Early childhood teacher job description
Where we source our data
Let’s get real. Job information online can often be overly optimistic — conveniently glossing over the raw bits. But when you’re making decisions about your future, you need all the facts.
That’s why we anonymously surveyed early childhood teachers about their job, with hopes of getting an honest insight into what it’s really like.
While we did our best to ensure respondents were Australians and verified their job titles with proof of employment, we can’t guarantee complete accuracy — or that your experiences in the field will reflect theirs. So, we suggest that you take these insights as a guide only and try to talk to people in the field before making an important decision.
Where we source our data
Let’s get real. Job information online can often be overly optimistic — conveniently glossing over the raw bits. But when you’re making decisions about your future, you need all the facts.
That’s why we anonymously surveyed early childhood teachers about their job, with hopes of getting an honest insight into what it’s really like.
While we did our best to ensure respondents were Australians and verified their job titles with proof of employment, we can’t guarantee complete accuracy — or that your experiences in the field will reflect theirs. So, we suggest that you take these insights as a guide only and try to talk to people in the field before making an important decision.
Cooperative
Based on our career survey data, these are the words that workers would use to describe their jobs.
Imaginative
Based on our career survey data, these are the words that workers would use to describe their jobs.
Organising
Based on our career survey data, these are the words that workers would use to describe their jobs.
Tasks and responsibilities for an early childhood teacher
Early childhood teachers are the creators and planners of important learning activities to develop children’s critical formative skills. With the help of childcare assistants and teacher’s aides, these teachers have a diverse range of tasks and responsibilities, including:
- Designing and planning activities and lessons that promote creativity and learning
- Using learning frameworks and teaching methods to build fundamental knowledge of numeracy, literacy and social skills
- Using interdisciplinary strategies like music, drama and storytelling to develop language and social skills
- Assessing and monitoring individual children’s progress and needs (including detecting more severe learning limitations)
- Ensuring health and safety measures are implemented
- Communicating with parents, other teachers, support staff, and specialists
Reasons to choose this job
Based on our career survey data, these are the factors that workers said were most important to them when choosing this job.
Enjoyable
Imagination and creativity are tremendous assets to this career — making the role super enjoyable. Tapping into your imagination as an early childhood teacher hugely expands your teaching capabilities. By adopting a creative approach to some of your lessons, you can adapt teaching methods and strategies to better relate to your children and their imaginations.
Learning opportunities
Whether you’re playing with your class, collaborating with your support staff and other teachers, or chatting with parents, you’re always learning new things. As you grow in this role and make the most of this highly collaborative work environment, you continue to discover new and build upon existing soft and hard skills.
Makes a difference
You get to hear “I did it!” every day and see the excitement in your students’ faces as they learn, play and develop into their unique personalities. It’s not just exciting for the students — it’s just as exciting for you. Helping kids have breakthroughs, solve problems, and create amazing things is a reward unlike any other.
Job satisfaction
Overall job satisfaction
This overall score combines the critical factors in job satisfaction. It includes fulfilment, stress levels, and opportunities for advancement, based on our career survey data.
Stress level
How stressful workers feel their job is, based on our career survey data.
Fulfilment
How personally rewarding workers feel their job is, based on our career survey data.
Skill level
The skill level required to do this job is based on both our career survey data and official data from the Labour Market Information Portal.
Job market trends for an early childhood teacher
Early childhood teachers currently make up 25.3% of the current Australian early childhood education industry. Employment opportunities are expected to grow in the next few years, with a projected increase of 16% by 2024.
This is mainly due to the rise in demand for qualified teachers in Australia. Especially in Victoria, where the 2020-21 state budget called for increased funding for free qualified teacher-led kindergarten programs.
Median salary
Where this data comes from
Median salary
We use the median salary over the average because it’s more realistic — unusually high or low salaries don’t skew the median. It shows the true middle point, which is what your typical worker in this job earns.
This figure is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It’s the official median full-time adult salary for non-managers, before tax. (Includes salary sacrifice.)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), Customised Report
Projected job growth
Job growth projections, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These calculations were made before COVID-19 and may not accurately reflect the labour market. Use these numbers as a general guide only.
