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Guide To Childcare Apprenticeships

Introduction To Childcare Apprenticeships
What type of personality do you think you have? What do you think your strengths are at school and when you are at home? Are you outgoing, caring and someone who enjoys helping people and taking charge of situations? Perhaps you have younger brothers or sisters who you just love to look after or play with. If you are this type of person and you really enjoy being around children, then why not think about doing Childcare Apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships in Childcare are a great idea because not only do you get to learn all the theory around looking after children, you also get to work in real jobs and put all of that theory into practice. If university is not the path for you then Apprenticeships are certainly no second best option. You will be able to earn while you learn and get valuable childcare training.

Does that sound good to you? Let’s look a bit closer at Childcare Apprenticeships, then.

How Do Childcare Apprenticeships Vary?
Childcare Apprenticeships have an official name - their Sunday name. You will be doing your qualifications under the bracket of Children & Young People’s Workforce Apprenticeship.

The great news is, once you have decided where your strengths are and where you want to take your career, you can choose pathways in your childcare training. You might want to work with babies and toddlers, for example. Or working with early years children might inspire you. Some of you might prefer youth work with adolescents and teenagers.

You can see how varied they are can’t you? And Childcare Apprenticeships can lead to a variety of careers. Nursery Apprenticeships can see you working in day nurseries of varying sizes. Other childcare training courses can lead you to being a childminder, au pair, nanny, teaching assistant, kids club administrator, youth support worker… Phew! It’s down to you to decide which direction you want to go in.

Your experience during Apprenticeships in Childcare will depend on the level you are doing and the employer you are working for. Let’s look at what could be involved.

What Is Involved With Apprenticeships In Childcare?
Apprenticeships are real jobs where you will also gain nationally recognised qualifications and learn about your employment rights and responsibilities, too. They are all about making you a valuable employee and Childcare Apprenticeships will give you all the tools you need work with children and young people at a professional level. How far you want to take your career in childcare is up to you.

Whichever pathways you choose, all Apprenticeships in Childcare have course elements on:
  • Employment Rights & Responsibilities (ERR)
  • Personal Learning & Thinking Skills (PLTS)
  • Functional Skills in English, Maths and ICT (level 1 for Intermediate Apprenticeships and Level 2 for Advanced Apprenticeships)
Intermediate Level Childcare Apprenticeships
Three Intermediate Level Childcare Apprenticeships (Level 2) you could choose between are:
  • Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Children & Young People’s Workforce
  • Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Playwork
  • Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Supporting Teaching & Learning In Schools
The Level 2 Children and Young People’s Workforce Apprenticeship will see you working with early years children, perhaps in a nursery, and you will learn all about looking after children, developing their social skills and keeping them active and well nourished. You will also get an understanding of how to recognise and work with vulnerable children. There will be units to complete that are mandatory as well as some optional units.

When you have complete this Apprenticeship in Childcare, as well as the elements mentioned above, you will also be awarded with the Level 2 Certificate in Children and young People’s Workforce.

Childcare Apprenticeships Level 2 can also be the Intermediate Apprenticeship in Playwork. These childcare training courses will see you working in play groups such as after school clubs and you will gain an understanding of how children learn through play as well as the practical elements of running playgroups.

When you have completed the Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Playwork, as well as the elements listed above, you will also be awarded with a nationally recognised Level 2 certificate in Playwork.

Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeships for Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools will see you working in a school environment with qualified staff and you will learn about aspects of support work in education. When you have completed this, you will be awarded the Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools.

If you want, you can stop things right here and work with young children as an assistant with the childcare training classes and work you have done. Lots of you, however, might want to further your career and continue to learn more about childcare. If that’s you then why not move on to Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeships?

Advanced Level Childcare Apprenticeships
Again, Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeships come in three flavours:
  • Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Children & Young People’s Workforce. There are three different pathways you can choose from with this Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeship: Early Years Educator, Children’s Social Care, Residential Childcare.
  • Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship in Playwork
  • Level 3 Intermediate Apprenticeship in Supporting Teaching & Learning In Schools
Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeships further develop what you have learned at level 2 so that you can work independently and take on supervisory roles for some positions.

Further Career Development
It doesn’t have to stop there if you don’t want it to. There are lots of options for future study and career development once you have completed Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeships. Further Childcare training courses in your chosen field can see you gaining nationally recognised certificates and diplomas at Level 4 and Level 5. You might want to embark on a Foundation degree or even an Honours degree.

Apply For Childcare Apprenticeships In The UK
So do you think a career in childcare sounds right up your street? And do you want to earn while you learn and gain some nationally recognised qualifications to boot? If that’s you, get the ball rolling and apply for Childcare Apprenticeships now. You could have an exciting career ahead of you!



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