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Interview - Diana Lawton, nursery MD and apprenticeship campaigner

Lawton, who is managing director of Our Monkey Club, was one of a number of people in the sector working on the Level 5 Early Years Lead Apprenticeship standard, which was approved for delivery in August 2021. The trailblazer group is now working on the Level 6 apprenticeship standard
Diana Lawton
Diana Lawton

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN THE TRAILBLAZER GROUP?

Laura Upton [chair of the early years apprenticeship trailblazer group] and Hayley Wood [formerly of the University of Derby] felt that the Level 5 Apprenticeship was needed urgently to meet recruitment, retention and quality issues within the sector, and they created a working group to explore becoming a trailblazer. As an early years professional within Leicestershire, I knew Laura well and she invited me along over four years ago and I’ve been engaged ever since. I have always been a passionate advocate for training and development in the sector and understand the impact it has on the learning experiences and opportunities for children. I also knew many of the practitioners that worked with us at Our Monkey Club would prefer a work-based route rather than attending a university setting and so I felt it would have a significant impact on their access to development opportunities.

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