Magazine December 2019

Apprentice of the Year shortlist
for Parenta learner!
Apprentice of the Year
shortlist for Parenta learner!
Hale nursery becomes first in first region in region to achieve to
achieve Plastic Free status
Plastic Free status
Parenta Training apprentice, Kira Alakija, finishes 2019 on a high, having been shortlisted
in this year’s Northamptonshire Business Awards, in the category of Apprentice of the Year.
Elmscot Hale Day Nursery & Nursery School has become the first setting in Trafford to
achieve Plastic Free status through the Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) scheme.
Kira’s Parenta assessor, Alison Rowe,
has worked closely with her during
her time at Noah’s Ark in Duston,
Northants - supporting her throughout
her learning journey.
She said; “Kira began her level 3
apprenticeship with Parenta in 2018
and has made steady progress
through to her completion in November
2019. She has a huge appetite for
furthering her knowledge within early
years to enable the children in her care
to achieve the best possible outcomes.
In addition, she has completed a
number of our CPD courses at the
same time as completing her level
3 childcare qualification, that’s no
mean feat! Kira has always balanced
her studies with her work well.
She has had good attendance and
been punctual and coped with the
demands of meeting deadlines. She
began working with a small group of
key children and quickly made good
relationships with them and their
families. Kira is now working towards
her level 5 and I am so proud that
Parenta has played such a key role in
her successful learning journey so far.”
It took her completely by surprise when
she was shortlisted for the Apprentice
of the Year award. She said; “When
the judges came to visit me at Noah’s
Ark in Duston, they told me that I was
the first nominee ever to come from
an education background – that made
me so proud! I love what I do and I
couldn’t have done all of this without
the support of my Parenta assessor
and my managers at work. The award
ceremony itself was fantastic and I
was really overwhelmed by the whole
occasion. The organisers made a point
of recognising all the apprentices
and their achievements and said that
this year, it had been really hard to
choose one overall winner. It was an
experience I will never forget and a
great way to end my apprenticeship.
Noah’s Ark Manager, Charlotte
Buckley said; “Kira is a natural with
children. She volunteers with the
Brownies and has a strong desire
to study to be a teacher. She is fun,
energetic and has a passion for
learning. She now supports new
members of staff and leads some
really fun, engaging pre-school yoga
sessions. The children adore these
sessions and it has really enriched
the provision we offer. Kira took
responsibility for developing the
maths area and chose resources to
enhance the teaching and learning.
Kira is adaptable and can think on
her feet. She is always flexible and
willing to support staff/children where
necessary, as no two days are ever
the same!”
Deputy Manager, Heidi Robertson,
said; Kira is always striving to improve
and it is wonderful for us to support
her through this journey. Kira is a
true asset to Noah’s Ark and we are
so pleased that her commitment and
achievement was recognised at the
Northamptonshire Business Awards.”
SAS is a UK environmental charity
that is dedicated to protecting our
environment, making it safer for
wildlife and surrounding communities.
The organisation runs a number of
campaigns aimed at guiding individuals
and businesses to start their Plastic
Free journey.
Elmscot Hale has followed the Plastic
Free Nursery objectives over a number
of weeks and is committed to further
expanding their efforts. The five
objectives they successfully completed
involved teaching the children about the
problem of single-use plastic, gathering
together for litter picking sessions and
establishing where changes can be
made to reduce the requirement for
single-use plastic within the setting.
The nursery staff now uses washable
tabards instead of single-use aprons
at mealtimes and for nappy changing,
single-use aprons have been replaced
with PVC aprons that can be sanitised
after each use. Fresh milk is now
delivered from a local supplier in
traditional glass bottles rather than
plastic, which has made a huge
impact on the amount of singleuse
plastic coming into the nursery.
All food shopping is now delivered
without carrier bags and the use of
plastic gloves has been reduced and
traditional methods reintroduced.
Stacey Thompson, Nursery Manager
at Elmscot Hale Day Nursery and the
person who has been leading this
campaign within the nursery, said: “This
has been one of the most interesting
projects we have been involved in and
it’s made us see how much single-use
plastic is being used in day-to-day life.
“A number of permanent changes have
already been made, but we will now
seek to further reduce our use of singleuse
plastic throughout the nursery.”
Elmscot Hale Day Nursery is part
of Elmscot Group, which provides
outstanding childcare and education to
over 1,800 children across Cheshire.
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