A Level 3 Childcare student from Stoke on Trent College is taking her first steps into the world of teaching thanks to an apprenticeship at Abbey Hulton Primary School.
Elizabeth Smith, who works in the nursery at the school, is now four months into her placement and intends to become a Teaching Assistant once she has qualified.

Despite being relatively new to the school, she is already making an impression, reviving the school’s Christmas Fayre while being an integral part of their fundraising committee and a driving force for their HAF (Half Term Activity Fund) activities.
“At Christmas, Easter and the Summer we always take part in the HAF programme, and recently in December, we started a fundraising group which I’m part of. When I was a student at the school, we used to do a Christmas Fayre, and this is something I’ve helped to bring back to the school.
“I do breakfast clubs in the mornings, and I got talking with the staff and it snowballed from there and we asked the Headteacher if we could bring it back and they agreed,” Elizabeth said.
Her interest in working in schools came from her mum, who worked in schools for many years.
“I want to work in a Primary School as a Teaching Assistant. Growing up my mum was always working in a school, so growing up around it and learning about it piqued my interest.
“We’re always talking about what it’s like working in a school and I’m asking questions,” Elizabeth said.
Elizabeth has championed the combination of work-based learning and classroom-based learning once a week at college.
“It’s valuable you get more from the practical side of teaching, in terms of your development. I prefer this way of learning and I’m hoping to stay at the school at become a Teaching Assistant once my apprenticeship has finished.
“If anyone is thinking about going into teaching, I would highly recommend going down the apprenticeship route,” Elizabeth concluded.
Find out more about childcare and a host of other apprenticeships at Stoke on Trent College.