I am completing my Early Years Educator Level 3 apprenticeship course with Busy Bees Education and Training. I started this in September 2022 after I finished my A-Levels, while working in a Busy Bees nursery full-time (due to finish in February 2025).
I applied through the Busy Bees website and was invited for an interview at the setting, where I was offered a job alongside my apprenticeship. I was contacted by a development coach via email who has stayed with me throughout my whole apprenticeship; an induction meeting was soon arranged using Teams to talk to each other. During this meeting I was asked to complete a maths and English assessment to check where my skills level was currently at, as well as a Cognassist assessment which allows my assessor to see how I process information in order to set my assignments to my abilities, due to my dyslexia.
The course I am on should take around 22 months. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, I took a break in learning for nine months. This break meant my work was put on hold until I returned. I was very grateful to have this option. While on my break, I moved nursery settings and now work in The Nursery in Belong run by Ready Generations. Changing settings did make returning to work from my break a bit more challenging, due to needing to redo the funding assessment, which involved me redoing my maths and English tasks. However, my development coach kept me up-to-date and it didn’t take long for me to return to my apprenticeship.
The Nursery in Belong is a fully integrated intergenerational nursery situated on the ground floor of a residential care village, and although it is not a part of the Busy Bees group, I am still able to continue my apprenticeship with Busy Bees Education and Training digitally, while working here full-time.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO THIS PARTICULAR ROUTE, AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO PURSUE WORKING IN EARLY YEARS?
During my A-Levels, I decided to study Health and Social Care Level 3 and I absolutely loved it. As part of this course we learnt about different healthcare roles, and I discovered a hospital play specialist which I immediately connected with. I found out how to get into this role – I needed an A-level 3 in childcare as an entry requirement onto the university course, and this was the catalyst for applying to do a Level 3 apprenticeship. I felt this role would be a great fit for me as I wanted to work somewhere where I could provide children with wonderful experiences that contribute to their self-worth, as every child deserves happiness and a place where they can be free from worries and challenges.
I also began volunteering as a leader at a local Girlguiding Rainbows group and a Girlguiding Brownies group to expand my experience of working with children across different age groups. My mum has been in the childcare sector since I was born and has been through many roles within a nursery setting, including room leading and managing. I would often go to her work after school when I was six or seven years old, and during this time I would read to the pre-schoolers and be creative through art.
When we moved house, I started going to a childminder after school where I would interact with the other young children. I remember leading a treasure basket experience with the one-year-olds. I loved being in the teaching role.
When I started working at the Busy Bees nursery, it felt natural and something I had a talent in. An apprenticeship was also beneficial as I could earn a wage and gain experience that was valuable to building knowledge. While working at a nursery setting throughout my apprenticeship, my passion for working with children aged under five grew, especially when seeing a child’s personality blossom as they develop individual personalities and reach new achievements. I also enjoy providing new opportunities and watching as the children view the world for the first time, as they smile when they make a new discovery.
Throughout my time doing my apprenticeship I have considered other routes and jobs within the childcare sector such as paediatric nurse, teacher, art therapist, au pair and many other roles. However, for now, I really enjoy being in a nursery setting as I am embedding the Early years foundation stage statutory framework and teaching children core skills. This has made me want to stay in a nursery setting.
The Nursery in Belong is extra special as I am with the children and older residents, who we call grand-friends, so I get to learn something new from both age groups and about play in different forms.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE HIGHLIGHTS?
One highlight of my apprenticeship was winning the Early Years Apprentice of the Year 2024 at the Nursery WorldAwards. It was a huge honour to be nominated in this category and take a trip to London with my work colleagues for a spectacular evening. I have been supported by my work colleagues throughout my whole apprenticeship and it was amazing to have them there with me.
Another highlight was our Christmas movie night. Our book of the month that December was The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, and to celebrate this the children from the nursery, their families and staff joined our grand-friends to watch the 1982 film all together, sipping hot chocolate. We ended the movie night with a fake snow machine and had a snowball fight with white pom-poms. It was truly beautiful. I had not long started at the setting, and I knew then that The Nursery in Belong was magical.
HOW HAVE YOU TRIED TO BROADEN YOUR EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS TO STAND OUT FROM OTHER APPRENTICES?
I have tried to do this by taking charge of my own learning. I engage regularly outside of work with podcasts, reading and research relating to early years, to better my understanding and create experiences that intend to teach children while allowing creativity and exploration. I attend and contribute to what we call ‘learning lunches’ at the Nursery in Belong, where practitioners within the setting share their knowledge from the training they have been on. This builds my skills and we talk about how we can implement the ideas.
I have created opportunities for the children, such as a GlastonBABY event, inspired by the famous Glastonbury festival, to build links with people in the community and encourage people to express themselves through play and dance. I pitch ideas to my managers and trustees about what resources we can buy for the setting to enhance learning and trips we can go on to build understanding of the world.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER APPRENTICES CURRENTLY STUDYING OR WORKING IN THE SECTOR?
I would recommend to anyone considering an early years apprenticeship to make the most of any opportunity to learn. Personally, the majority of my learning has been work-shadowing practitioners while working across the different age groups in the nursery room, including ages birth to one, one-two, two-three, three-four and four-five. During this time I found it really beneficial to ask questions to better my understanding, as well as evaluating my practice. Out of all the toys in the room, you are the children’s best resource.
Which figures in the sector do you find most inspiring?
Among the many inspiring figures within the childcare sector, one person in particular that stands out to me is Friedrich Froebel, who in the 19th century stated: ‘To learn a thing in life and through doing is much more developing, cultivating and strengthening than to learn it merely through the verbal communication of ideas.’ I believe that this quote still stands as a testament to how children effectively learn nearly 200 years later.
In my nursery setting, we embed Froebel’s principles daily into our curriculum and provide the children with a range of opportunities to try things – a weekly gardening club, woodworking to create resources and mending to fix resources, choir, trips to see places of interest, boardgames, block play and many other experiences to demonstrate cultural capital. Froebel trusted the power of play and its impact on a child’s learning, ambition and expression. This has inspired me to do the same and provide an enriching environment.
I’d also say that the co-founders of Ready Generations, Liz Ludden and Sue Egersdorff, inspire me greatly. Although I get to work closely with them, their achievements are undeniable, and their passion for person-centred care and stimulating surroundings has brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions. I am fortunate to see their creation of The Nursery in Belong, the UK’s only fully integrated intergenerational nursery, which is truly life-changing for the old and young, and they have been role models for my pedagogy. The concept of an intergenerational nursery has allowed me to meet researchers from universities including Dr Kay Heslop and Dr Chao Fang and get to discuss their views on society and connections between people, which has taken me back to my love for health and social care and developed my thinking on how I can make an impact.
