Apprentice Pre-School Assistant
TOLLESHUNT D'ARCY PRE SCHOOL LTD
MALDON (CM9 8UB)
Closes in 17 days (Friday 8 May 2026)
Posted on 15 April 2026
Contents
Summary
The job requires a passion for working with children and supporting their development. It is a rewarding role that allows you to support children aged between 2 and 5 to grow and develop. You will need to demonstrate patience, empathy, a caring nature and understanding to support children in your care.
- Wage
-
£12,480 to £19,827.60, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Training course
- Early years educator (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday 9am - 3:30pm with a 30 minute lunch break.
30 hours a week
- Start date
-
Tuesday 2 June 2026
- Duration
-
1 year 9 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
A key part of your role will be building solid relationships with children, ensuring they can trust you and feel secure in your care.
Early Years Educators need to make learning a fun experience for young children. You need to be able to create age-appropriate activities that facilitate child development, ensuring engagement, whilst focusing and documenting on all areas of progress and development.
Communication skills are key to liaise with children, colleagues, committee members, parents and outside professionals. You need to work well as part of a team as well as using your initiative to work as an individual.
A keenness to learn and keep up to date with changes and legislation is essential. You need to follow safeguarding guidelines and all policies and procedures throughout your duties.
Duties include;
- To work as a team to prepare for an Ofsted inspection and implement any recommendations made following regulatory inspections.
- To provide a high quality of education and learning and offer appropriate stimulations and support to children attending the setting.
- To ensure that the welfare and safety of the children is promoted within the setting and that any child protection concerns are always appropriately acted upon immediately.
- To help ensure records are properly maintained e.g. attendance register, accident and incident book etc. and the closing checklist is completed.
- To be responsible to specific key children, to monitor their key children’s progress and keep their key children’s learning journeys up to date and completed to an acceptable standard and that their key children’s reports and next steps are completed within deadlines set.
- To liaise closely with parents/carers, informing them about the Pre-School and its curriculum, teaching methods and practices; exchanging information about children’s progress and encouraging parents’ involvement.
- To liaise with the Committee, Ofsted, Children’s Social Care and other professionals as necessary.
- To contribute to and to help implement all pre-school policies and procedures.
- As a staff member, allow parents the opportunity to meet with their child’s key person, e.g. parent evenings.
- Contribute to the SEF.
- Attend staff meetings.
- To ensure that the session is set up appropriately and starts promptly.
- To attend or complete online training and meetings as required.
- To keep up to date with current good practice.
Where you'll work
TOLLESHUNT D'ARCY PRE SCHOOL
TOLLESBURY ROAD
TOLLESHUNT D'ARCY
MALDON
CM9 8UB
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
COLCHESTER INSTITUTE
Training course
Early years educator (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Recognise when a child or a colleague is in danger or at risk of abuse and act to protect them in line with safeguarding policy and procedure.
- Apply legislation, policy and procedure to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of children in the setting (for example, food safety, diets, starting solid food, allergies, COSHH, and accidents, injuries, and emergencies).
- Apply the principles of risk assessment and risk management within documentation and practice.
- Teach children to develop skills to manage risk and maintain their own and others safety.
- Use a range of communication methods, including technology, with other professionals to meet the individual needs of the child.
- Develop and maintain effective professional, collaborative relationships with others involved in the education and care of the child.
- Undertake the role and responsibilities of key person.
- Recognise and apply theories of attachment to develop effective relationships with children.
- Provide sensitive and respectful personal care for children from birth to 5 years.
- Advocate for all children’s needs, including children which require SEND or EAL support.
- Promote and facilitate children’s interpersonal communication to develop their social interactions and relationships.
- Support children to develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture.
- Support children to understand and respond to their emotions and make considered choices about their behaviours.
- Assess the responsiveness of the environment for effective child-centred experiences in line with curriculum requirements.
- Create inclusive, child-centred, dynamic, innovative, and evolving physical environments both indoors and outdoors.
