Is it possible to return to work? Yes! Our team is waiting for you! Join us!

Certainly, you have not once wondered why people decide to work in a kindergarten or a nursery. After all, it is not the easiest one – the salary is not the highest, there is a huge responsibility over a bunch of kids, dissatisfied parents, or, what’s more – stress. Therefore, the decision to abandon the chosen career path no longer surprises anyone today. Who does not dream of a warm position in an office and a task schedule from 8 to 16?

However, some people do not quite like this kind of work, and they decide to return to their profession. Then the questions arise – can I still work as a nursery teacher? What happens if I can’t manage with it – so much has changed recently. Am I “too old” for this?

What does it look like to return to work as a kindergarten teacher after a long break and, more importantly, does it make any sense?

I have always dreamed of working in kindergarten, with children – this is the most common answer to the question: Why did you choose this profession? Many people see teaching as a mission. So, what later decides that a great and experienced teacher or a promising nannie in a nursery, abandon their dreams, and seek happiness in other places?

The most common reason is finance. According to Beata, one of the nannies of the Cracow nursery KIDS&Co.,

‘In the first kindergarten where I worked for 3 months, I did not like the terms and conditions there. In the second, after some time I felt professional burnout and had a little crisis. It so happened that I was offered a job in a corporation, which gave me a lot of opportunities for development and, of course, better pay.’

The ever-deepening economic crisis, low wages disproportionate to responsibilities, and the lack of adequate funds for the development of public institutions are not conducive, and even harmful to attracting inventive and young people to work in education. As reported dziennik.pl, there is, a lack of teachers in preschool education in Poland. Until recently, there were several candidates for one vacancy. Now the situation has changed drastically – there are a lot of vacancies, but there are no willing to work at all. What is the reason?

‘Years ago, I worked in a public school. I worked there for about a year – and after that time, I wasn’t going back, even though I love my profession and I love working with children. I didn’t want to go back to the teaching environment. And even more, to work in kindergarten’, says Dagmara, director of one of the nurseries KIDS&Co. in Lodz. ‘In general, the management was OK. However, it quickly turned out that the working time, which was supposed to keep on about 6 hours, does not look like that at all. After returning home, it was necessary to prepare materials for the next day. We had to prepare all the teaching aids ourselves. The kindergarten did not provide anything to help, for a very simple reason – there was no budget for it. And suddenly, the promised 6 hours a day turned into 12. As a young and inexperienced teacher, I had to deal with everything by myself. This situation was very tiring for me. I remember my mom came into my room at 10 or 11 p.m. and told me to go to bed because I had to go to work in the morning. But I sat further, cutting, and laminating grapes, apples, and other things needed for classes with children.’

Does this mean that the kindergarten teacher will soon be an extinct profession? Well, we don’t think so. Maybe it is not an easy profession, and what’s more, it is less predictable, but a sense of mission, and above all a huge passion, is still a powerful driving force to try to come back and play, teach and raise children. After all, I wanted it by myself, I chose such studies – don’t you have such questions? Even after a few years at the corporate desk, there comes a day when you realize that money isn’t everything.

‘It turned out that working in a corporation is not for me’, says Beata from the nursery KIDS&Co. ‘Sitting in front of the computer all day, at a moment when I do not feel any satisfaction from work, is simply not for me. I’ve been taught that there’s always something going on at work. Later, I realized that money is not everything and went back to what I like. For me, satisfaction from a job is like a second paycheck. No one will tell me that money is more important than the feeling that you like what you do.’

There will still be more people who, like Beata, appreciate work, the meaning of which can be seen by observing the development of the child. Their strong sense of mission and passion for teaching is noted, but still little appreciated. It should come as no surprise that many teachers feel like second-class citizens, which is reflected in the constant postponement of the decision to return to the profession.

In this case, a good direction may be private institutions. Private kindergartens and nurseries, such as KIDS&Co. introduce state-of-the-art methods and programs into their teaching curriculum. They provide tools, courses, and materials. But not only that, they encourage you to come out with your initiatives. They strongly focus on the education and competence of the future not only among children but also among their employees. They are constantly improving and in KIDS&Co. the greatest value is the people who make up this community. You don’t feel like you’re just a little bug in a big money-making machine.

‘Every time I played with my child, I missed my profession more and more. And by chance, in my family, there was a person who knew and had contact with the logo KIDS&Co. – she encouraged me to apply. I was a little hesitant at first – what would it be? How it will be? What kind of people are there? But I decided that I would try. And that’s how I met the first headmaster, who was an incredibly warm woman and completely dispelled all my doubts. I admitted that I had not worked in my profession for some time. However, she guided the conversation so much that she even suggested that I will just observe what it looks like here, how I see the script of work in KIDS&Co. When I saw what it looks like, and how they take care of the children, I decided that I want to try.’

So, how it is – is it never too late to return?

The job market today is the employee market. It’s never too late to re-prioritize and make another choice. Currently, people who can boast of extensive experience in the industry are highly valued. And if you have not lost your right to practice, then why not try again? Working in a corporation is not for you, you want to return after maternity leave, and you have overcome professional burnout – for more and more employers it is enough to prove that you put all your heart into what you do, that teaching is your great passion, and then neither age nor even more so, the reason for leaving or taking a break from work, do not matter to us in the least.

Kindergarten and nursery teachers are still marginalized, but this is slowly changing. People are becoming increasingly aware of how an important part of their children’s upbringing are qualified and capable teachers. From a child’s point of view, staying in kindergarten is a real idyll. From a teacher’s perspective, it’s a never-ending story – teaching independence, trust, relationships, and tolerance. This is preparing the “little man” for school so that he can proudly enter adulthood then. Our teachers and headmasters asked if they believe the teaching profession is one of the most important in the world, and all of them agreed and said yes!

‘Of course, doctors and firefighters are important and heroic professions. But I think we, the teachers are just as important as them. And even though we are constantly overlooked and treated worse, we are constantly completing our education, studies, and other courses. How can we say that our profession is not important, if these little people who fly out from under our wings, later grow up to be wonderful, valuable people who in the future will be, for example, a president, a lawyer, a doctor…’

Explore career opportunities at KIDS&Co.