Next Steps For My Career?!

[Guest]

Hi everyone.

 

I know this site is full of a variety of experienced professionals in many fields so thought i'd pop a little post on to see if anyone has any ideas/ suggestions for me?!

 

To set the scene... I am 22 years old and graduated july 2005 with a BA (HONS) Childhood Studies. since graduating i have been employed in a school nursery which forms part of a successful early years unit. My job tittle is nursery nurse and the desired qualification was an nneb of nvq level 3. I applied and accepted this role as a) ones confidence needed to be built up and i always feel my age wasnt totally on my side for say a deputy childrens centre role or something with more management responsibilities.

 

I have now been in the Nursery for a year and a half, the school is lovely, teaching staff great school holidays fab!! however, ive got the the point where i feel perhaps im not totally using my degree and now that ive built up confidence and had my own class and responsibilities for a long period of time feel maybe its time to take the next step.!!

 

i have applied for the GTP, the deadline was 12th jan so am waiting to hear (fingers crossed) This was one route that i have considered to give me the professional qualification. Im not 100% sure if this is what i would like to do but it seems a fab opportunity as my current school are 100% supportive for me to do it there.

 

Then the other side of my head thinks hmmm... i'd quite like to do perhaps more community based work? the likes of sure start etc BUT ... the problem i am noticing is when i look at job adverts very few if any actually recognise my childhood studies degree... maybe it is just the roles are not avaliable or just that its not being recognised??

 

Has anyone else felt like this or have any ideas/suggestions of possible routes i could look at??

 

I know your not careers advisors (and am going to take a trip to one) but you all have such a wealth of different experinces that i thought you maybe able to shed some light for me

 

Sorry to have blabbered on!!! many thanks if you take the time to have a read and reply!!! xx

[Guest]

a possible route for you to consider would be to undertake the Early Years Professional Status.(EYPD) This will open more doors for you in the near future, into more challenging, leading roles within a variety of settings, including sure start, I'm sure.

Have a look at the CDWC site for more info.

 

CWDC

 

As you are so happy where you are at present have you discussed with your employers possible routes of promotion?

 

Peggy

[Guest]

thanks so much for that speedy reply peggy .. am just going to look at the eypd now from then snip it i just glanced at it sounds intersting, thank you!

 

my problem at school is there is no more promotion that i am aware of. I am not a qualified techer so would not be able to teach in reception.. what more promotion could i get in the nursery?? they are very tight with money too.. not sure if i have a right to ask for a pay rise after 1.5 years??!

[Susan]

Hi Emma, if you are working as NN in a school nursery you should be on an increasing payscale. I thought increments were applied annually in September. There may be an element of performance management involved but if your school are prepared to support you on the GTP route, they cant have any concerns about that!

The GTP would extend your qualifications and still enable you to look elsewhere.

 

Check with your union for payscales and advancement or look at pat.org.uk

[mundia]

I was going to suggest the same as Peggy as an alternative to teaching, although as we have discussed elsewhere recently, it may not be that easy to get onto the EYPS pro gramme immediately in you area. I mentor on the GTP programme and it is very very demanding, so I do think you would need to be sure teaching is the path you really want to go down. As a qualified teacher you would train for the 3-7 age group which does not guarantee you staying in the nursery or FS, so if your passion is to remain working with 3-5s (or 0-5s) then the EYPS would be your better option. If on the other hand you wold really like to stay in school environment, then teaching would be a better option and give you more scope (you could still do EYPS later on as you have youth on your side).

 

I must add thought hat some courses for the GTP have a lower age limit of 25,as the programme was originally designed for people who were older and had a few years experience working in schools. Younger people tend to go for PGCE which is another option for you and many courses now run part time which would enable you to continue your job as a NN whilst you train (we have a NN doing this route)

 

Let us know what you decide

[Guest]

HI

 

I would also probably suggest the eyps too.

 

I also left university in 2005 with my BA (hons) childhood studies degree, and like you started in a nursery as a nursery nurse (private nursery) i did this because i had worked as a nursery nurse before my degree so was a job i knew well, and felt comfier than trying for a job i had never done (guess i was a wimp). In time i fancied a changed and fortunatly for em found a job as a nursery manager, best thing i ever did.

I do get itchy feet sometimes, and have looked into eyps myself but you need gcse maths and english, of which i have neither .....

 

but eyps does sound a good route for working you way up if that's what you fancy.

 

good luck,

 

Dawn

[Running Bunny]

How about an advisory role in your local authority, like a Development Officer?

 

I graduated in 1998 with a degree in Education (did 2 1/2 years of QTS then dropped it!), so I wasn't really 'early years' qualified as such. Got a part time job in a nursery in my final year and fell in love with with working with young children. Got my level 3 in 2001, moved from Suffolk to Yorkshire and didn't feel challenged or valued in the nursery I was at.

