Early Years Apprentice

CHILTERN TRAINING LTD

Reading (RG4 5NA)

Closes on Saturday 4 October 2025

Posted on 4 February 2025

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Contents

Summary

You will be working full time at Caversham Nursery School working with children under the age of 5, you will also attend college at Chiltern Training for one day a month and one day online to complete your qualification.

Wage

£15,704 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age

National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course
Early years practitioner (level 2)
Hours
You will work 40 hours a week with breaks.

40 hours a week

Start date

Wednesday 15 October 2025

Duration

1 year

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

-Childcare: Providing direct care and supervision for children, ensuring their safety and well-being at all times.


-Development Activities: Planning and facilitating activities that promote physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. This can include playtime, arts and crafts, storytelling, and educational games.


-Health and Nutrition: Preparing and serving healthy meals and snacks. Monitoring children's health and hygiene, including diaper changes and basic first aid.


-Behavior Management: Monitoring children's behavior and implementing positive reinforcement strategies to encourage good behavior and social skills.


-Communication: Regularly communicating with parents or guardians about their child's progress and any concerns that may arise.
Record Keeping: Maintaining accurate records of each child's development, behavior, and health information.


-Nurturing Environment: Creating a safe and welcoming environment that fosters learning and exploration.


-Team Collaboration: Working alongside other nursery staff members to ensure a cohesive routine and supportive atmosphere for the children.

Where you'll work

114 Amersham Road
Caversham
Reading
RG4 5NA

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

CHILTERN TRAINING LIMITED

Training course

Early years practitioner (level 2)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents
  • Support babies and young children through a range of transitions and significant events. e.g moving onto school, moving house or the birth of a sibling.
  • Recognise when a child is in danger, at risk of serious harm or abuse and explain the procedures to be followed to protect them. Types of abuse including: domestic, neglect , physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
  • Identify risks and hazards in the provision and during off site visits relating to both children and staff and visitors and follow reporting procedures.
  • Use prevention and control of infection techniques for hand washing and food preparation and hygiene, deal with spillages safely, safe disposal of waste, using correct personal protective equipment.
  • Use equipment, furniture and materials safely and securely, following the manufacturers’ instructions and provision’s requirements.
  • Encourage children to be aware of personal safety and the safety of others and develop personal hygiene practices (including oral hygiene).
  • Promote health and wellbeing in the provision by encouraging babies and young children to consume healthy, balanced and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks appropriate for their age and be physically active through planned and spontaneous activity throughout the day, both indoors and outdoors.
  • Carry out respectful care routines appropriate to the development, stage, dignity and needs of the child, including eating (feeding and weaning or complementary feeding), nappy changing procedures, potty or toilet training, care of skin, teeth and hair and rest and sleep provision.
  • Communicate with all children, including those for whom English is an additional language and those with additional needs, in ways that will be understood. This includes verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Extend children’s development and learning through verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Encourage babies and young children to use a range of communication methods.
  • Use a range of appropriate communication methods to share information with children, parents or carers and other professionals.
  • Work with colleagues to identify and plan educational programmes to support children’s holistic development through a range of play, creativity, social development and learning.
  • Implement and review activities to support children’s play, creativity, social development and learning and clear up after activities.
  • Observe children, assess, plan and record the outcomes, share results accurately and confidentially in line with expected statutory and the provision’s requirements.
  • Use learning activities to support early language development.
  • Support children’s early interest and development in mark making, writing, reading and being read to.
  • Support children’s interest and development in mathematical learning including numbers, number patterns, counting, sorting and matching.
  • Support the graduated approach for the assessment, planning, implementation and reviewing of each baby’s and young child's individual plan for their care and participation.
  • Work in ways that value and respect the developmental needs and stages of babies and children.
  • Use feedback and mentoring or supervision to identify and support areas for development, goals and career opportunities.
  • Work co-operatively with colleagues, other professionals and agencies to meet the needs of babies and young children and enable them to progress.
  • Work alongside parents or carers and recognise their role in the baby or child’s health, well-being, learning and development.
  • Encourage parents or carers to take an active role in the baby's or child’s care, play, learning and development.
  • Demonstrate how to share information with parents or carers about the importance of healthy, balanced and nutritious diets for their child, looking after teeth and being physically active.
  • Support babies and young children through a range of transitions and significant events. e.g moving onto school, moving house or the birth of a sibling.
  • Recognise when a child is in danger, at risk of serious harm or abuse and explain the procedures to be followed to protect them. Types of abuse including: domestic, neglect , physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.
  • Identify risks and hazards in the provision and during off site visits relating to both children and staff and visitors and follow reporting procedures.
  • Use prevention and control of infection techniques for hand washing and food preparation and hygiene, deal with spillages safely, safe disposal of waste, using correct personal protective equipment.
  • Use equipment, furniture and materials safely and securely, following the manufacturers’ instructions and provision’s requirements.
  • Encourage children to be aware of personal safety and the safety of others and develop personal hygiene practices (including oral hygiene).
  • Promote health and wellbeing in the provision by encouraging babies and young children to consume healthy, balanced and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks appropriate for their age and be physically active through planned and spontaneous activity throughout the day, both indoors and outdoors.
  • Carry out respectful care routines appropriate to the development, stage, dignity and needs of the child, including eating (feeding and weaning or complementary feeding), nappy changing procedures, potty or toilet training, care of skin, teeth and hair and rest and sleep provision.
  • Communicate with all children, including those for whom English is an additional language and those with additional needs, in ways that will be understood. This includes verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Extend children’s development and learning through verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Encourage babies and young children to use a range of communication methods.
  • Use a range of appropriate communication methods to share information with children, parents or carers and other professionals.
  • Work with colleagues to identify and plan educational programmes to support children’s holistic development through a range of play, creativity, social development and learning.
  • Implement and review activities to support children’s play, creativity, social development and learning and clear up after activities.
  • Observe children, assess, plan and record the outcomes, share results accurately and confidentially in line with expected statutory and the provision’s requirements.
  • Use learning activities to support early language development.
  • Support children’s early interest and development in mark making, writing, reading and being read to.
  • Support children’s interest and development in mathematical learning including numbers, number patterns, counting, sorting and matching.
  • Support the graduated approach for the assessment, planning, implementation and reviewing of each baby’s and young child's individual plan for their care and participation.
  • Work in ways that value and respect the developmental needs and stages of babies and children.
  • Use feedback and mentoring or supervision to identify and support areas for development, goals and career opportunities.
  • Work co-operatively with colleagues, other professionals and agencies to meet the needs of babies and young children and enable them to progress.
  • Work alongside parents or carers and recognise their role in the baby or child’s health, well-being, learning and development.
  • Encourage parents or carers to take an active role in the baby's or child’s care, play, learning and development.
  • Demonstrate how to share information with parents or carers about the importance of healthy, balanced and nutritious diets for their child, looking after teeth and being physically active.

