Apprentice childminding assistant Review

As a childminding apprentice, I have to be very hands on with what I do, so this means that i have to take into account the children that i am caring for and what sort of environment i want them to be in. For example, my mornings consist of setting out the daily activities for the children, ensuring that they are safe to play with and meet the children's individual needs. i also prepare meals and snacks daily, as well as setting out sleeping space and putting children to bed. As well as this, i engage the children in play so that i can support their early learning, and regular communication with my manager helps me to do this.

I have become very comfortable in the environment compared to how I felt at the start of the apprenticeship. Being able to support the children's early learning is the most important part of my role as it involves supporting the parents as well ad being in partnership with them. I have first aid training in childcare and have gone through a safeguarding course. In my role I have learnt that every child is different and has different interests, and their development needs to be supported in different ways.

I really enjoy my job. Although i only have one co-worker, we get along really well and work together to plan and prepare for all different types of situations. We have a range of different children attend our setting, so we celebrate different holidays such as diwalli or Austrailia day.

I did one unit for my course each month and had to get 20% off the job hours in order to pass this, as well as studying at home. My induction was fairly simple, we discussed which course i would be doing and how we would be doing things (in terms of written work and observations), and we met twice every month after this to ensure that i was well supported and i was getting along with the work fine. i believe that my programme was well organised.

I only have one manager but the support i receive from her is absolutely phenomenal. If i have any questions or queries about my work or my job i can always ask her and she will support me however she can. We also have regular supervision sessions so that i can be supported within the work place and setting.

My assessor is always giving me ways to improve my work and providing me with progression plans for he next 2 weeks of work i need to get on with to reach my apprenticeship end date. She is always so supportive if i ever have doubts and is always happy to call me of i have any urgent requests.

After completing my qualification i feel as though i understand my job role a lot better and i have put a lot of the theory into practice. From my course i have been able to identify differences in my knowledge compared to when i first started and now i feel more confident in my job role than i did at the start.

Yes

Because it offers a lot of different courses and is supporting while working and learning so that there is a balance between the two.

Always remember that you don't HAVE to have experience for something you really want to do when it comes to apprenticeships, just follow your path.