Where this data comes from
Median salary
We use the median salary over the average because it’s more realistic — unusually high or low salaries don’t skew the median. It shows the true middle point, which is what your typical worker in this job earns.
This figure is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It’s the official median full-time adult salary for non-managers, before tax. (Includes salary sacrifice.)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), Customised Report
Projected job growth
Job growth projections, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These calculations were made before COVID-19 and may not accurately reflect the labour market. Use these numbers as a general guide only.
Projected job growth
Where this data comes from
Median salary
We use the median salary over the average because it’s more realistic — unusually high or low salaries don’t skew the median. It shows the true middle point, which is what your typical worker in this job earns.
This figure is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It’s the official median full-time adult salary for non-managers, before tax. (Includes salary sacrifice.)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), Customised Report
Projected job growth
Job growth projections, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These calculations were made before COVID-19 and may not accurately reflect the labour market. Use these numbers as a general guide only.
Where this data comes from
Median salary
We use the median salary over the average because it’s more realistic — unusually high or low salaries don’t skew the median. It shows the true middle point, which is what your typical worker in this job earns.
This figure is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It’s the official median full-time adult salary for non-managers, before tax. (Includes salary sacrifice.)
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (cat. no. 6306.0), Customised Report
Projected job growth
Job growth projections, using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These calculations were made before COVID-19 and may not accurately reflect the labour market. Use these numbers as a general guide only.
Skills you might already have
Based on our career survey data, the soft skills that workers said were most needed to do their job well.
Whether you’ve previously worked in childcare or just from life experience, chances are you already have a strong foundation of the essential soft skills needed to thrive in early childhood teaching.
If you’re unsure technically how to teach kids or if you hit all of the required soft skills, proper training encourages you to build and develop these to a high standard.
Good communication
Whether it’s the children, your support staff or parents, articulating yourself and listening to others is one of the most important skills a teacher can have. Good communication minimises unnecessary conflict, confusion, and frustration in and out of the classroom.
Social skills
As a teacher, you’re the instigator and the leader of many social opportunities for the children in your care. Knowing how to socialise with children and understand their level of thinking means you can feel confident leading kids and creating an environment where they can thrive.
Creativity
From playing with the kids to thinking of new learning strategies and activities, creative, out-of-the-box thinking is engrained in all aspects of the role. This skill allows you to discover more dynamic learning strategies for skill development and better achieve conflict resolution.
Time management
Teachers are busy, and there’s always something to do. Managing your time efficiently and prioritising allows you to create a calm and productive learning environment for your students.
Organisation
The classroom can become chaotic, and in turn, so can teachers if they don’t have strong organisational systems in place. Being organised allows you to manage your materials, calendars and tools, and saves time and a lot of frustration.
Hard skills
The job-specific skills that workers said were most important, supplemented with data from JobOutlook and online job advertisements.
Teachers also need a strong grasp of critical technical skills and knowledge that match the National Quality Framework to complement their soft skills. These technical skills are crucial for teaching kids effectively and are predominantly developed during your education and training.
Leadership
Not only are you the leader of your class, you also have a support team made up of teacher’s aides, assistant teachers and student teachers looking to you for guidance, instruction and professional empowerment. Leadership skills like people management, team communication, and encouragement are essential aspects of being a successful team player and teacher.
Behaviour management
Understanding child behaviour patterns allows you to notice and understand why some of your students may react and behave in certain ways to various stimuli, instructions or situations. Having this knowledge helps you communicate and interact better with both the children and their parents.
Conflict resolution
Conflict can arise in any working environment. As the teacher, it often falls on you to help resolve any issues. Whether it’s between two kids, staff members, or even parents, your ability to stay impartial and actively listen to both sides of the story ensures issues don’t fester and become worse in the future.
Lesson planning
Knowing how to plan your lessons and education programs effectively can make your day easier and ensure your students hit all of their developmental milestones.
