For one of ACT’s newest tutors learning has gone full circle.
Childcare assessor, Christie Davies, began her learning journey when she enrolled with Jobs Growth Wales aged eighteen, she is now celebrating her appointment as a tutor within the same department.
Christie left school to find an apprenticeship after missing exams due to a number of personal setbacks. She found an advertisement for a childcare placement and was able to get financial help for her travel back and forth between her home in Barry and her work placement in Taffs Well.
She said: “I finished my Level 2 CCLD (Children’s Care, Play, Learning & Development) and progressed through to Level 3 and then Playwork.
“I later moved from nurseries to schools as I wanted a more varied understanding of children’s development. I looked again to ACT to gain my STLS (Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools) Level 3 qualification.
“All qualifications were supported by my fantastic tutors who understood that I just wanted to get on and would gladly send me work early as requested and give me extra visits if required.”
After completing four qualifications with ACT, Christie was able to gain her HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) status with the Central South Consortium.
Christie added: “The qualifications provided me with a wealth of teaching experience, I now hope this will all help me in my new role in ACT and that I can pass on the support I had.
“The most rewarding part of the role for me is the ability to give back the opportunities I’ve had. My advice to anyone going into childcare would be to have fun. If you are enthusiastic and love your job then every day will be great. But also, be organised, keep your reports and paperwork up to date and remember to keep the children’s best interests at heart. If you want something more – always fight for it.”
Looking to the future, Christie is keen not to rest on her laurels, despite her extensive achievements.
She said: “I currently work voluntarily as a first aid instructor for the sea cadets. I hope to amalgamate the roles and support the teaching and assessing of first aid for those working in childcare but to do that I think I would need the Level 3 Teaching and Development qualification first.”
If you’re looking to kickstart your childcare career you can find our courses and opportunities here.
