I enrolled with Northwest Community Services Training and started work in Palmerston school for secondary aged children with special educational needs. I found level 2 quite easy to complete and I was given all the support and encouragement I needed to succeed. A job for a learning support assistant came up in school and I applied and got the job in April 2020, just after I had started my Level 3.

I had gained so much experience and was practising discussions with my assessor and this helped me to pass my interview. I continued to get support and make progress during the lockdowns, as my assessor completed discussions over the phone and delivered knowledge over zoom calls.

Working in special needs and behaviour management built my confidence and I applied for a job as a learning support officer in the mainstream secondary school that I attended. I was successful and now work in learning support with a focus on interventions, SEND and supporting pupil behaviour.

I have just started the end point assessment process and have submitted my assignments and other evidence to show my knowledge skills and behaviours. I am nervous about completing my professional discussion, but will be practising this much more over the next few weeks.

I have applied for and been accepted for a university course in Learning, development and support at John Moore, Liverpool. I am starting in September 2022 and will be completing levels 4, 5 and 6 working towards a BA hons degree.

In my job role I have received training on pastoral care and recently started to lead the forest school days for year 7 pupils with challenging behaviour.

I am very pleased that I have taken the apprenticeship route instead of going to university straight from school as I have gained the experience and confidence to start a degree course and move on in my career. I have also been earning a proper wage over the last 15 months of my apprenticeship which has helped me save some money for the future.

I had met with Jenny and assigned targets for her to work on in the run up to the COVID pandemic. However, in March 2020 we were put under lockdown restrictions. Due to the nature of the school being a specialist school who support many vulnerable and poorly children, they implemented a total restriction on non- essential visitors.

NWCS continued to support Jenny as well as all other learners remotely. Live delivery sessions were organised and completed via zoom. Jenny attended these. We also kept to regular Friday check ins only it was moved to telephone visits rather than being on site.

Jenny largely remained focused and enthusiastic throughout her whole apprenticeship journey. Jenny utilised opportunities during self-isolation periods well by working on her assignments and completing independent research. She remained updated and current with her in house training at the school and logged these throughout maintaining her CPD record.

Restrictions slightly eased for a short period in June and an observation was scheduled to take place to secure her practical aspects of her qualification. Witness testimonies had already been provided by her employer. This observation was cancelled a couple of days before it was due to go ahead as there had been several positive COVID cases that week. The head teacher contacted me to inform that after an emergency meeting with the risk team the school had to close the doors again to visitors.

After a discussion with the IV and also SV, it was agreed that reflective accounts could be used to secure her outstanding criteria on her qualification. There has been a broad range of assessment methods used throughout her programme including professional discussions. I felt that all the evidence combined was valid, safe and secure enough to sign this qualification off.  The IV also agreed with this.

During her apprenticeship period Jenny was offered and secured a permanent position as a TA within the school. She has accepted this role and is now in full time employment at the school.

I am now currently finishing my Level 3 advanced apprenticeship in supporting teaching and learning and the best thing is that I am now qualified as a Level 2 and soon to be Level 3 Teaching Assistant, so this will ultimately boost my chances at employment in this field. I have now currently applied for university because I want to go further in this profession and achieve QTS and doing this apprenticeship has gave me the skills and confidence I need to get me to my next step, so a massive thank you to everyone at NWCS for all your help and support!

I highly recommend doing an apprenticeship at NWCS even if you are unsure what to do next because whatever profession you want to go in these apprenticeships will give you the experience you need for future employment/education and you will also get a qualification out of it too which shows your hard work and determination. Everyone at NWCS is also very helpful and supportive and I honestly don’t know what I would of done if I didn’t get onto my apprenticeship.

I attended North Liverpool academy where I studied performing arts and history as optional units.

When I left school I completed a year of sixth form but I left because I didn’t enjoy the setting and I felt as though they treated me like a child. I then got my first apprenticeship in the beacon which was my placement what I don’t for my first year of level 3.

I went onto doing level 2 apprenticeship as the college told me I couldn’t continue to do level 3 as I needed my level 2 first.

After completing level 2 I applied for level 3 apprenticeship in North west community services and I am based in Ellergreen nursery.

I want to work with children because I think it’s a rewarding job and I enjoy it. I am also interested in working with children with SEN. After completing my level 3 I would like to complete a SEND course and possibly work in a SEN setting.

I was studying dance at LIPA sixth form college. I also completed my level 2 childcare at NWCS before I started my level 3.

I am still working at the nursery I did my apprenticeship, and I have been taken on as a level 3 nursery practitioner, working full time.

I have really learnt a lot on this course, and I feel like I got a lot of great support from the college to help me learn.

I got off to a tricky start with changes to my tutor but once Sylvia was on board I gained clarity and massive levels of support.

I thought that NWCS and Sylvia were:

• Brilliant at explaining things and making sure I received the right levels of support
• Nothing is was problem, this was evident at points where I struggled to understand the desired outcomes of certain modules
• Well balanced praise and developmental feedback
• Clearly massively knowledgeable
• A pleasure to work with

I also had my Customer Service Lead role made redundant in May and Sylvia completely understood that learning at this point was difficult and extended her support throughout this time.

I think if you could bottle her she’d be worth a fortune to your organisation !!

They found me and apprenticeship Level 3 position with a nursery. When I started at my placement I was a bit nervous but after a few days I settled in really well because everyone of the staff were friendly and made me feel welcome.

I found that the application progress went very well and the staff where very nice and easy to talk to who gave me a lot of information regarding this qualification.

I attend my GCSE maths and English at NWCS. I like how helpful the staff are and my assessor has delivered my qualification within the work place and has done observation on me and provides me with feedback on both my assignments and my observations which I have found very helpful in building my confidence further.

I have learnt a lot while attending NWCS than I ever did at school because all the staff are knowledgable and very understanding and will take the time to go over anything that I am stuck on, my goal is to complete this childcare qualification.

When I rang up and booked in for an interview I found the staff helpful and the application process was simple and straight forward.

I received help and support to prepare myself for my first day of placement from my assessor at NWCS which helped me to feel more relaxed going into a strange environment however I still felt nervous. After an hour in placement I began to feel relaxed and at ease due to the friendliness from all the staff.

I already had my maths and English and my assessor supported me in the work place through observations and delivery of my qualifications which I found to be very helpful and good in keeping me on target to achieve my full qualification.

My next step is to go onto higher education and the staff at NWCS gave me some good advice and guidance to progress on the next step to become a nurse.

Before I enrolled with NWCS, I was completing an art diploma in college which I thought I wanted to do as I enjoyed it in school when completing my GCSE’s. Once I got a year through the art diploma, I knew that it wasn’t the right path for me.

I chose NWCS as I heard great things about their course from my setting and others who have attended.

My experience with my early years practitioner level 2 course at NWCS was very positive, I feel like I got the right support all the way through completing my course and I couldn’t be happier with the end result.

It was challenging working through the pandemic due to not being able to go into college and complete work. However, I had a lot of support with my work by regular visits in my nursery setting, zoom calls and emails from my tutor which helped me.

The new skills I have learnt is everything in my college work. Completing my submissions has made me become more confident when working in my nursery setting.