Early Years Apprentice Practitioner
THE CHILDCARE CORPORATION LIMITED
Haywards Heath (RH16 1PZ)
Closes in 27 days (Tuesday 26 August 2025)
Posted on 29 July 2025
Contents
Summary
Elan Preschool in Haywards Heath, part of Grandir UK, is currently looking for a Nursery Apprentice to help provide high-quality childcare whilst working toward a recognised qualification. We offer a benefits portal, discounted childcare and a host of wellbeing benefits.
- Wage
-
£15,704 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
- Training course
- Early years lead practitioner (level 5)
- Hours
-
Monday - Friday
40 hours a week
- Start date
-
Tuesday 2 September 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 6 months
- 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
At Grandir our mission is to inspire children to grow happy, smart, and healthy and thrive as individuals. Excellent quality childcare and education is evident when the children and family are truly placed at the centre of all we do and as a well-known and sought-after employer within the childcare sector, we recognise it is our people that provide exceptional education and care with every child and family at the centre of all they do.
As a Nursery Apprentice you will be expected to provide the highest level of care and education for children attending the nursery. Whilst you are gaining real world experience in a high quality childcare setting you will be working towards recognised childcare qualifications.
What will you be doing:
•Ensuring that the children’s individual needs are identified and met
•Supervising and supporting the children at all times
•Carrying out a wide range of interactive tasks including reading stories, helping at mealtimes, playing games, and changing nappies.
•Act as a positive, practical role model for the children
•Develop friendly, professional relationships with staff members and parents
•Ensure you fully understand and follow Safeguarding Procedures
Join us and enjoy the following:
Incentives
•Employee benefits portal, which includes discounts at 100’s of online high street stores
•Staff referral scheme – recommend your friends and family to work for us. and be rewarded with a cash bonus
•Heavily discounted childcare
Well-being
•‘Wellbeing Day’ – an extra day off just for you
•24/7 remote GP appointments with prescriptions delivered to your home
•Healthcare cash back plan – claim cash back on medical procedures such as dental care and physiotherapy
Recognition
•‘May I Say Thank You’ A whole month dedicated to recognising employees hard work & dedication, including an all-expenses paid awards ceremony
•Reward and recognition points – turn your points into cash through our benefits portal
•Additional paid holiday for Christmas closure to spend with your family and friends
Where you'll work
12 Sydney Road
Haywards Heath
RH16 1PZ
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
REALISE LEARNING AND EMPLOYMENT LIMITED
Training course
Early years lead practitioner (level 5)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Analyse and articulate how all children’s individual learning can be affected by their current developmental capabilities, characteristics and individual circumstances taking into account all factors contributing to typical and atypical development.
- Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
- Observe, assess, plan, facilitate and participate in play opportunities which include current curriculum requirements.
- Ensure plans fully reflect the individual development needs and circumstances of children and actively participate in the provision of consistent care, responding quickly to the needs of the individual child.
- Provide a dynamic, evolving and enabling environment that reflects the current interests, motivations, and play of individual and groups of children.
- Encourage all children’s participation, ensuring a sensitive, respectful and effective balance within the adult and child dynamic to facilitate play opportunities.
- Engage in effective strategies to develop and extend children's learning and thinking, including sustained shared thinking.
- Support and promote children’s speech, language and communication development and determining and adapting appropriate responses and interventions.
- Support children to engage in a range of learning contexts such as individual, small groups and larger groups as appropriate for their play and support confidence within social experiences.
- Ensure staff are deployed effectively to suit and enhance the learning environment, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all children.
- Advocate for the child, cultivating professional partnerships with parents/carers and other professionals, presenting their understanding of the child’s journey within multidisciplinary teams to holistically support the child’s individual needs.
- Demonstrate the importance of the home learning environment, developing an effective and collaborative partnership to enhance opportunities for the child.
- Make use of formative and summative assessment, tracking children’s progress to plan for future learning possibilities including early interventions based on individual developmental needs.
- Take responsibility for supporting the key person in articulating children's progress and planning future learning possibilities.
- Use current and contemporary knowledge, research, theories and approaches to develop, enhance and articulate their own pedagogical approach and practice.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally to enhance their practice.
- Plan, carry out and guide appropriate physical care routines for individual children.
- Promote, model and support children and families to develop a healthy approach to making choices relating to personal care including eating, sleeping and physical activity.
- Develop, model and implement strategies to support the emotional, psychological, physical and cultural needs of all children within the setting.
- Identify and act upon own responsibilities in relation to health and safety, prevention and control of infection, carrying out risk assessments and risk management processes in line with policies and procedures.
- Ensure the security and confidentiality of data, records and information in line with current legislation.
