Rachel Tatham-Thompson
Both my mother and older sister are nursery nurses, and I was very pleased to be accepted for training too. I found the College a very friendly place and the staff very helpful.
The training involved different modules which varied from First Aid to caring for the newborn; children with special needs; food and nutrition; child health and child education. I found the training very thorough and interesting. For some modules we had tests and others we had to do course work, which was good for those who find tests hard. There was a lot of practical work which I enjoyed and from which I learnt a lot.
It worked well having three days at College and two on placement. We stayed at each placement for a term, so we got to know all the children and their routines. At the beginning of the training, I went to a crèche and a day nursery and worked with babies and toddlers. The staff at both placements were very helpful. The third term was spent in an infant school working with Year 1 and Year 2 pupils. This was one of my favourite placements and I learnt a lot about the different areas of their curriculum.
The second year of the course started with a family placement. This involved helping a mother with her newborn baby and toddler. By the end of the term my confidence had grown with working with babies and I realized how demanding they can be ! My next term’s placement was a special school in a language and assessment unit. This was my favourite placement and I think was the place where I learnt the most about children. One good thing was that I did a course in Makaton to help me to communicate with the children. My last placement was another infant school.
Another valuable part of my training was working in a hospital for three weeks during the summer holiday. I worked on the paediatric ward; special care baby unit and a post-natal ward. I was also able to do a night shift on the special care baby unit which was a great experience.
I thought my training was thorough, very interesting and covered every aspect of child care and child development, preparing me for my future career. The training helped me to become a diligent and well-educated nursery nurse.