Meet Our Apprentices! #1 - Lily Hobson

Lily Hobson - Head of Blue Room

Type of Apprenticeship undertaken at Cliffe House Training Academy: Level 3 Early Years Educator

Start date: January 2024

Predicted end date: Summer 2025

Lily has finished all of her assignments and is at the Gateway stage, waiting to complete her End Point Assessment.

Get to know Lily

Hi, I’m Lily Hobson. I’m 21 and from Rawdon near Leeds.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Can I say going out?!! I also like to eat at different restaurants, my favourite around here is Turkuaz in Rawdon.

Choosing an apprenticeship

What made you decide to undertake an apprenticeship in Early Years?

I finished school at 16 – I was the COVID year! So I left in March 2020, I didn’t actually sit any exams. I was originally going to go to college to do Media, Makeup and Hair. I didn’t really enjoy traditional education to be honest. My mum has always said that I’ve always been quite a nurturing person and good with children. She suggested looking for an apprenticeship in childcare, so I looked for one and got it. I completed my Level 2 then came to Cliffe House Training Academy to do my Level 3.

Life as an Early Years apprentice

What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day at the nursery… I come in at 7.30, get everything ready for breakfast, do all the paperwork. Start welcoming the children in. They have their breakfast. I then set up activities for them based on their next steps. We go outside and set up more activities, have a snack, come in for lunch. The children will have a nap, then we do nappies. Lots of free play, more activities, outside again, messy play – the lot!

What is your favourite part about working with children?

It’s very, very different every day! I like that children have a nice outlook on life, it puts things into perspective. I like thinking about all the activities you can do with them and linking them to the EYFS.

What is your current role?

I’m Head of Room in Blue Room (our 2-3 year olds). It’s such a good age – they’re learning so much about their own feelings and its an important part of my role to help them through this, but it’s the most exciting time. You see so much development. They come into the room and they’re not really talking much, but by the time they move to Pre-school, they’re having full conversations with you.

Assignments and Coaching Sessions

How do the monthly coaching sessions work?

Once a month I met up with Tori at the nursery. They were always really productive, I get on really well with Tori. We spoke about the month before and what I’d done, and then the month to come, what I was going to be doing. It was like a catch up more than anything, checking in on how I’m doing with everything, helping if I needed it. If I was stuck on an assignment, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell Tori. Even if it was outside of the coaching session she’d always go out of her way to help me.

Did you have a set study day?

Yes, my study day was Wednesday. I did 4 hours on a Wednesday, which was quite nice as I’d come in at 7:30 and leave at 11:30, so I’d still have that half a day. And then I’d study an extra 2 hours throughout the week wherever I could.

What were the assignments like?

They were alright to be fair! Once you got the hang of them they were actually quite straightforward. I’m dyslexic too, so I find stuff like that quite difficult, but once you get into the swing of how to do them, it does become a bit easier.

How did you find juggling the apprenticeship on top of working full time?

At the start I did get a bit overwhelmed, but it has got a lot better with time and the support I had helped too as you do just get into a routine so it worked well.

How were the Skills Builder Days?

I went to two Skills Builder Days, they were really good. I liked the pilates and the cooking and the lunch was delicious!

Reflections

Do you have a personal highlight from your apprenticeship?

Do you know what – probably feeling a lot more confident and having more self confidence with my writing abilities. I used to think I was illiterate! But reading back my work and seeing what I could do made me gain a lot of confidence. And also, because there’s a lot of apprentices here at my nursery, we’ve all built a little friendship group. I also became close with Tori and Octavia which was really lovely as they were always really supportive.

Are you thinking of doing your Level 5? 😉

Possibly…..I think it would be good to have. With the way that the Level 3 was set out and how good Aptem was, it was just so easy to see everything that I actually needed to be doing and when. I probably would think about it yeah.

What would you say to someone starting an Early Years Apprenticeship?

A lot of people have a misconception about Early Years – that it’s just sitting and playing with children all day! There’s a lot more to it, and I think people need to be aware that it is hard work, but it is also really rewarding. If you like working with children and have a strong work ethic, definitely go for it.

Thanks so much to Lily for being interviewed for our blog! If you’re a current or former apprentice of ours and would like to be interviewed, please drop us an email at info@cliffehousetrainingacademy.co.uk. Finally, a massive good luck to Lily for her upcoming EPA.