Apprentice Early Years Practitioner

Would you like to complete training in a beautiful and innovative nursery with a well- qualified and curious staff team? We have an Apprenticeship vacancy at Wood St Nursery and are looking for an energetic, motivated Apprentice who would love to spend their time caring for children under 5 and helping them develop and learn.

What you'll do

In this role, you will learn:

• How to meet children's social, emotional, physical, and intellectual needs by providing stimulating and age-appropriate play and learning opportunities in the setting
• How to supervise the children where appropriate and to protect them from dangerous or harmful situations, with the support and guidance of senior staff
• How to contribute to a high level of care that will enhance the children's general health and wellbeing
• How to carry out observations of children, discuss the progress of children with the key person and contribute any ideas to informal and formal planning sessions
• How to be aware of any special needs a child may have and to familiarise yourself with relevant play and learning plans

Your day-to-day job will be:

• To play with and talk to the children
• To build warm and supportive relationships with the children
• To help with care of the children, including changing nappies, helping a child to clean themselves and change their clothes
• To ensure mealtimes are pleasant with conversation and social sharing, and to encourage children to eat a healthy diet
• To support children to be independent as much as possible
• To help with keeping the nursery clean and tidy at all times
• To help other team members throughout the nursery
• To record accidents under the supervision of a paediatric first aider
• To clear up the nursery at the end of the day
• To move and lift furniture and resources to set up and pack away the nursery environment daily/weekly as required
• To follow the nursery safeguarding procedure to ensure all children are kept safe, well and secure
• To attend occasional out of working hours activities, e.g. staff meetings or training
• To be flexible and prepared to help when and where needed in the nursery, including domestic jobs such as cleaning and preparation of snacks
• To read, understand and follow all nursery policies
• Understand and comply with safeguarding policies
• With support, learn about and follow the Early Years Foundation Stage

Training

You will be enrolled on the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner Standard

Training is delivered weekly via a blend of monthly virtual classroom teaching sessions, online learning, workplace learning, written tasks and face to face assessments and sessions with our assessors

For more information about the apprenticeship training programme, please contact Ria Clifton (Apprenticeship Coordinator) at the Early Years Alliance

ria.clifton@eyalliance.org.uk

After the apprenticeship

• We have opportunities to progress through the nursery, including Level 3 training
• Level 3 qualified practitioners can progress to a role with additional responsibility, and to Deputy Room Leader
• We are looking to expand and open a second nursery, so further job opportunities are likely within our organisation

Skills

• Communication skills
• Organisation skills
• Team working
• Creative
• Patience
• Build good relationships
• Positive can do attitude
• Enthusiastic
• Punctual and reliable
• Hard working

Qualifications

• Desired: GCSE, English (grade 4/C)
• Desired: GCSE, maths (grade 4/C)

Things to consider

• Attendance at 2 annual staff training days, one in January and one in September
• Complete Safeguarding Training
• In The Moment Planning training and Makaton training on the job
• Our nursery has lovely gardens, and our staff must be willing to take the children outside in all weathers. This can be lovely in good weather, but you must also be prepared to take your turn outdoors in the cold and wet!

About the employer

We are 5 minutes walk from Wood Street Station and 20 minutes from Walthamstow Central Station.

We open 48 weeks a year; we are closed the last 2 weeks in August, 1 week in December including the bank holidays and 1 week in the Easter half-term; this one varies depending on when the bank holidays fall.

We have a cycle to work scheme with Bike2Work

Apprenticeship details

• Course: Early years practitioner (level 2), Education and early years
• Apprenticeship level: Intermediate (level 2)
• Training provider: PRE-SCHOOL LEARNING ALLIANCE
• Expected duration: 1 Year 4 Months
• Hours: 30 hours a week. Working week: Monday to Friday Morning shift 07:45 to 14:15. Afternoon shift 10:50 to 17:20. Study time provided (total 6.5 hours per week). 30-minute unpaid lunch break.
• Start date: 4 January 2027
• Positions available: 1
• Wage: £12,480 a year