Nursery Assistant Apprentice Review

I would arrive early in the morning and begin setting up which ever room I was in for the children, like setting out activities or planning them. I would spend the day in a certain room (e.g. toddlers or preschool) and stick with them throughout nappy changes, snack and lunch times, nap times, etc.

I’ve definitely become more confident with children and learned more about how to care for them and build strong bonds. I’ve learned how to be calm during stressful situations and talk to the people around me if I need help. Talking with the parents was also a skill I had to learn and one of the difficult ones.

I enjoyed the apprenticeship as a whole and the difficulty level was perfect for me. I was able to complete my work without stressing but I wasn’t just breezing through it either. The ICT is the only difficult bit but that’s mainly because I’ve had no previous experience with it.

It was well structured until Covid and I missed a few sessions. However, that was quickly put right and I had phone sessions which were quicker, well structured and enabled me to do all the same things that I would’ve done if I was meeting with my Assessor in person.

In my case, not so much. As we got later into the year, I missed out on a few sessions because of being understaffed and I missed my original ICT test for the same reason. It was okay at the beginning and I felt supported but that deteriorated throughout the year.

I received all the support I needed. If I had questions I could call/email/phone at any time and she would usually get back to me within 24 hours. If I was having trouble with getting documents at work, my assessor would step in and get them for me as well.

Towards the end of my qualification, I was working as a qualified staff member. I think it’s helped me perform better because I can say ‘this is what I’ve been doing and proof of my hard work’. And having the qualification would make me more confident in my job.

No, we never had ant events like that but it was mostly due to Covid I think.

No

As it was a small company, everything seemed a lot more personal. So if you got paid late or changed on the rota or anything like that, you almost didn’t want to ask because it felt rude. I think there were too many personal issues going on and, at times, no professionalism.

I would say ensure all your dates to be set with your Tutor and that you’re writing it in the work diary. Also prepare for long hours and for them to sometimes change at last minute, as well as sometimes challenging behaviours from the kids. It’s a good work place if you enjoy fast-paced environments.