Meet our Early Years Programme Lead: Q&A with Gavin Crump-Jones
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How long have you been in the sector?
I have worked in Early Years for just over ten years. Most of that has been with United Learning. I have been part of the apprenticeship work for over eighteen months.
What sort of settings are the apprentices in?
We have learners in a wide range of settings. We have some who are working in the Lake District, and some down in Cornwall - they have lots of different experiences right across the country. There is also variety in the settings, some learners are in nurseries and reception at schools and we have some at private nurseries. So it's really interesting to learn from their day-to-day and to share best practice.
How is the programme structured and what topics are covered?
We are an online programme with two face-to-face days, we follow a term-time structure and each half term we have about two webinars - that's when we come together as a group. During our webinars, the main underpinning thread would be childhood development. We look at theorists and how children learn. This then breaks off into different units such as supporting children with special educational needs, supporting transition, how children develop attachment and how that can be used effectively. The key thing is, everything that we learn about, is to support our day-to-day role. We look at planning, we look at continuous provision, indoor and outdoor learning, support and play - so it's really broad.
What does the day-to-day look like for the apprentices?
On an apprenticeship learning day, we have the webinar in the morning, there would be time for questions and answers afterwards and we might have a 1:1 session if an apprentice needs more support and guidance.
The apprentices would use the rest of their time to complete their assignments and that might involve typing up some work, finding someone in their setting to have a professional discussion with or it might be wider reading or research.
Then the mentors in the workplace carry out observations, giving the apprentices constructive feedback on how they can make their practice even better. The apprentices might also start to plan lessons for the children within their care or within their room.
What are the highlight moments of the programme?
The biggest penny-drop moment for the apprentices is when we look at planning. A lot of our apprentices are used to delivering planning but are not used to doing the planning themselves. So, when we look at documents such as the foundation stage framework, development matters and birth-to-five; they find out why we do what we do and what those small incremental steps are for the children. That usually empowers them to have significant interactions with the children, you can see the enjoyment in how they can make a positive impact on those children.
What is your style of delivery?
During the webinars, it is definitely not a case of me reading the slides and the apprentices quietly taking notes. So, we make the webinars as interactive as possible, we have lots of opportunities where we drop the slides, have conversations and share experiences. We talk about best practices, and we set pre-learning and post-learning tasks and then we follow that up with our 1:1s. We have the core curriculum that we teach as a whole group and then during our 1:1s, we can get into the nitty-gritty of what each learner needs. Then we can set those targets in a triangulated way, with their mentor.
What do employers say?
We get lots of positive feedback. Usually for our younger apprentices, the employer feedback is about those softer skills we develop in apprentices - that are not taught directly in the role. It's about the way that they speak with other professionals and the way they interact with parents.
Similarly, we give them lots of strategies on how to implement growth models and how to improve on areas they want to improve on (their own personal targets). We usually get some good feedback from mentors regarding such targets because it has a direct impact on the day-to-day running of the nursery or setting that they are working in.
What are your apprentice success stories?
We have lots of lovely examples of people who have built their confidence. For me, that's the biggest one, their confidence in knowing why we do what we do. This has given a lot of apprentices the opportunity to progress professionally. A couple of apprentices have now progressed into being their room leaders and we have one who is progressing into a nursery manager. So, it is lovely to see their confidence and skillset grow, that is usually when I feel most proud.
What support is offered to apprentices throughout the programme?
The support is very varied and tailored to each apprentice because we all learn differently and we all approach things in a different way. Some people are quite happy to come to the webinars, they will attend the progress reviews and they complete the work.
For others, they prefer a hands-on approach, they might contact me via email and ask a few questions to run things by me or we might have a 1:1 session - so it is really quite bespoke and tailored to each individual person.
Some of our apprentices who are younger, or school leavers need a little support around study skills. Alternatively, we also have lots of apprentices who are mature and haven't been in a formal learning environment for a while, so also they need support in understanding the study aspects. We look at unpacking the question of an assignment and at the end of a webinar, we have a group discussion so that everyone is clear on what they need to do. If people have more questions, I am more than happy to follow up in a 1:1 where we can do assignment planning and lesson planning. We can be as hands-on as needed.
How do apprentices balance the apprenticeship learning alongside their role?
It is very much a part of the apprenticeship, developing the whole person and their professional skills as well. We make it clear that the off-the-job hours are protected time for our apprentices, and we do ask them to advocate for themselves, to show a bit of initiative in mapping out their time. Some apprentices need support with that and so we might create an off-the-job time plan and say 'Right for the next few weeks, these are the five things we want to get done.’
What advice would you give to prospective apprentices?
Give it a go. If you are looking to improve your practice in Early Years, then this apprenticeship is a really great way of doing it. It is very practical and very hands-on, you can take the learning and immediately put it into practice. So, when we talk about transition or attachment the apprentices can observe some children straight away and reflect. They have those 'aha' moments, the light bulb moments where they make those connections with the learning and quickly develop their skills as a result.
And what advice would you give to prospective employers?
The biggest barrier for prospective employers is this idea of off-the-job time because we have to comply with ratios and make sure we have the right number of staff on the floor.
But actually, employers can be creative and work around it. All the information of the apprenticeship is on a calendar which is sent out at the very beginning, the webinars always fall at the same time and last two . So it is straightforward to structure the off-the-job learning time in and around that. For the rest of the week, it can be really flexible, and you can deliver that off-the-job in a couple of different chunks across the week. So don't be put off by the idea off-the-job hours. Think about it creatively, when you can make it work, it is a really positive experience for everyone.