Sunday is a Residential Care and Education Support Worker at Linn Moor School and Campus near Aberdeen. Linn Moor provides specialist education and transitioning care for children and young people living with complex and additional support needs. Sunday started his Modern Apprenticeship in Social Services (Children and Young People) in November 2022.
Why did you choose the modern apprenticeship?
I chose a modern apprenticeship because it offered me the very rare opportunity of not only earning a salary but also working for the qualification. It is also a great opportunity that has given me the required skills and experiences for my job roles.
What has your experience been?
My experience has been awesome. I am having the best opportunity, learning the required skills and experiences for my job. I no longer struggle to do my job to meet the needs of the children as well as my employer. With the apprenticeship training, it is a win-win situation. I am happy, the child is happy and my employer is happy.
What is a typical day like?
My typical day starts by 7.30am where I support the child in their residence with personal care, morning routine including a bath, medication and breakfast. The school day starts by 9.00am. The morning session class activities start by checking the plan of activities already prepared by the class teacher, focusing on their individual educational programme. This plan runs until lunchtime.
The afternoon tends to includes group activities, indoors and outdoors and individual educational programmes reflecting the child's targets. All activities are hands on, impacting sensory skills, motor skills, communication skills and educational. The school day ends by 3.00pm when the children return to their residence.
What do you like most about your job?
What I like most about my job is the regular opportunities to set individual development targets (including educational) for the children and working towards the targets in collaboration with other staff and witnessing the remarkable changes in the development of the child.
How relevant is the qualification requirements to the work you are doing?
I’m now more than half way through my modern apprenticeship (SVQ level 7) qualification and can say that the qualification requirements are relevant to my work. I am learning skills that I see as strategic and indispensable to performing my job roles well and with enthusiasm.
What words of advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship?
If you are looking for a job, the apprenticeship route offers you an advantage as it gives you hands on experiences you need for your job but also you will be earning a salary. The experience is much more than I’ve captured in my story, and I encourage anyone considering an apprenticeship to just join the scheme, a trial will convince you.