Early Years Practitioner Apprentice Review

Ensuring the babies, toddlers and preschoolers have the best day possible whilst in childcare. Maintaining the health and wellbeing of the children, and developing their learning and development prior to starting school through daily activities where they learn through play. We complete a variety of training courses in order to provide the best opportunities for the children, whilst safeguarding them and preparing them for the future.

I have learnt many new skills through the training that we complete, as well as daily observation, mentoring and general experience working with the children alongside other early years practitioners. I am now Paediatric First Aid trained, and have completed training in safeguarding children, I have experience in working with children of varying development in age and stage.

I really enjoy my apprenticeship and the company I work for, as it presents its challenges and opportunities on a daily basis which allows me to grow and become more knowledgable and skilled in this field. I value the team that I work with, the parents and the children, and communication between all three is excellent.

The apprenticeship is very well structured and organised, as I have lots of opportunities to discuss how I am getting on with my mentors and trainer assessor. I have been shown (both generally and in more detail) how the apprenticeship works and the things I need to work towards to achieve the highest marks.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, as I am given the required amount of time to complete training and attend webinars with my trainer assessor. My employer has an open door policy with management, which means that if I ever need to discuss or give feedback on anything, I feel comfortable doing so.

My trainer assessor has given me lots of support so far, advising me that she is only a call or text away if I need any help or guidance with anything at all. In our first meeting we discussed the best approaches in working towards the qualification which has helped me feel more comfortable working towards it.

I feel that everything I have completed so far within the apprenticeship has helped me and had a big impact in the experiences I have in my job role. The training I have received makes me feel more confident and able to manage any situation that is thrown my way.

We have employee of the month where we all vote, social events such as work parties (Christmas party for example), secret Santa, dressing up days, bake sales for charity. These all help boost morale in the staff and emphasise the team work that we all put into our job role.

Yes

The staff are so welcoming and have a great sense of teamwork and work ethic, the management have an open door policy, the experiences you gain from working with children are fantastic and incredibly rewarding as you watch them grow and develop prior to starting school. Gaining a qualification as you work can seem daunting but the Hunny Nurseries ensure that this is a smooth process, and provide lots of guidance and support if and when needed.

Don't be shy in your interview as it's so important to be yourself and show them your best attributes, have fun! Give it your all in your trial shift, make the children laugh, and take the opportunity to show off your amazing skills! Ask the staff & management questions too, take notes of anything necessary.