 

Worked for NDNA as a quality advisor for 18 months and am now approaching my two years working for a local authority as a childcare development officer, supporting Birth to Three development, Ofsted support and devloping childcare in schools - it has it's moments (local politics!) but the team is great and you get an awful amount of job satisfaction when settings come out of inadequate or their planning gets praised by Ofsted.

[hali]

i agree with Mundia, but EYPS is also a good route as i hope to take but like Dawn need my maths and english

[Guest]

If thinking of EYPS, don't let the lack of maths and English put you off. I received this advice from the CWDC re: GCSE's

 

quote " if you don't currently have the GCSEs or an equivalent qualification, one route would be to sit an equivalence test set by the EYPS training provider, rather than complete a GCSE course - you should be able to find more detail about that directly from the training providers, who are listed on CWDC's website"

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Thanks for posting that peggy,

 

I rang the training provider near me and they said that i HAD to have maths and english though, which to me seems damm ironic....

I mean i succsfully studied for and passed a degree recently, i succesfully manage a nursery, yet can't do EYPS because i haven't got GCSE maths and english (at a lower level than the degree itself) is it only me that thinks this 'rule' doesn't make much sense???????

 

so its either study for the maths and english (not a thought i relish, and not a skill i need for my job) or go without achieving EYPS..... caught between a rock and a hard place springs to mind

 

Dawn

 

 

If thinking of EYPS, don't let the lack of maths and English put you off. I received this advice from the CWDC re: GCSE's

 

quote " if you don't currently have the GCSEs or an equivalent qualification, one route would be to sit an equivalence test set by the EYPS training provider, rather than complete a GCSE course - you should be able to find more detail about that directly from the training providers, who are listed on CWDC's website"

 

Peggy

[Guest]

Dawn maybe once the pilot EYPS's have been completed they may rethink this criteria, or let CWDC know you are not being given access to the 'equivalence' test by your provider, this seems to me to be a lack of equality of opportunity.

 

Peggy

 

.....or try contacting some other providers

 

Peggy

[mundia]

Dawn, I would definitely go back to your provider or contact CWDC about the equivalence. IT may be that they have enough applicants wanting to do the EYP that have the English and Maths already, but it seems that it could be a stumbling block for a number of people, so they need to be able to provide the equivalence. The reason for having them is I think to make the status similar to teaching by having very similar entry requirements. (just my thoughts on the matter though)

[Guest]

hey everyone thatnks for your supposrt replies. ..

thankfully i meet the criteria for the english maths and science reqirements.

i have applied for the gtp and the university i have gone through do not specify it is for over 25s.. so a case of fingers crossed and see what happens!

 

dawn your route sounds very interesting.. i think i'd love a role like that but find the whole'manager' tittle a little daunting?!

 

also the countyu advisor role sounds appealing too but its a matter of whetehr there are jobs avaliable when i look!!! also would you say its more office based??

[Running Bunny]

also the countyu advisor role sounds appealing too but its a matter of whetehr there are jobs avaliable when i look!!! also would you say its more office based??

 

Good point about jobs being available - sometimes it is a case of looking at the right time. It also depends if you are willing to commute or not. In West Yorkshire, there are a lot of local authorities within a hours drive. I commute about 40 minutes every day as this was the right job for me at the time.

 

As for being more office based - I wish!

At the moment it is quiet as schools have just gone back, but looking at my diary for the next two weeks, I'm in the office for two afternoons plus I have two late night meetings and a childminder event to attend to!

Sometimes you miss the 'hands on' part of the job, but if you are career-minded, sometimes you have to sacrifice that to achieve your long-term goals (just think of being a nursery manager where, in some cases, they spend the majority of their time being office based and only being used to cover lunch breaks - and before every jumps on me, this is just an example!!!)

[Tigger]

I am currently doing the GTP and would agree it is very demanding, as well as the assignments, reading, weekly training days etc there is also the planning etc to do. I am currently teaching a 50% timetable when I am not teaching I am still in the classroom supporting the teacher.

 

Obviously any lessons I am planning and delivering I am out to "impress" so I try to ensure these are all wow lessons which can be tiring. I have ten years experience woorking as a nursery nurse in my current school and was therefore well aware of the expectations of the role. I would not reccommend you take this route unless you were 100% sure you wanted to teach.

 

In Suffolk and Norfolk there were only 30 odd primary places and over 300 people applied, therefore competition was fierce and we had an in depth interview and observed reading a story and interacting with a group of children too. I had a class of year 6 children so this was out of my comfort zone too!

 

Good Luck with whatever route you choose, let us know what you decide.

 

Sharon