Apprentice Early Years Practitioner
Oaklea Montessori CIC
Colchester (CO1 2DE)
Closes in 13 days (Thursday 2 October 2025 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 18 September 2025
Contents
Summary
Are you looking for the best place to start your Early Years career or extend on an already gained Level 2 qualification to Level 3? Would you like to earn while you learn? To work as part of a team, in a busy nursery with children aged 0-5 years, ensuring the children receive quality care and education in accordance with Montessori philosophy.
- Wage
-
£11,778 to £19,047.60, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)
Depending on age from: £7.55ph
- Training course
- Early years practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
-
Mon – Fri 9 am – 5 pm with 30 mins for lunch.
To work 25 – 30 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. Hours and days to be set at the interview.
30 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 20 October 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 3 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
There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:
- To be a positive role model for the children by showing respect to staff, parents, children and visitors.
- To follow the Montessori practices, including helping the child to become independent, like putting on their own coats and shoes (age-related)
- To ensure that each child’s needs are identified and met through constant observation and monitoring.
- To contribute to keeping the nursery environment clean and tidy in order to maintain a high standard of safety and hygiene and create a pleasant environment for the staff and children.
- Key responsibilities include preparing daily activities, including craft, outside activities and nursery outings. snack and lunch practices and help with nappy and toileting routines, occasional packing away and setting up for the next session.
The successful candidate will have excellent personal skills to develop effective working relationships with children, staff, parents and professionals. Must be friendly and approachable, have the ability to work as part of a team, be passionate about working in early years, self-motivated, capable of taking the initiative and support management requirements of the nursery.
Where you'll work
Wimpole Road
Colchester
CO1 2DE
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
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
- Apprentice training
- Safeguarding level 1 and level 2 training
- Prevent training
- Food and hygiene training
- Food allergy training
- First aid training
More training information
Our blended approach means that our programmes
are flexible and enable apprentices to experience a
range of learning and support opportunities in a variety
of formats such as online or at a local ACL centre. The
apprentice will have a dedicated tutor who they will
meet (online or face to face) once a month who will
guide them through their apprenticeship and prepare
them for their End Point Assessment. Additional
workshops and seminars will be available to all
learners to support additional learning and the off job
learning requirement.
Requirements
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
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Administrative skills
- Team working
- Initiative
- Non judgemental
- Patience
Other requirements
Oaklea Montessori is a busy nursery, where you will be on your feet all day, working indoors and outdoors, so please come prepared for working outdoors in all weathers. You will need to be able to write observations of the children on the I Connect app.
About this employer
A Montessori nursery that takes 26 children 0-5 years per session in a busy Colchester, New Town area. Open 50 weeks a year, 8-5pm Monday to Friday.
After this apprenticeship
May lead to permanent position once the apprenticeship has successfully been completed.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Leon Black
Leon.Black@essex.gov.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000342897.
Apply now
Closes in 13 days (Thursday 2 October 2025 at 11:59pm)
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