Inspiring a Future in Childcare

Here at Your Co-op Little Pioneers we know how rewarding a career in childcare is: it's challenging but it's also fun, exciting, and helps shape the lives of the adults of tomorrow. As each day passes, you can literally see the valuable impact you are having!

Whilst it's so important that young people take up careers in childcare, there's actually a shortfall in job applications across the industry. This needs to change, and we see it as our mission to show the next generation how important the childcare industry is to the future of the UK.

Without a progressive, effective childcare industry, millions of working parents would struggle to support their families and millions of children would be at a disadvantage. That's why, alongside initiatives such as our Nursery Practitioner Day, we are the main childcare provider at the forefront of the Inspiring a Future in Childcare Campaign.

The campaign, and how it all began

In 2017, Tinies Childcare launched the Inspiring a Future in Childcare Campaign to promote jobs in the Early Years Sector, and Little Pioneers proudly supports the initiative. The campaign's first big push in 2018 was a networking event showing Year 8 and 9 students that a career in the industry is exciting, rewarding, and most of all important. We received some amazing feedback:

• 71% of young people said they would now consider a career in the childcare sector
• 62% of young people are now aware of more jobs associated with childcare
• 72% of young people said their perception of childcare had positively changed after attending

We can see that events like this can make a huge difference to the way young people view the childcare industry, and that all they need is a little extra info.

It wasn't only the students that were impressed by the event, which was held at Park High School; the staff and volunteers were just as enthused.

Head teacher Mr Emlyn Lumley said: "To say that awareness was raised would be something of a serious understatement. Some of our young people are still talking about the event, and about their plans to work with and for younger children and their families when they eventually leave full time education."

Inspiring future childcarers

Your Co-op Little Pioneers and the Inspiring a Future in Childcare Campaign are now spreading the message across the country, and with good reason. Early years professionals support millions of working parents, and young people need more information and guidance about the kinds of opportunities available in the sector. Only by proving the value of childcarers for both the economy and future generations will the campaign find success.

Cheryl McCarthy, Resourcing Manager at Your Co-op Little Pioneers said: "We take learning and development seriously. It's our promise to help people grow careers that mean something.

"We strongly believe that we inspire people who inspire children, so we are super excited to cheer on the Inspiring a Future in Childcare campaign, which is being led by Tinies Childcare."

How to get involved

So what comes next?

1. Visit the Inspiring a Future in Childcare Campaign pages for information and guidance.
2. Discuss the campaign and Early Years opportunities with Careers Leaders in School.
3. Start to include Early Years professionals in your future careers events/activities or host a Childcare Career networking event of your own. Why not get in touch with us to see if we can help with this?
4. Sign up to Education and Employers Inspiring the Future platform. Please encourage teachers from schools and colleges, who may not already be signed up to Inspiring the Future to register. The platform connects teachers with volunteers from a huge range of jobs, across the UK from different sectors.
5. Speak to Early Years Sector organisations in your area to understand if there might be work experience opportunities for young people as part of the curriculum.