The Early Years sector is an exciting, important and innovative area to work in. There are a range of specialities including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Steiner and Forest Kindergartens. At Nurture, we believe early years education should be play based, exploratory, and emergent. That means taking into account children’s interests and allowing children to learn through exploration. Like all human beings children grow at their own rates and each child is an individual that needs something different. This is an exciting prospect for teachers in the early years sector, where individualised learning is generally widely accepted for young children. The Early Years age range generally includes 0 to 5 years old. This sector involves a variety of different roles, including practitioners, teachers, principals, inspectors, and pedagogical leads. Jobs in the early years education sector typically include teachers, education specialists, support roles such as teaching assistant or early years assistants, and special educational needs co-ordinators. Daily tasks vary depending on the position, but may involve working with families, other professionals, adapting and responding to the individual needs of children. Other types of duties include promoting programs and developing and implementing policies.

Qualifications usually involve a few years of experience in a related field, a bachelor's degree and applicable certification. Skills required to be successful in the early years education sector include attention to detail, excellent communication skills, leadership abilities, patience when working with children and critical thinking skills. The sector also typically involves daily use of computers, so proficiency with Microsoft Office programs (such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint) are useful skills to have.