Ask Fennies: Academy Team

We sat down with the Fennies Academy team to discover more about career development, our onboarding processes, Apprenticeships and all things Academy with our Academy Leads, Pru Barwood and Jamie Atkins , and our Onboarding Lead, Sarah Scarth ???

?Pru, can you explain to us a little bit more about Fennies Academy??

Fennies Academy has been created as part of our commitment to the learning and development for both the internal staff throughout Fennies and new employees. The academy has been designed to meet the needs of anyone looking to have a career within the childcare sector - no matter the route they want to take or the qualifications they are looking to achieve.?

?Jamie, How does Fennies Academy support career development??

We have a range of ways to support career development.?

We want to facilitate a culture of learning, that means to find out what our teams are passionate about and to give them the opportunities to delve into those passions. Recognising what motivates our teams sets them up not only for their current role but also for looking at future roles. We want to build career opportunities, giving the team the skills to succeed, whether that be understanding child development or getting on that leadership journey to inspire and empower others.?

Sarah, What will my first week at Fennies look like??

We all know that starting a new job can be so daunting, so to give everyone a very warm welcome to their Fennies journey, we offer a bespoke Induction called ‘Welcome to Fennies’.??

You will get the chance to meet new practitioners who will be starting alongside you, find out more about Fennies and our aspirations. Whilst we delve into Early Years best practice, focusing on the EYFS statutory framework, and explore the Birth to 5 matters guidance!??

Whether you’re highly experienced or you’re just starting out in the Early years sector, our tailored induction will give you the best start to your life at Fennies.?

We want you to get the very best start, so our week of induction is all about building new connections, movement and momentum and of course having some fun!?

Best of all, we feed you! You will have the opportunity to taste our delicious food from Fennies Café! You won’t want to miss out!??

Sarah: Can you tell us more about the Fennies staff app??

At Fennies, we use a great platform called Workplace! This is where the Fennies community come together to share updates and ideas, praise, inspire and share good practise across all our nurseries. It’s a great safe and private space just for employees at Fennies to network, chat and keep up to date with the latest news and events. There is also a fantastic Knowledge library which you can dip into to enhance your own professional development as well as search for all our Fennies policies and procedures.?

?Pru, do you need a qualification to work in the Early Years???

No, but we only have limited vacancies for unqualified staff.?

To be a Nursery Practitioner at Fennies, we prefer you to have at least an NVQ level 2 in Childcare. However, if you have experience of working with children and you have a good knowledge of the development of young children, then we do also hire unqualified Early Years Practitioners. At Fennies, we do offer level 2 and 3 Childcare Apprenticeships where you will gain a nationally recognised qualification with us, and kick start your journey into a rewarding and fun career.?

Find out more about Fennies careers and join our outstanding teams today:?https://fennies.com/careers?