
Interpersonal skills are very important, and not only the ability to talk to children as communicating with parents and colleagues is also crucially important.
You should also be able to explain simple concepts and be able to patiently instruct children on activities.
Physical stamina is also surprisingly important, days can be long, with much of it spent on your feet, thinking and talking.
Interests - Childcare Worker
This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:
Social
The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.
Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.
Creative
Creative people are drawn to careers and activities that enable them to take responsibility for the design, layout or sensory impact of something (visual, auditory etc). They may be atrracted to the traditional artistic pursuits such as painting, sculpture, singing, or music. Or they may show more interest in design activities, such as architecture, animation, or craft areas, such as pottery and ceramics.
Creative people use their personal understanding of people and the world they live in to guide their work. Creative people like to work in unstructured workplaces, enjoy taking risks and prefer a minimum of routine.
Administrative
Administrative people are interested in work that offers security and a sense of being part of a larger process. They may be at their most productive under supervisors who give clear guidelines and while performing routine tasks in a methodical and reliable way.
They tend to enjoy clerical and most forms of office work, where they perform essential administrative duties. They often form the backbone of large and small organisations alike. They may enjoy being in charge of office filing systems, and using computers and other office equipment to keep things running smoothly. They usually like routine work hours and prefer comfortable indoor workplaces.
Entry - Childcare Worker
The following are the official recommendations in relation to the necessary qualification requirements for working in a childcare service:
All staff working with children will need to have a full Level 5 qualification in Early Years care and Leaders will need a full Level 6 qualification.
***Garda vetting will form part of the application process to be a childcare worker in Ireland***
FET Centre Traineeship: Childcare NFQ level 5 Search our FET coursefinder
FET Centre PLC: Childcare NFQ level 5-6 Search our FET PLC Coursefinder
Higher Education CAO Entry: Early Childhood Care and Education NFQ Levels 6-8 Search our CAO coursefinder
Last Updated: March, 2023
Pay & Salary - Childcare Worker
Salary Range (thousands per year)* €28k - €45k
Salaries vary by employer, location, role & duties, and experience.
Data Source(s):
Payscale/ Salary explorer / Indeed / FORSA/ PAS
Last Updated: February, 2024
* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.
View Salary information from Indeed.ie
Note: data not aways available
Labour Market Updates - Childcare Worker
This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2023).
The five-year average employment growth for this occupation was below the national average, with a decline of over 3,000 persons employed between 2021 and 2022. Almost all employed in quarter 4 2022 were female, 40% were employed part-time and a third held third level qualifications. The high number of recent job hires in 2022 without any employment growth would suggest a significant volume of job churn is occurring for this occupation.
There was also a relatively high number of jobseekers registered with DSP in December 2022 who were classified as previously employed in childcare roles. A Government report on workforce planning for childcare workers includes measures to both raise qualification levels for childcare workers and to enhance the attractiveness of the job so as to improve retention for these roles.
There is significant supply from the education system for these roles, with 3,263 QQI major awards in 2021 and circa 800 level 8 awards in higher education. Future demand for childcare workers will depend on demographic factors (with the number of 0–4-year-olds in the population declining), childcare usage (Census 2022 indicates that 28% of under 5s are in some form of formal childcare), and Government childcare strategies such as the National Childcare Scheme (extension of this scheme to include informal childminders is estimated to reduce demand for formal childcare services by approximately 20 percentage points.
Useful Contacts - Childcare Worker
-
Childminding Ireland, The National Childminding Association of Ireland Ltd
- 9 Bulford Business Campus, Kilcoole, Co Wicklow.
- (01) 287 8466
- [email protected]
- Click Here
-
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- 43-49 Mespil Rd, Dublin 4.
- (01) 647 3000
- Click Here
-
Early Childhood Ireland
- Hainault House, Belgard Square Tallaght Dublin 2
- (01) 405 7100
- [email protected]
- Click Here
-
Early Childhood Ireland
- c/o Childminding Ireland
- 01 4057100
- [email protected]
- Click Here
-
Tusla – Child and Family Agency,
- Floors 2-5, Brunel Building, Heuston South Quarter, Dublin 8.
- (01) 7718500
- [email protected]
- Click Here
