#NAW2019 Apprenticeship Case Study: Rowanfield Infant School

To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2019, we’re catching up with some of our brightest apprentices who are building their careers across a range of industries, and finding out how they are making a difference to the businesses from their employers.

Today we hear from 3 apprentices working at the Gloucestershire Learning Alliance. Abigail Pockett, Sian Munn and Caitlin Eden are all working across the Multi-Academy Trust as they complete the Level 3 qualification in Teaching and Learning in Schools, as well as Shona Swan, Head of School Rowanfield Infant School.

Abigail completed her Level 2 NVQ in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools before starting her apprenticeship. “After I completed the Level 2 I wanted to go straight onto the next level. I really enjoyed the placement day element of the Level 2 course, so doing the Level 3 as an apprenticeship whilst working in my chosen career was a perfect option for me. My favourite thing about my apprenticeship is that I am learning whilst working in my dream profession and the experience I will gain from this is fantastic”  

Sian Munn also works as a Trainee Teaching Assistant whilst completing her apprenticeship. “My role involves supporting other members of staff and my class teacher with day to day activities such as group work and interventions. I also provide support to a child throughout break time, and am involved in smaller tasks such as fruit duty and register taking. My favourite thing so far has been the overall experience, gaining knowledge on a variety of things like how to deal with different types of children, such as those with challenging behaviours and autism” 

Caitlin has been enjoying her role at Bishops Cleeve Primary Academy working as a Trainee TA in a year 2 class. “I help the teacher with jobs around the classroom as well as work with small groups of children. My favourite part of my apprenticeship is being able to learn in the work setting and experience the everyday tasks and challenges that TAs deal with.”

Apprenticeships provide an excellent opportunity for individuals to gain valuable experience as they learn, whilst earning as well. A massive opportunity for individuals, apprenticeships also offer a number of benefits to businesses as well.

Shona has been pleased with the impact Abigail, Sian and Caitlin have had across the Gloucestershire Learning Alliance, and is planning to take on more apprentices in the next academic year. “Having apprentices at School has made a real difference; apprentices provide a fresh pair of eyes, offering a new way of looking at things. They have also provided additional support for our pupils, increasing capacity in the classroom so that the teacher can focus on individual learners and their needs. One of our focuses is to develop talent and grow our own, particularly in regards to succession planning. Over the last couple of years, we have struggled to recruit high quality assistants and we felt that by entering into an apprenticeship agreement we would be able to develop individuals and possibly secure future vacancies more successfully”

Rowanfield Junior School will be a hosting a stand at the GC Apprenticeship Open Evening on Wednesday 20 March 5:30pm – 8:00pm to recruit their next apprentices. “We are looking forward to meeting our next apprentices, and believe our School has a lot to offer. We can provide apprentices with a strong CPD offer above the requirements of the course, as well as a large network of friendly colleagues to draw on for support. We can offer career progression, and job satisfaction.”

If you would like to speak to Rowanfield Infant School and other employers at the GC Apprenticeship Open Evening, book your place today: https://goo.gl/SZNcSf