Progress reporting
Parents want to know how their child is progressing and understand what their strengths and possible weaknesses are. Reporting these observations is crucial, so future teachers and parents know how to best continue the child’s development.
First aid and CPR
When children step into a school, childcare centre or kindergarten, you become responsible for their health and safety. This means you need to be prepared in the event of an accident. Attaining your first aid and CPR certificate ensures you’re prepared to help until professional help arrives.
It's not just about playing with kids all day. There are a million things you have to do as an educator, from documenting learning, keeping kids safe and communicating with parents, to helping each child feel safe and supported.
Evana Hapgood, Senior Educator
Expeditions Early Learning Journey Underwood
How to become an early childhood teacher
-
Complete a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) or equivalent
To work as a fully qualified early childhood teacher, you must have completed a bachelor’s degree in education (preferably with a specialisation in early childhood). This qualification usually takes four years of full-time study to complete and includes work placement. Work placement is usually organised via your education provider. Both in-person and blended study options are available, depending on the education provider you choose. In this course, you complete both core and elective study units that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of child development, learning frameworks and structures, and teaching methods. You also undertake thorough health and safety training, as well as leadership skill development opportunities. Most education providers have recognition of prior learning in place — if you’re coming from a background of childcare, you may be able to shave off some time from this qualification.
-
Complete your teacher registration
Once you’re fully qualified, become a fully registered teacher with Australian children’s education and care quality authority (ACECQA). This requires you to register with your state’s local regulatory authority. Throughout your career, you need to renew this registration to demonstrate your ability to manage ongoing professional growth and learning.
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Keep your Working with Children Check and Police Check up to date
You should already have your Working with Children Check (WWCC) and Police Check as part of your first placement’s requirements. If not, you can easily apply for a WWCC and police check through your state government’s website — you just need to provide a couple of identification forms. A WWCC is mandatory for anyone planning to work with or around children. This check determines whether you’re fit to work with children or pose any risk to their health and safety.
Explore related qualifications
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113)
At minimum, you need a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113) to start work in the childcare industry. This formal qualification is an excellent introduction to the world of childcare and education support work. During this course, you cover important skills all childcare workers need. You also complete a work placement of minimum 120 hours.
There are no entry requirements for these courses and the average duration is usually around 12 to 24 months of full-time study. Study can be both in-person and online.
After completing a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, you can start work as a:
- Teacher’s aide
- Teacher assistant
- Education assistant
- Education support worker
- Learning support assistant
15 providers offer this course
Certificate IV in Education Support (CHC40213)
If you’re looking to specialise in teaching children with special needs, you should consider a Certificate IV in Education Support (CHC40213). Undertaking a work placement of at least 120 hours is a requirement for this qualification and gives you unmatched insight into your future career.
After completing the Certificate IV in Education Support, you can start work in a range of learning environments as a:
- Teacher’s aide
- Education assistant
- Special needs teacher aide
- Language or literacy worker
5 providers offer this course
Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50113)
A diploma qualification is a step up from your more introductory certificate qualifications. They provide a more comprehensive overview of key technical knowledge and skills. A diploma qualification also has a work placement that averages out to be 240 hours.
Depending on how your education provider chooses to incorporate work placement, this qualification can take anywhere between 18 to 24 months of full-time study to complete.
After completing a diploma qualification, you can start work as a:
- Authorised supervisor (early childhood services)
- Early childhood services coordinator
- Centre manager (early childhood services)
- Director (early childhood services)
- Early childhood educator
14 providers offer this course
Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood)
Similar to a Bachelor of Education, this qualification is four years long and includes a work placement. Study can be both in-person and blended. With this qualification, you can start working in various environments such as long daycares, pre-primary services and childcare centres.
After completing a Bachelor of Teaching, you can start work as a:
- Early childhood teacher
- Director or manager of childcare centres
- Early childhood education adviser
- Long day care centre teacher
- Education researcher
If you’re unsure about the commitment to a four-year tertiary qualification or prefer a career that offers more opportunity for part-time work, there are many other shorter qualifications you can choose to test the waters.
