Nursery World - Study days (1)

For Matt Beety it was a priority to be earning while studying, so when he spotted an ad at his local job centre to work towards an NVQ level 3 as part of an Advanced Apprenticeship with nursery chain KidsUnlimited, it seemed an ideal opportunity. 'For me it meant there was no gap in earnings, and I found that the process of assessment was integrated into my day-to-day work in a way that was very easy to accommodate,' he says.

'For me it meant there was no gap in earnings, and I found that the process of assessment was integrated into my day-to-day work in a way that was very easy to accommodate,' he says.

'I had worked in childcare before, so it was a case of putting everything into practice, either in terms of writing things down for assessment or being observed on the job. Observation varied between five minutes for a nappy change to much longer assessments for planned activities.'

Matt underwent a 12-week induction course when he joined the nursery before embarking on his year-long NVQ. He says he particularly enjoyed the physical and social development aspects of the course. 'There is also a lot of focus on working with parents, and obviously when you are in a job this is something you are very well placed to put into practice,' he says.

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