5 Reasons You Need To Quit your Job In Childcare

Quit my job

I work with some amazing companines to ensure you get the best products that will benefit your Outstanding EYFS Classroom! If you purchase through these affiliate links, I get paid a small amount at no extra cost to you! Read our disclaimer for more info. 

This is what might make you want to quit your job in your EYFS setting, nursery or in childcare. Are these red flags at your workplace?

Health and Safety

If your childcare setting does not adhere to health and safety protocols, make sure to leave as soon as possible! Not only could one mistake jeopardize your entire career, but it could also put someone’s life at risk. If this is the case, there’s nothing wrong with listening to that inner voice saying, “I want to quit my job.”

Here are some red flags to watch out for in a setting, nursery, or daycare:

1. Consistently operating below the required staff-to-child ratio.
2. Dangerous items left unattended without supervision or proper protocols.
3. Lack of a risk assessment or failure to follow an existing one.
4. Frequent injuries to children due to old or malfunctioning equipment.
5. Absence of a first aid kit or an established accident record procedure.

Before applying, visit the nursery, or if you’re struggling to find a reputable nursery, consider working through an agency. I’ve managed to avoid mentally draining nurseries by taking this approach.

2. ”Quit my job” because of Lack of respect for breaks 

While it’s common in most jobs to occasionally take work home, the childcare setting you work for should allocate time for you to complete your workbooks and necessary paperwork. Make sure you exhaust all available time management strategies before considering leaving your childcare workplace. However, if they consistently fail to provide you with your allotted time, there’s nothing wrong with heeding that inner voice that says, “I want to quit my job.”

I’ve had negative experiences of working until 10 pm in the setting, even working on displays. I’ve witnessed both the positive and the negative aspects of this field. I want you to experience the positive side of it, and you are entitled to your lunch breaks, workbook times, and even prayer breaks.

Spending Your Own Money

Every childcare worker desires to contribute to the setting, nursery, or classroom they work in. Going the extra mile, such as buying special golden stickers for the children, is a delightful way to enhance the experience for the children you spend nearly every day with. However, it’s important to establish boundaries when your setting begins to request that you provide essential items for the children.

Things You Do NOT Have to Buy for Your Setting:

1. Essential Resources: Pens, pencils, nappies, and pencil pot holders should not be your responsibility to purchase.
2. Training: Mandatory training, like First Aid Training or Phonics Training, should be covered by your setting. If you choose to pursue additional courses for your own professional development outside of your setting, it’s entirely optional.
3. Day-to-Day Resources: Childcare workers should not have to buy everyday items like ingredients for playdough that are used in the setting regularly.
4. Snack or Lunch for Children: Parents should provide snacks or lunch for their children.
5. Resources: It’s not your job to buy learning resources for the setting.

Here’s a straightforward rule to follow: If you genuinely want to contribute something to the setting and it makes you feel good, then go ahead and do so. Never feel pressured to purchase resources or spend money that you can’t afford for the setting. They should responsibly manage the budget they have.

Ultimately, it’s your choice. Sometimes, we want to give out of the kindness of our hearts, and that’s perfectly fine. Just remember that it must be your choice. If you find yourself consistently using your salary to cover the setting’s resource needs, then there’s nothing wrong with listening to that inner voice that says, “I want to quit my job.”

4.  Your supervisors won’t change 

At times, clashes can occur between childcare workers and their supervisors. Building a strong working relationship or learning to collaborate effectively with someone can take months. Here are the four phases of such interactions: Here are the four phases of building a team: Forming, storming, norming, performing and then adjourning.

It can be a lengthy process, but if you discover that you’re dealing with an unsupportive manager and your efforts to improve the situation have yielded no results after a year, it may be time to start exploring other options. While this decision can involve numerous complex factors, it’s essential to assess your own situation, exhaust all available strategies, and, if you find there’s no potential for progress, consider walking away. Your career and mental well-being are not worth sacrificing.

Here is a more indepth article on what to do when you have a bad boss. 

5. You don’t have a life anymore

It’s essential to understand that your physical, mental, and emotional health are among the most precious things in the world. You might have heard this mantra repeatedly, but it often takes time for it to truly resonate. Someday, you might find yourself in a hospital bed, mentally strained, financially strained, and teetering on the edge of life before you realize that you didn’t prioritize yourself. I’ve been there. Remember, you work to live, not the other way around.

Working in childcare can be challenging because you feel responsible for parents, children, coworkers, and managers. It’s hard to make a rational decision when the weight of the world feels like it’s on your shoulders. However, always keep in mind that “you can be replaced at any time.” The setting will continue to operate without you.

To continue giving your best, you need to be at your physical and mental peak. It took me the hard way to learn this lesson. Take a moment to reflect: is what you’re giving worth what you’re losing? If you still have a passion for Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and want to grow in this field, I have a blog post that can help you create an amazing environment.

To Conclude!

Every childcare setting comes with its own set of challenges; it’s all about what you’re willing to tolerate. I’ve worked in places with all these problems and loved them because of my naivety, but I’ve also worked in places with none of these problems and loved them even more.

As a childcare provider, you need to contemplate your goals:

• How far do you want to go in this field?
• What do you aspire to achieve?

If you’re considering moving on, make sure you secure another position before leaving, and don’t fret too much about references; someone will always provide one.

If you wish to give your current setting a chance but need to get organized and address the issues, consider using a planner. Emily Ley has some fantastic planners to help you get organized and fix the mess. Whether you’re staying or planning for the future, getting organized can be a fresh start. I believe in you!

Sharing is caring!