Spotlight

Shaping the Future of Early Years Apprenticeships

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Early Years Apprenticeships Newsletter from Aspiration Training, your go-to source for insights, updates, and resources on apprenticeship opportunities within the realm of early years education in England. As we embark on this journey together, we celebrate the vital role that apprenticeships play in shaping the future of our youngest learners and the dedicated professionals who nurture them.

Empowering a New Generation of Early Years Practitioners

In recent years, the field of early childhood education has witnessed a growing recognition of the importance of skilled and passionate professionals in providing high-quality care and education for young children. Early Years apprenticeships offer a unique pathway for individuals to enter this rewarding profession, empowering them with the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to make a positive impact on children’s lives.

Promoting Excellence in Early Years Practice

At the heart of Early Years apprenticeships lies a commitment to promoting excellence in early childhood practice. Through a combination of on-the-job and off-the-job training, learning the key knowledge, skills and behaviours, and mentorship, apprentices develop a deep understanding of child development theories, pedagogical approaches, and best practices in early years education. By honing their skills in observing, planning, and reflective practice, apprentices emerge as competent and confident practitioners ready to make a difference in the lives of young children.

Addressing the Needs of a Diverse Workforce

We recognise the importance of fostering a diverse and inclusive early years workforce that reflects the rich tapestry of our society. Early Years apprenticeships offer individuals from all backgrounds the opportunity to pursue a career in childcare, regardless of their previous experience or qualifications. By embracing diversity and valuing the unique perspectives and talents that each apprentice brings to the table, we can create inclusive learning environments that benefit both children and practitioners alike.

Supporting Apprentices and Employers Every Step of the Way

Aspiration Training will provide ongoing support and guidance for apprentices and employers navigating the complexities of Early Years apprenticeships. From tips on balancing work and study commitments to strategies for creating supportive learning environments and formal review meetings within the workplace, we are committed to ensuring that every apprentice has the tools and resources they need to succeed.

Likewise, we will offer advice to employers on recruiting, training, and retaining apprentices, fostering a culture of learning and professional career development within their settings.

Celebrating Success Stories and Achievements

At Aspiration Training we celebrate the successes and achievements of Early Years apprentices across the country. From completing qualifications to achieving career milestones, we will shine a spotlight on the inspiring stories of apprentices who are making a difference in the lives of the children and families. By sharing these success stories, we hope to inspire others to embark on their own apprenticeship journey and showcase the transformative power of early years education.

Thank you for joining us on this exciting adventure in Early Years apprenticeships. Together, we can shape a brighter future for the next generation of early childhood educators and the children they serve.

NEW INSIGHTS INTO EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNING IN BABIES

Recent research challenges the idea on how babies learn languages, suggesting that they primarily rely on rhythmic rather than phonetic information in their initial months. This research came from a study by the University of Cambridge and Trinity College Dublin, underscores the importance of sing-song speech, such as nursery rhymes, in early language acquisition.

Traditionally, it was believed that infants learned language by grasping individual phonetic elements, like distinct sounds that form words. However, this new study sought to deepen our understanding of how infants process speech in their first year of life. Unlike previous research that often used limited stimuli, this study utilised neural tracking measures to explore how infants’ brains process continuous speech in naturalistic environments.

The research involved 50 infants monitored at four, seven, and eleven months of age and 22 adults. Nursery rhymes were carefully selected to cover various phonetic features and were played to both infants and adults in a controlled setting. Brainwave data collected via electroencephalography revealed that infants do not reliably process individual speech sounds until around seven months of age, contrary to previous beliefs.

Additionally, the study found that phonetic encoding in babies develops gradually over their first year, starting with simpler sounds like labial and nasal ones. This becomes more adult-like as infants grow older. The analysis of brain activity provided insights into how infants’ brains process different sounds in continuous speech, moving beyond previous methods focused on individual sounds or syllables.

Overall, this research highlights the importance of rhythmic patterns in language learning for infants and challenges the traditional understanding of early language acquisition. Sing-song speech, such as nursery rhymes, plays a crucial role in exposing infants to the rhythmic aspects of language, aiding their linguistic development.

Free Recruitment

We make apprenticeship recruitment easy by taking the hassle out of finding the right candidates for your Early Years setting. Our Early Years apprenticeship recruitment service is designed to help you find the right apprentice for your setting, offering a personal, comprehensive and bespoke service. We have worked with hundreds of employers to deliver high quality apprenticeships in early years.

Making your life easier

We understand that employee recruitment is costly and time consuming. That is why we recruit, advertise, screen all applicants, conduct preliminary interviews, and undertake any necessary pre-testing to your requirements, so you get the right person for the job.

How does it work?

4 simple steps to finding your perfect apprentice

1. Brief - Tell us your recruitment needs, when you want the role(s) to start and any special requirements you have.
2. Advertise - We’ll advertise the vacancies, screen and interview potential applicants based on your criteria and supply you with a number of suitable candidates to interview.
3. Interview - The next step is interviews. We will arrange these for you at a time that suits you.
4. Enrol - Once you have appointed your new employee we will enrol them on to their apprenticeship programme, provide on-going support throughout their qualification to ensure they are learning and becoming a valuable asset to your setting.

Why choose the Aspiration Training recruitment service?

Wide candidate search

We use the Governments ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website, social media campaigns and targeted jobs sites.

Dedicated recruitment team

We work with you from the start to the end of the recruitment process.

Government Funding

Our apprenticeship courses are entirely free for 16-21 year olds, making it a win-win for both your business and the apprentice.

Free DBS Checks

Free DBS checks for any apprentice placed by our Career Advisors.

Requirements

1. You will need to pay your apprentice at least the Apprenticeship National Minimum Wage, although we encourage you to pay more than that if possible.
2. The apprentice must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week.
3. A contract of employment (some exceptions are allowed, please ask your adviser for details).
4. Provide your apprentice with a designated mentor to support them as they develop within your organisation.
5. Allow the apprentice a minimum of 6 hours per week off-the-job training.

IMPORTANCE OF FORMAL REVIEW

The success of your apprentice employee is very important to us. Their success is dependent on them, you as their employer and us as their training provider, all working together.

We want to:

• Ensure that you are fully involved in their qualification and career progression.
• Gain your valuable feedback on how they are applying their learning to their role.
• Work with you in planning their on and off-the-job training.
• Make this as easy as possible for you, we know how busy you are.

How can you support?

A requirement of the apprenticeship programme is three-way formal reviews every 12 weeks. These reviews allow a shared understanding of progress against the apprenticeship standard between the apprentice, the employer and the training provider. The formal review is the perfect opportunity to discuss employability, careers support and development activities with your apprentice. Your Vocational Coach can direct you to our suite of resources.

We need your involvement in formal reviews.

We recognise that it can often be difficult to make the time to undertake formal reviews with your apprentice, we do appreciate how busy you are. However, it is a requirement of the Education and Skills Funding Agency and Ofsted that reviews take place at least every 12 weeks. Failure to meet this requirement could mean that funding is stopped, and training suspended.

What happens next?

Your Vocational Coach from Aspiration Training will contact you to talk through how the formal review process works, discuss your involvement and forward plan the dates of the reviews with you and your apprentice.