Could I train as a nursery nurse at age 47?

[worriedhidinginplainsight]

I have been out of work for around 5 years. I previously worked as a qualified nurse with adults, and then children & families.

I left my last job due to bullying and then I experienced an extremely traumatic, non-work related event which affected my mental health. It's been a slow road to recovery

I'm not quite ready to get back to work yet, but I'm thinking about what job would suit me and I have been doing some voluntary work ( I haven't done any voluntary work with children/babies yet).

I don't have any children of my own but I love kids. I adored my last job which involved a lot of interaction with babies, toddlers and their parents. I am really interested in child development and psychology, and also really enjoying working with parents. Even though I don't have children I was able to make good relationships with parents.

I've recently got a qualification in basic (level 2) counselling skills and I'm about to start an art & design course.

I imagine that I would really enjoy working with young children and babies. I'm aware that the pay is very low, but after the last few years of my life, I am not interested in going after a high paid career. I'm fortunate to live in social housing so my rent is low. Obviously I want to have enough money to get by, but I don't need a lot. I'm only saying this because if I had been able to continue working as a nurse (rgn), I would have been earning a lot more (that ship has sailed!).

I think what puts me off is that I have this idea, that I would be going into work and training with a lot of colleagues who are much younger than me. I don't mind at all working with younger people, but how would I be perceived by them? Also, would I still be able to do this job in 10/15/20 years? I will be working that long!

I imagine that it is a rewarding job. I would like the opportunity for progression, such as working with children with sen, or children/families who have experienced adversity/dv. But that's not essential. I also imagine that once you have some experience it could be quite a flexible job, as in being able to do agency work, holiday clubs etc.

I'm definitely not going to return to being a registered nurse. Does this career idea sound like it could work? Or should I think about something else (I do have some ideas about other jobs I would like to do)?

I'm especially interested in hearing from nursery nurses and also parents of young children. Thanks

Go for it. I trained to teach at a similar age. Yes, I was older than many of the other students, but quite a few were career changers in their 30s. You are only too old if you think you are.

Have you looked at your local council to see if they have a nursery staff bank. It's a great way to get work and experience of various nurseries.

Also no I don't think out to old. I started worked in nurseries and schools at 44. There are many older staff in them particularly in pre school nurseries. I love working in schools though found nurseries exhausting but having 3 kids myself.

Please consider nhs play support worker roles or youth worker roles too - it’s not at all too late!

At our council run nursery most of the staff are “older” (30s-50s) and I love it. I don’t want to sound ageist but there’s something nice about the staff having a bit more life experience.

Definitely not too old.
My nursing course ages ranged from 18-49.
Good luck

I worked as a nursery nurse for over 10 years. It was very rewarding, but very tiring...physically. There isn't enough staff and could find yourself working over ratio on many occasions. However, I have gained many lifelong friends from this sector. Some younger than me and some older than me. We definitely need more people like yourself with the passion and drive for this sector.