Careers in Childcare Recruitment and Information FREE Event 2020

If you’re thinking about a change in career, come along to find out more about working in childcare. There are a huge number of professions in the childcare sector and a career working with children can be one of the most rewarding jobs.

“Working in early years isn’t just changing nappies and ‘playing with children’ all day, it’s far more than that and in my opinion, it is probably one of the most rewarding, thought-provoking, and enjoyable careers.” Christina Wilson, Charnwood Nursery and Pre-School

Drop in any time between 3pm and 8pm to visit stands, pick up information and chat with people from organisations that train, work and employ people in childcare roles, and discover what childcare career would suit you. There are also free talks taking place throughout the event, so that you can hear real experiences from people already working in the industry.

The event is free and there is free onsite parking, but please book your place to help us with planning and to ensure the event runs smoothly for you.

When registering for this event you can book up to 10 tickets at a time.

Organisations available at the stands will include:

• Loughborough College
• North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
• Stephenson College
• Pen Green Research Base
• University of Northampton
• Leicester College
• Train Together
• Leicestershire County Council – setting up as a Childminding Business
• Charnwood Nursery and Pre-School
• Our Monkey Club
• Kiddi Caru
• Bilingual Day Nursery and Clubs Complete
• Mighty Oaks Nursery
• Priesthills Nursery
• Lilliput Montessori Day Nurseries
• More organisations and employers TBC

There will be talks throughout the event from people working in childcare these individuals have inspirational stories to tell about their career path, where they started from and where they are now and the routes, training and qualifications they took along the way. They will talk about what it’s like to do their job, what their role entails and help you to see how a career in childcare could be for you. Each of their journeys is very different, each of their roles and the organisations they work for are also very different which will help you to see how varied careers in childcare really are.

3.45pm  Diana Lawton, Our Monkey Club

4.30pm  Christina Wilson, Charnwood Nursery and Pre-School

5.15pm  Dr Tanya Richardson, University of Northampton

6pm       John Cassidy, Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group

6.45pm  Rachel Barsby-Robinson, Bilingual Day Nursery & Pre-School

 (timings above are subject to change)

More about our speakers:-

Dr Tanya Richardson

Senior Lecturer in Early Years, University of Northampton

Tanya has previously managed and led her own “outstanding” day nursery and out of school club.  She set the nursery up from scratch when she identified a need in her area, and at the time had no Early Years qualifications.  Over the years she embarked on training, beginning with her level 3, and has just completed her PhD, researching the impact that different learning and play environments have on young children’s speech and language development. 

Christina Wilson
Training and Development Manager at Charnwood Nursery and Pre-School

Christina enrolled on her first childcare course straight from school.  She studied the Certificate in Childcare and Education (CCE) for a year and then went on to study the NNEB. 

She has 20 years’ experience working in early years, starting as a room-based practitioner and working up to currently being a Training and Development Manager for Charnwood Nursery & Pre-school Group.  Since qualifying she has completed a Foundation Degree in Early Years, a BA in Early Years, Early Years Professional Status and is currently studying for her Masters in Integrated Work with Children and Families. 

Alongside her current role, Christina is the EYP Network Lead for Charnwood and NW Leicestershire, a Parent Governor for her daughters’ primary school and a Solihull Approach Trainer.  She regularly runs parenting workshops on concepts such as phonics, schemas, understanding children’s behaviour, brain training and how children learn and develop.

John Cassidy

Recruitment Manager for Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group

Johns’ career in childcare began when he was 16 years old and joined a day nursery as an apprentice. John says; “at the time I was one of two male practitioners in the whole town and the first male that my tutor had ever taught. I completed my apprenticeship over 2 years and was offered a Nursery Nurse role at the same nursery. A year later I was promoted to Room Leader for a 12-place baby room.”

After 5 years I joined a group of nurseries as a Nursery Support Officer, supporting 4 nurseries with the implementation and delivery of the Birth to 3 Matters framework. “I supported staff working with children aged 3 and under with implementing the framework into the setting and had the opportunity to give long term support to nurseries struggling with quality in their under 3’s provision.”

John took on the Deputy Manager role in the same company and 2 years later was promoted to Nursery Manager at a much larger nursery. In 2013 John made the move into early years recruitment.

Rachel Barsby-Robinson
Owner & Manager of the Bilingual Day Nursery & Pre-School
After achieving a degree in International Management and an early career in France in Events Management, Rachel moved into the Early Years Sector after completing her Level 5 Diploma in Early Years. With experience gained in Primary Schools, Rachel along with her sisters, opened the Bilingual Day Nursery in January 2018, teaching Spanish to children through an immersive play environment. The nursery opened with only a handful of children, but is now almost full in some age groups and has a staff team of 10 comprising of qualified teachers, Level 3, Level 2 and apprentices.

Rachel says; “Our nursery is very unique and every day is different. The opportunities to grow and develop when working in a nursery are phenomenal, and we always aim to promote from within. We have recently made one of our previous apprentices a Room Leader. We inspire all our staff to continually be learning and as a small family run setting we are always open to new ideas and welcome inspiration from our staff members too”.

Diana Lawton

Managing Director of Our Monkey Club

Diana is the Managing Director of a community interest company that manages two childcare provisions for children from 9 months to 12 years. “I entered early years after volunteering at a local play and stay and became a childminder to complete my Early Years Professional Status and Level 3 Children's Care, Learning and Development.”  

Diana is active in the development of both centres, including continuous professional development, quality assessments and developing their pedagogical approach. She recently completed an MA in Integrated Services for Children and Families and will begin her Doctorate in 2020.

Her latest venture is creating a training centre to offer apprenticeships and continuous professional development.  Diana is an active participant in the trailblazer groups creating the level 2, 5 and 6 Apprenticeship Standards and in the group overseeing the development of the pathways for Early Years qualifications and feedback to groups such as SEFDEY, AELP and at the Nursery World Business Summit. 

Diana also works with Inspired Children, an independent training provider, to provide training for Councils and early years providers and is writing a textbook for the level 5 Apprenticeship Standard.

The Early Years Inclusion and Childcare Service standard Cancellation Policy does not apply to this event.