Install Findmino as an app for the best experience!
(Preschool Teaching Assistant, Early Childhood Teaching Aide, Childcare Assistant, Early Years Room Assistant)
Education & Training
Salary
€27,000 - €36,000/yr
Level
Operational
Outlook
Growing
Sector
Education & Training
As an Early Years Teaching Assistant you support lead educators in crèche, Montessori and ECCE-funded preschool settings, helping to plan and carry out daily activities for children typically aged from birth to six years. You assist with classroom instruction, supervise children during indoor and outdoor activities including playground time, and step in to manage the room when the lead educator is briefly absent. You pay close attention to individual children who need extra support, whether that relates to language development, social skills or personal care needs such as feeding and toileting. You work closely with lead teachers, special needs assistants, parents and carers, and sometimes liaise with Tusla inspectors or HSE health visitors to ensure every child's wellbeing and safety.
Listen: a day as an Early Years Teaching Assistant
You arrive at the preschool by 8.00 a.m., about half an hour before the children come through the door. You use this time to help set up the room — arranging the craft table, filling the water-play tray, and checking that the story corner cushions are stacked safely. The lead educator runs through the session plan with you and flags that one child, a three-year-old with delayed speech, will have a targeted language activity this morning using picture cards prepared with guidance from the visiting speech and language therapist. Children begin arriving from 8.30 a.m. under the ECCE programme. You stand at the door with the lead educator, welcoming each child by name and helping the ones who are upset at drop-off to settle. A parent pulls you aside to mention her daughter refused breakfast, so you make a note in the daily communication book and let the lead know.
A minimum QQI Level 5 Award in Childcare or Early Learning and Care is required by Tusla for anyone working in a registered early years service in Ireland, and this is the most common entry route via a one-year PLC course at a College of Further Education or an ETB training centre. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Home Economics, Biology, and LCVP or LCA programmes with a caring or community focus provide a useful grounding. Some practitioners progress to a QQI Level 6 Higher Certificate in Early Childhood Care and Education, or to an NFQ Level 7 or Level 8 degree in Early Childhood Education and Care at institutes such as TU Dublin, ATU, or Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. There is no statutory registration body equivalent to CORU for teaching assistants at this level, but all staff must be Garda vetted, hold a current paediatric first aid certificate, and meet Tusla's minimum qualification requirements. Employers increasingly favour candidates with a Level 6 award or higher, particularly given the push towards graduate-led practice under the national Workforce Development Plan for the early years sector.
Most Early Years Teaching Assistants begin in a crèche, community preschool or ECCE setting after completing a QQI Level 5 award, gaining practical experience across different age groups. With a Level 6 or Level 7/8 qualification, you can progress to a Room Leader or Lead Educator role, taking responsibility for planning, assessment and supervising junior staff. Further study at Level 8 or Level 9, for example a Master's in Early Childhood Education, can open doors to roles in setting management, childcare training, curriculum development or policy work with bodies such as Better Start or Pobal. Some practitioners move into primary school SNE support roles or pursue Teaching Council registration to become qualified primary school teachers.
AI tools are beginning to support observation and documentation tasks in early years settings, with apps that assist practitioners in recording developmental milestones and generating progress reports more efficiently. However, the core work of an Early Years Teaching Assistant — building trusting relationships with very young children, responding to their immediate emotional and physical needs, and creating a safe, nurturing environment — cannot be replicated by technology. AI may take on some administrative burden, freeing you to spend more direct time with children rather than on paperwork. Overall, AI is expected to be a supportive tool rather than a disruptive force in this deeply human-centred role.
→ Early Years Teaching Assistant (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Dublin, Cork, Kildare – Nationwide
Support lead educators in large ECCE and crèche settings nationwide.
Dublin, Limerick, Cork
Assist with early years activities in private nursery and preschool settings.
Nationwide
Support Montessori lead teachers delivering structured child-led learning programmes.
Nationwide
Work across ECCE-funded community and private preschool settings countrywide.
Nationwide
Provide targeted early years support to children with additional needs.
Dublin City
Assist in community childcare facilities funded under NCS and ECCE schemes.
Dublin, Meath, Kildare
Support lead educators in full-day crèche and ECCE preschool rooms.
Nationwide
Assist accredited Montessori directresses with classroom preparation and child supervision.
Nationwide
Funded roles supporting disadvantaged children in community early years services.
Tallaght, Dublin 24
Deliver early years assistance in community crèche serving disadvantaged families.
Cork City
Assist lead educators in Montessori and ECCE preschool rooms daily.
We don't know whether these employers currently have vacancies — always check their own website. And if there's somewhere you'd really love to work, it can be worth applying anyway, even without an open vacancy.
Our tools can help you with that:
We use functional cookies and — with your consent — cookies for preferences, statistics and marketing.