This National Apprenticeship Week, Kids Planet CEO Clare Roberts stepped into the shoes of an apprentice, at Kids Allowed Knutsford. Clare was treated as an apprentice would on their very first day, undertaking a full induction and show round, training with tutor and risk assessments, plus time in the room with the prep-school children involving play and meal-time.
On Thursday 8th February, Clare donned a Kids Planet practitioner uniform and took the chance to hit the ground running as another team member within the nursery setting. It proved to be a beneficial learning experience and a great reminder of the wonderful work our teams and apprentices do daily.
Situated at the Knutsford site is the Kids Planet Training Academy, which enables us to not only develop our own staff but offer our Outstanding Apprenticeship Training externally to support Early Years employers across England. Clare was able to have a one-on-one session with Tutor Nathalie Glaze at the Academy and refresh her knowledge.
Becca Leigh, Nursery Manager at Kids Allowed Knutsford, said: “We’ve got six apprentices here at Knutsford. They’ve come from lots of different backgrounds, age-ranging from 16 all the way up to 40. Some have come straight from college, and others have done different job roles first.”
One of those apprentices is Samii Johnson, who moved into the profession after being an estate agent. Samii said: “If someone was thinking about joining as an apprentice, I would say to go for it. I’ve come in here at 29 and I’m not going to say I’m old by any means, but I did feel very conscious and I’ve been welcomed with open arms and I feel very comfortable. I think at any age or point in life, it’s a great decision.”
We are proud to be supporting the Department for Education‘s new major campaign to boost recruitment across our sector, and highlighting the vast array of childcare career routes and progression opportunities available.
Clare Roberts, Kids Planet CEO said: “Many parents already recognise how amazing early years and childcare professionals are, but it’s time that everyone else does too, and that the sector is given the recognition and importance it deserves in the valuable job it does to shape future generations.”
Clare also featured on BBC Radio 5 Live this week as a guest, discussing the benefits of a multi-generational workforce, with a focus on generation Z’s impact.
She said: “We are having more of generation Z coming into the workforce – school leavers. It has changed, their perceptions of work and expectations, I think work in general has changed, but we have a real blend of different generations who work across our nurseries, and I think there are real benefits to that.
For us particularly in an early years sector, the children benefit well from all those different generations as well and those experiences, and there are lot of positives that generation Z have brought to the workforce.”
As an Age Friendly Employer, we want apprentices to be available for all. At Kids Planet Day Nurseries, we are acutely aware of the importance and value of older apprentices entering or rejoining the early years sector – the average age of our apprentice is 27 and we have apprentices up to the age of 54.
In an interview with Open Awards this week, Gill Mason, Head of Training at Kids Planet, talked about how Kids Planet work tirelessly to encourage and work with mature apprentices.
“In most countries, apprenticeships are still perceived as models of learning for young people, for those moving from full-time education to work- public perception is that apprentices are most commonly early school leavers, aged between 16 and 18”, said Gill.
She added: “At Kids Planet, our mature apprentices often act as role models for other apprentices or younger employees. They provide guidance and support, drawing on their life experience to help others navigate challenges in the workplace.”
Having our own Training Academy allows us to support learners from diverse backgrounds, cultures, ages and stages in their lives. Find out more about the courses available on the Training Academy website, or email training@kidsplanetdaynurseries.co.uk to enquire further.
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