A Career in Early Years – Who Are We Really Doing It For?


A guest blog by Jordan Tully – Founder & Director of ‘Exploring Early Years With Jordan Tully’

If I were to ask you the following question: When working in Early Years, who are we really doing it for? You might think, “Well, that’s an easy one, right? It’s the children, of course!” I would hope that the answer would always be “the children,” but sometimes I do question if this gets forgotten. We must never lose sight of why we are doing it, how we are doing it, and who we are doing it for. I truly believe that a career in Early Years is one worth pursuing, one you wouldn’t regret diving into headfirst, a career with so many opportunities and possibilities. But we must never forget that we are here for the children.

The children should be at the forefront of every decision that we make. They should be the reason behind the layout of the environments, the reason we have certain opportunities available, the reason we have picked the colours on the walls, and the reason that we do just about everything. We are frequently reminded of the very obvious and most basic of facts: “Children learn through play.” The reason I say obvious and basic is because (and I hope) we all already know this. So stick with me here (trust the process): If we know that we are here for the children and we know that they learn through play, why are we so offended when people imply that all we do is play with children all day? To me, that’s praise in the highest form! Thank you for recognising that learning has taken place today and your child enjoyed it. I am not oblivious to the fact that this statement can be offensive as we, as early years educators, do so much more than just play with children. However, we need to remember to keep playing, keep providing fun and engaging learning opportunities, and keep remembering that we are doing it for the children. Everything that we do is for them.

So, to summarise, a career in Early Years:

• You get to feel rewarded when you see the impact you have had on a child’s development.
• The career opportunities are limitless. A career in Early Years could take you to leadership and management roles, operational roles, early years quality and compliance roles, recruitment, marketing, sales… you name it, a career in the early years sector can offer it.
• You will gain transferable skills such as the ability to communicate, patience, empathy, and you will become a problem solver.

Still not convinced? Well, I guess you will have to come and try it for yourself…

If you wish to explore all things early years a little further, check out Jordan’s podcast ‘Exploring Early Years With Jordan Tully’. With new episodes released on the first Monday of every month. Each month Jordan is joined by a new inspiration guest, and deep dive into all things Early Years. Where they dissect all things, from recruitment & retention to high quality training and SEND. Check it out on Spotify or Amazon Music!