Related subjects
As the childcare and early education industry continues to boom across Australia, so do job opportunities for other education roles. If nurturing young children is your calling but you’re not sure about teaching, explore other career options and their fulfilling pathways.
Reviews
How we collect reviews
Reviews are from Australian workers with this job title or a very closely related one.
Is this your job title?
Share your thoughts and help people decide if this job is right for them.
How we collect reviews
Reviews are from Australian workers with this job title or a very closely related one.
Is this your job title?
Share your thoughts and help people decide if this job is right for them.
- All
- Positive
- Negative
Sally
Sep 09 2021Very eye-opening job wherein I help children learn and grow in a creative manner at the start of their education
What are the best parts of the job?
Working with families and the children to help them develop to their full potential. Being able to be creative everyday and think of different ways to approach things. Facilitating the inclusion of children with special needs and assisting their families liase with allied health professionals to ensure the best outcome for their child. Working in a good team and being able to bounce ideas off each other and support each other in a day to day environment. Being able to interact with the children and see the world from their perspective.
What's the most challenging part?
Dealing with challenging behaviours in the children. This can be very disruptive to the class environment and limit your ability to teach and do other aspects of your job. Learning how to help these children regulate their behaviours is a very involved process and can take years of experience and further learning to understand what is the cause of some of these behaviours. Dealing with parents can be stressful at times.
Nicole
Sep 14 2021Create meaningful connections, but complaints and staffing can sometimes be an issue.
What are the best parts of the job?
Being able to create meaningful relationships with families, children and staff.
What's the most challenging part?
Dealing with complaints, staffing, special needs, conflicts between educators.
Chérie
Sep 14 2021Supportive company and flexible role but can get stressful at times.
What are the best parts of the job?
I have the ability to lesson plan to the individual needs to the child I care for. The company I work for is always available to support me. I have flexibility with days and hours I work.
What's the most challenging part?
Being around children for long periods of time can be a challenge and something that is super stressful within itself.
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Job cluster: The Carer
What are job clusters?
The seven job clusters are sets of closely related jobs that share skills, making it easy to apply skills learned in one career to another.
The idea of the seven job clusters first appeared in a 2016 research report by the Foundation for Young Australians, titled “The New Work Mindset”. Researchers analysed thousands of online job advertisements and found that jobs are more similar than commonly thought — and the skills you gain in one position are easy to bring to another. In fact, they can help you get 13 other closely related jobs.
This model is a great way to think about 21st-century careers, where the average person changes career five times. We’ve used this framework (along with the much-loved Holland Codes model) to build a career quiz.
Why not take it and find out which job cluster feels like home?
What are job clusters?
The seven job clusters are sets of closely related jobs that share skills, making it easy to apply skills learned in one career to another.
The idea of the seven job clusters first appeared in a 2016 research report by the Foundation for Young Australians, titled “The New Work Mindset”. Researchers analysed thousands of online job advertisements and found that jobs are more similar than commonly thought — and the skills you gain in one position are easy to bring to another. In fact, they can help you get 13 other closely related jobs.
This model is a great way to think about 21st-century careers, where the average person changes career five times. We’ve used this framework (along with the much-loved Holland Codes model) to build a career quiz.
Why not take it and find out which job cluster feels like home?
If you’re interested in working with children, chances are you’re a naturally compassionate person who finds fulfilment in helping others. This kind of person is known to have the persona of The Carer.
Carers thrive in environments that allow them to nurture, guide and give a helping hand to those who need it.
Take the Career Quiz to discover what jobs are a great fit for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is an early childhood teacher?
Early childhood teachers plan, create and implement learning programs to grow and develop young children’s critical formative skills, including social, behavioural and cognitive development. Early childhood teacher’s work with small groups of children or have one-on-one sessions, depending on the type of learning or activity, as well as the child’s individual needs.
How much does an early childhood teacher earn in Australia?
In Australia, the average yearly salary for an early childhood teacher is $77K.
What makes a good early childhood teacher?
A successful early childhood teacher is passionate, caring and genuinely loves teaching young children. If an early childhood teacher is authentic and enthusiastic about teaching, children will respond in a similar manner.