Early Years Educator Review

Providing education to and safeguarding children. Days are very varied as children have many needs to meet and there is a lot of flexibility in activities. You also work alongside other members of staff, people from agencies and parents / carers to support the development of children. There is also assessments and other paperwork to do!

Learned lots of new skills as the job presents numerous challenges and different children require different approaches. A lot of skills you learn about childcare are reinforced daily and, as you bring your own interests and skills to the setting, there's ample opportunity to improve your pre-existing skills and learn from peers.

I enjoy learning new things and then getting to put them into practice, though the work environment was not always conducive to learning. It was nice to learn alongside others, as it made us feel like a group that worked together and I am still in contact with people from my cohort.

Given the difficulty of learning and working through the pandemic and lockdowns, the course was well organised through a mixture of online and in-person lessons. I struggled a little with the online tools used to log our progress but found that the order in which things were taught and new concepts introduced helped me understand things.

Support was patchy from my employer. While the apprentice manager was extremely helpful and worked closely with the apprentices, managers in the setting were treating apprentices as cheap labour to help shore up staffing issues than providing learning opportunities. As a result of this few apprentices in the cohort opted to remain with the employer.

My tutor had, especially towards the end of our course, fine out of their way to make sure that we crossed the finish line. She was enthusiastic and helpful, helping me prefer for my end point assessment and putting together a portfolio of evidence. Throughout the course she made herself available outside of normal working hours.

It has given me a solid understanding of the theory that underpins practice, which has helped me perform better in the role. The apprenticeship program means that I have experience in a nursery setting to go alongside my diploma and, as I put new ideas into practice, I could follow up in subsequent training sessions with questions and observations.

There is a conference each year where you get to meet people from other nurseries in the organisation. A few parties are organised but, for the most part, the nursery does not provide extra-curricular activities for staff - most employees just want to go home! It may be different in other nurseries.

No

Staff morale is very low, there is a significant gap between the culture the company presents and the reality within the settings. Management is poor, procedures are not followed and support for staff feels non-existant. It is difficult to maintain the enthusiasm and focus required to maintain the wellbeing of children and yourself in an environment that cares little for your mental and physical health.

I would suggest visiting the nursery beforehand and observing their practice, speak to the other members of staff and read the Ofsted reports. If you are given a trial week and enjoy it, make sure to try and stay in the nursery you had your trial week in. Learn to stand up for yourself because you are going to need it!