- Be a leaderful practitioner to support, mentor, coach, train and guide colleagues in a range of settings, providing inspiration and motivation to engage others to develop their practice.
- Be confident to identify, action and competently challenge issues and undertake difficult conversations where appropriate.
- Advocate for children through their child centred approach, listening to the voice of the child; ensuring children’s rights, views and wishes are heard, respected and acted upon at all times. Offer appropriate support and influence decisions in the best interests of the child.
- Competently action and carry out safeguarding procedures, using their professional curiosity, knowledge, insight and understanding.
- Explore and understand, challenge and question; knowing when to act to safeguard and protect children.
- Analyse and articulate how all children’s individual learning can be affected by their current developmental capabilities, characteristics and individual circumstances taking into account all factors contributing to typical and atypical development.
- Promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice.
- Observe, assess, plan, facilitate and participate in play opportunities which include current curriculum requirements.
- Ensure plans fully reflect the individual development needs and circumstances of children and actively participate in the provision of consistent care, responding quickly to the needs of the individual child.
- Provide a dynamic, evolving and enabling environment that reflects the current interests, motivations, and play of individual and groups of children.
- Encourage all children’s participation, ensuring a sensitive, respectful and effective balance within the adult and child dynamic to facilitate play opportunities.
- Engage in effective strategies to develop and extend children's learning and thinking, including sustained shared thinking.
- Support and promote children’s speech, language and communication development and determining and adapting appropriate responses and interventions.
- Support children to engage in a range of learning contexts such as individual, small groups and larger groups as appropriate for their play and support confidence within social experiences.
- Ensure staff are deployed effectively to suit and enhance the learning environment, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of all children.
- Advocate for the child, cultivating professional partnerships with parents/carers and other professionals, presenting their understanding of the child’s journey within multidisciplinary teams to holistically support the child’s individual needs.
- Demonstrate the importance of the home learning environment, developing an effective and collaborative partnership to enhance opportunities for the child.
- Make use of formative and summative assessment, tracking children’s progress to plan for future learning possibilities including early interventions based on individual developmental needs.
- Take responsibility for supporting the key person in articulating children's progress and planning future learning possibilities.
- Use current and contemporary knowledge, research, theories and approaches to develop, enhance and articulate their own pedagogical approach and practice.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally to enhance their practice.
- Plan, carry out and guide appropriate physical care routines for individual children.
- Promote, model and support children and families to develop a healthy approach to making choices relating to personal care including eating, sleeping and physical activity.
- Develop, model and implement strategies to support the emotional, psychological, physical and cultural needs of all children within the setting.
- Identify and act upon own responsibilities in relation to health and safety, prevention and control of infection, carrying out risk assessments and risk management processes in line with policies and procedures.
- Ensure the security and confidentiality of data, records and information in line with current legislation.
- Be a leaderful practitioner to support, mentor, coach, train and guide colleagues in a range of settings, providing inspiration and motivation to engage others to develop their practice.
- Be confident to identify, action and competently challenge issues and undertake difficult conversations where appropriate.
- Advocate for children through their child centred approach, listening to the voice of the child; ensuring children’s rights, views and wishes are heard, respected and acted upon at all times. Offer appropriate support and influence decisions in the best interests of the child.
- Competently action and carry out safeguarding procedures, using their professional curiosity, knowledge, insight and understanding.
- Explore and understand, challenge and question; knowing when to act to safeguard and protect children.
Training schedule
Your full role and responsibilities will be set out by your employer. They will provide you with all of the on-the-job training you need to upskill in your role, and your 20% off-the-job learning will be incorporated as part of your working day.
You will be working towards the Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner apprenticeship standard, which includes:
• Leadership and management
• Child development and theory
• Pedagogy
• Health and wellbeing
• Health and safety
• Equality, diversity, inclusion and SEN
• Safeguarding
• Partnership working
• Functional Skills in English and maths if required
This will be delivered by your dedicated training provider, Realise.
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE or equivalent in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Administrative skills
- Analytical Skills
- Attention to detail
- Communication Skills
- Creative
- Customer care skills
- Initiative
- IT skills
- Logical
- Non judgemental
- Number skills
- Organisation skills
- Patience
- Physical fitness
- Presentation skills
- Problem solving skills
- Team working
Other requirements
Grandir UK is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and an enhanced DBS check will be required for this role. We are an equal opportunity employer and select staff on merit.
About this employer
At Elan Preschool, we’re passionate about creating a nurturing environment that blends high-quality care and education. Our newly refurbished spaces are designed to inspire children to learn, grow, and thrive.
After this apprenticeship
Continued development and progression
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
REALISE LEARNING AND EMPLOYMENT LIMITED
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000334266.
Apply now
Closes in 27 days (Tuesday 26 August 2025)
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