Learner Focus: Bhavini Parmar, Apprenticeship Learner - Celebrating 10 Years of The Skills Network

With The Skills Network’s (TSN) 10-year anniversary celebrations in full swing, we’re taking the time to recognise exceptional achievements this month!

Over the years, we are extremely proud to have formed partnerships with some of the biggest employers within the childcare and early years sector, to help organisations to support their staff in reaching their full professional potential.

Last week was National Apprenticeship Week 2019 (4^th − 8^th March 2019), and as part of this, we wanted to give you a glimpse of what an Early Years Workforce Apprenticeship with TSN entails.

We spoke to one of our Apprentices, Bhavini Parmar, who is completing her Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship for Early Years with the UK’s leading childcare provider, Bright Horizons.

Below, you can find out more about how she is progressing in her early years career

“An ambition of mine is to learn more about the management side of running a nursery or an early years setting. I would one day like to become a room leader. Through completing the Apprenticeship and becoming a qualified nursery nurse, more doors and opportunities will open up for me. More and more nurseries are looking for qualified staff, and being qualified will help me when applying for opportunities that I was not eligible for before.”

Bhavini explained to us that her Apprenticeship has helped her to learn more in relation to child behaviours and how they relate to psychology as part of the theory side of the course.

“I have learnt a lot more in terms of child behavioural theory by looking at previous theories and psychologists. Some parts of the psychology I didn’t actually know about, like how child behaviour is related to psychology and all the different theorists and theories, so that’s something I really gained from the course. For me, the best part of the Apprenticeship has been learning about child psychology and how the different theories relate to and impact upon everyday practice.”

Apprentices are supported by their colleagues, their Trainer and, crucially, their Line Manager – something that Bhavini found particularly helpful. Bhavini explained that she feels it is important to help and support both staff and children equally, as she believes that if the staff feel supported, then the children will too.

“Of course, the children are the priority, but making sure the staff are supported and can grow is important too. It’s about supporting the team − I think that’s really important, because if your team feel supported, then, in turn, the children will feel encouraged and will thrive.”

Bhavini has really benefited from the distance learning aspect of the Apprenticeship.

“Distance learning has definitely worked for me. I work 30 hours a week and have a two year old of my own at home, so I needed a way of completing my level 3 without compromising my time with my daughter. This Apprenticeship gives me the flexibility to manage my work and deadlines according to what suits me.”

Bhavini also explained that she spends her allocated time for off-the-job training exploring a range of tasks that would not usually be in her job description, widening her skill set and providing her with a deeper understanding of the subject area.

To find out more about our Apprenticeships, please click here.