Education & Early Years T Level student Evie lands permanent job on placement with Tiddlywinks

Evie’s resilience, kindness, empathy, initiative, proactive nature, and maturity are among the noted qualities that she has been able to showcase during her 750 hours in the workplace and persuaded the management team to offer her a full-time Early Years Educator position, which she will start when she completes her T Level studies this summer.

It will also mark a kind of full circle for Evie, who began her own educational journey at the nursery as a one-year-old when current manager Katy Bulleyment was her key person!

Enhancing your employability is one of the big considerations for studying a T Level when students are assessing their post-16 options and, on the pathway she chose, Evie said: “Halfway through Year 11, I decided I wanted to work in childcare and I think the T Level gives you a good mix between working and the learning side. 

“At the end of the course, you’re work ready and it feels good that I’ll be going straight into a job. It means I must be doing something right! 

“Tiddlywinks was one of the places I put down when I enrolled and College asked me to list three places I’d like to go on placement. I wasn’t always sure what I wanted to do when I finished the course and whether I wanted to go to uni or not, but the management team here have also said to me that, if I wanted to do my Level 5 or 6 degree, they would send me to uni one day a week and I could do it that way. I could then move up and do more senior managerial roles.”

Evie, 17, is also excited to be embarking on a career that could lead to work opportunities overseas.

“I want to work in this country first to get more experience but, eventually, I’d like to work abroad as a nanny - maybe somewhere like Australia,” she declared.

Evie’s supervised responsibilities during her placement with Tiddlywinks have included leading and planning small activities for the children to aid their development and conducting observations using a tablet.

She also helps out at snack and meal times and has learned how to handle big groups of children, admitting: “That’s something I’ve never done before and it’s hard but you pick up how to do it.”

Applying the theory she has learned at College in the workplace has formed the cornerstone of Evie’s development as an Early Years Practitioner, too. 

“A lot of the planning for the assessments that we do for College has been really useful, because I’ve started doing the day-to-day planning for Tiddlywinks as well,” she explained. “Then, when I had my job interview, a lot of the questions were about safeguarding and SEN (Special Educational Needs), which we learn all about at College.”

Job satisfaction, meanwhile, is something Evie experiences on a daily basis at Tiddlywinks, adding: “I was getting a little boy changed last week and he said to me, ‘I just love coming to nursery. It makes me really happy’. When you hear things like that, it’s a very rewarding part of the job.”

That connection with the children is something Nursery Manager Katy Bulleyment quickly spotted in Evie, who she was thrilled to welcome back into the building as a T Level student.

“When York College got in touch, I immediately recognised Evie’s name and it’s been so lovely to work alongside somebody who came here as a baby because that’s not happened to me before in the 17 years I’ve been here,” Katy enthused. “It’s been really nice to see how she has grown up and flourished here.

“She impressed us straight away with how warm she was with all the children and staff and fitted straight in with us from day one. She is really resilient as well and, if she can’t do something, she’ll ask you for a chat and ask questions, which has helped her confidence grow massively during the placement. 

“She’s kind to colleagues and lovely to the children. She does everything down at their level and provides activities that are inclusive for all of them. 

“She’s really valued and has worked across babies, toddlers and pre-school now. Every team member has spoken so fondly of her and she is always willing to help.

“If she sees somebody needs help with something, which is a really big thing in childcare, she’s there offering help. She does not wait to be told and has great initiative, so we’re really pleased and excited that she has accepted our offer of a full-time job.”

With T Levels still a relatively new education model, having first been launched nationally and introduced at York College in 2020, Katy added that she feels they provide a method of learning that really benefits both the student and placement business.

“I think T Levels are working really well,” she said. “It’s been a very organised programme with a structure for Evie.

“She follows the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) and our models as well and the T Level gives her a breadth of knowledge, which is so important in childcare. You need to know the different paths, schemers and models of behaviour. 

“Evie has been provided with all the information she needs because all the theory is what makes you a good practitioner as well and gives you the foundation skills and knowledge you need to be successful in the childcare industry. With a T Level, we get to work with Evie over a long period and that allows you to teach students a lot and show them what we need.

“She also does modules on safeguarding at College, which is obviously massively important for us and she was amazingly knowledgeable on that in her interview. She knew everything about what she needed to know.”

Katy went on to speak positively about working in collaboration with York College as T Level education providers.

“The communication from College is really good,” she pointed out. “On the first visit, they gave us the full T Level booklet to look through and, if I had any questions, I could contact them.

“I found our relationship to be an open-door policy from day one and knew that, if I needed guidance on anything from College, even from a HR and admin perspective, it was there.”

On Evie’s future development with Tiddlywinks and potential in the industry, Katy said: “I can see Evie going on to lead a room and I’m sure she will thrive in the profession. She’s very proactive in terms to seeing things and dealing with them and to see that already, at the age of 17, is amazing. 

“She is very mature for her age and her empathy with the children and the way she talks to them is just lovely. She provides activities and stimulates them, which is brilliant to see, because it proves that she has taken on board what we have modelled. She acts on what she observes and that attitude will see her go far.”

To learn more about out Education & Early Years T Level course, please click here

You can also gain further information on all our T Level courses at our next Open Event on Tuesday, April 1st (5.30pm to 7.30pm). Register a place here