- Create inclusive and supportive emotional environment that enables the child to feel safe, secure, respected and experience a sense of wellbeing; maintaining and prioritising the individual child’s voice.
- Apply strategies that support children’s ability to manage change, transition, and significant events.
- Analyse observation evidence to assess and plan holistic individual learning based on a comprehensive understanding of the child’s needs and interests.
- Facilitate and support child-centred opportunities and experiences based on the setting's curriculum and pedagogy.
- Provide adult led opportunities and experience based on the setting's curriculum and pedagogy.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally.
- Recognise when a child or a colleague is in danger or at risk of abuse and act to protect them in line with safeguarding policy and procedure.
- Apply legislation, policy and procedure to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of children in the setting (for example, food safety, diets, starting solid food, allergies, COSHH, and accidents, injuries, and emergencies).
- Apply the principles of risk assessment and risk management within documentation and practice.
- Teach children to develop skills to manage risk and maintain their own and others safety.
- Use a range of communication methods, including technology, with other professionals to meet the individual needs of the child.
- Develop and maintain effective professional, collaborative relationships with others involved in the education and care of the child.
- Undertake the role and responsibilities of key person.
- Recognise and apply theories of attachment to develop effective relationships with children.
- Provide sensitive and respectful personal care for children from birth to 5 years.
- Advocate for all children’s needs, including children which require SEND or EAL support.
- Promote and facilitate children’s interpersonal communication to develop their social interactions and relationships.
- Support children to develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture.
- Support children to understand and respond to their emotions and make considered choices about their behaviours.
- Assess the responsiveness of the environment for effective child-centred experiences in line with curriculum requirements.
- Create inclusive, child-centred, dynamic, innovative, and evolving physical environments both indoors and outdoors.
- Create inclusive and supportive emotional environment that enables the child to feel safe, secure, respected and experience a sense of wellbeing; maintaining and prioritising the individual child’s voice.
- Apply strategies that support children’s ability to manage change, transition, and significant events.
- Analyse observation evidence to assess and plan holistic individual learning based on a comprehensive understanding of the child’s needs and interests.
- Facilitate and support child-centred opportunities and experiences based on the setting's curriculum and pedagogy.
- Provide adult led opportunities and experience based on the setting's curriculum and pedagogy.
- Use reflection to develop themselves both professionally and personally.
Training schedule
- The apprentice will be working towards the Early Years Educator Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard.
- College attendance at the Colchester Institute - Colchester Campus one day per week during term time.
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
Desirable qualifications
GCSE in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Number skills
- Team working
- Creative
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
- Physical fitness
- Empathy
- Caring nature
- Keen to learn
- Enthusiasm
Other requirements
- A satisfactory enhanced DBS certificate will be required.
- You will need to complete a Level 2 Safeguarding course and hold or be booked onto a Paediatric First Aid course.
About this employer
Tolleshunt D'Arcy Pre-school is an Ofsted 'Good' rated pre-school serving the D'Arcy community and surrounding areas of Tollesbury, Tolleshunt Knights, Tolleshunt Major, Goldhanger, Tiptree and beyond. We are an Essex Early Years Charter member 2024 and are Healthy Smiles Accredited. Set in the lovely grounds of the village primary school, we provide a fun, safe and stimulating learning environment for 2-5 year olds for up to 30 hours per week, 38 weeks per year.
After this apprenticeship
- After gaining experience with a Level 2 or Level 3 Childcare qualification, you can pursue more advanced qualifications, such as a Level 3 Team Leader/Supervisor or Level 5 Early Years Lead Practitioner. These qualifications can help you move into more senior roles.
- With a Level 3 early years educator qualification, you can work in a variety of childcare settings, such as nurseries, pre-schools, and reception classes.
- You can move into managing a nursery or group of nurseries. You can do further training to become a primary school teacher or play therapist. You can also teach early years courses.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
COLCHESTER INSTITUTE
Colchester Institute - Apprenticeship Team
ci.apprenticeships@colchester.ac.uk
01206 712043
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000020878.
Apply now
Closes in 17 days (Friday 8 May 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.