Training schedule

You will complete your Early Years qualification at Chiltern Training, you will also complete Functional Skills Maths and English alongside your course.

Requirements

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • Customer care skills
  • Team working
  • Creative
  • Initiative
  • Non judgemental
  • Patience
  • Physical fitness
  • Kindness
  • Caring

About this employer

We are a long-established nursery school within a purpose-built site which has open access to the garden for all children to have a free-flow play experience. We have a wonderful team of fully qualified Teachers, Early Years Practitioners, and Nurture Assistants, all of whom have a wealth of knowledge and experience within the Early Years sector. We are proud to be part of the Reading Early Years Schools federation, along with New Bridge Nursery and Blagdon Nursery School. The federation gives us the opportunity to share the expertise, skills and knowledge throughout each of the nurseries and teams. We are one of just 5 Local Authority nursery schools in Reading but are also lucky enough to offer all-year round care and education for children from birth to five. The REYS Federation prides itself on ‘Creating Lifelong Learners’ and starting early is the key to this success. At Caversham Nursery School we focus on ‘Making Every Moment Matter’ and promote play-based learning using the ‘In the Moment’ planning rationale. Children learn best when they are in control of their play, when their well-being and involvement levels are at their highest and when they are provided with an open, stimulating and limitless environment and the time to explore at their own pace.

https://www.reysfederation.org/caversham-nursery-school (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

Once you have completed your level 2 Early Years you can then move onto your level 3.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CHILTERN TRAINING LIMITED

Admissions team

enquiries@chilterntraining.org

0118 95 66 995

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000300235.

Apply now

Closes on Saturday 4 October 2025

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