A later start doesn’t hold back an Early Years apprenticeship
Cheyenne completed her apprenticeship while working at St Gabriel’s Nursery, developing her practice in a real Early Years setting alongside structured training and assessment through Newbury College.
For Cheyenne, the apprenticeship was about building a long-term career and understanding the options available in the sector.
“It gives you an insight into what you could be doing in the future and sets you up for different paths as well.”
Cheyenne’s route into Early Years was shaped by her employment experience after school. She wanted to return to learning, but in a way that kept her progressing at work.
“I finished my GCSEs and went straight into work. I was in hospitality for three or four years. That’s when I decided I wanted to go back into education, get a career going, and start new. My plan is to do further training. Doing an apprenticeship really helped me gain those skills that I would use further down the line.”
A key theme in Cheyenne’s story is how the programme helped her connect workplace learning with reflective practice.
“Doing the in-work part gives me new skills and experience that I can take back, write up, and share with people. It helps me reflect on what I’ve learnt. That expands my knowledge a bit more, so I can really focus on the learning and the experiences.”
St Gabriel’s Nursery provides care and early education for children aged 6 months to 4 years, giving Cheyenne a strong day-to-day base for developing Early Years practice, however, she also highlights how valuable it was to learn alongside other apprentices from different settings and compare approaches across their workplaces.
“We all learn from each other. There are lots of people from different places, so having conversations, comparing what we do, getting different ideas and bringing them into where I work and sharing that with my colleagues and room leaders.”
Balancing work, deadlines and off-the-job training helped Cheyenne strengthen her organisation, something she felt directly improved during the apprenticeship.
“Personally, my time management has improved massively. We’ve got the work schedule, which is one side of time management. Then college was deadlines, getting off-the-job training done, and coursework in on time. That was really helpful because it made me feel a bit more organised.”
Cheyenne sees Level 3 as a foundation that enables progression and future specialism. The apprenticeship standard itself is designed to support entry and progression within the sector.
She’s particularly interested in continuing her learning in areas that support children’s needs and development.
“Level 3 allows me to work with children aged 0 to 7. In the future, I want to look at the psychology, maybe disabilities of younger children. Doing this means I can now do further training to open those doors and explore that.”
Cheyenne is open about the fact that apprenticeships can be challenging at times, and that the right support is essential. She valued being able to speak to someone who understood what the programme involved.
“Having conversations with people like Katie [the Nursery Manager] was really good. I could go to her and say, ‘I’m really struggling with this. Is there any way you could help me?’ And it was there; she was able to give it to me. This made me feel more comfortable doing the apprenticeship.”
Cheyenne’s message to anyone considering an Early Years apprenticeship is simple: commit, ask for support when you need it, and keep your long-term goals in mind.
“Honestly, just go for it. Once you’ve done it, you’ve done it. You’ve got that qualification. You can feel proud of yourself and look back and think, ‘Yeah, it was stressful.’ But it’s worth it. You’ve done it!”