With the introduction of 1140 hours, West Lothian Council launched the School Pupil ELC workforce pilot. The pilot gave senior school aged pupils the opportunity to work in early years.
In August 2019, ELC settings in West Lothian began delivering extended ELC hours and moved to a 0800-1800 operating model. Soon after implementation, some headteachers and managers found it difficult to secure pupil support worker cover to work alongside practitioners between 1600-1800.
A local secondary school headteacher suggested this could be a good opportunity for senior students. West Lothian Council liaised with ELC settings to identify pupil support worker vacancies and with local secondary schools to gauge interest in the pilot. It was important that pupils could safely make their way to participating settings – therefore, not all secondary schools were selected to take part in the pilot.
An ELC contact was appointed in each of the secondary schools that took part in the pilot - in some schools, this was the headteacher and in others it was a business support manager. To take part, senior pupils had to register an interest in an ELC Pupil Support Worker vacancy. Unlike work experience, pupils would be paid and would have real responsibilities.
I loved my time at the nursery and miss it a lot!
Students who expressed an interest in the pilot were sent a job description and supported by the school to complete an application pack. The wellbeing of students was crucial; therefore, the school screened all applicants to ensure the role was suitable for them. In typical selection process style, the ELC team conducted a second round of screening and identified individuals for interview.
After a robust application and interview process, 11 students were appointed as ELC pupil support workers. The successful candidates were allocated an ELC setting and attended an induction session within a local nursery prior to starting their role. This emphasised the importance of the role and wider programme. It also covered key topics including confidentiality, professional conduct, registering with the SSSC and what to expect when on the nursery floor.
It was a great opportunity to develop skills and work with a range of different people.
After a shadowing afternoon, the students started in their respective settings. They supported practitioners between 16:00-18:00 on weekdays and had the opportunity to work during some holidays.
The pilot coordinator regularly liaised with the Head Teachers from the 8 participating settings and sought feedback from the student Pupil Support Workers. Head Teachers were pleased with how well the pilot was going – even in the first few weeks, they had very positive feedback and reported no longer having any concerns about the pilot.
The pilot is going extremely well. The nursery team have been very positive about the new appointments. The team are also aware of their responsibility in modelling and training the new Pupil Support Workers in the same way they would for any new member of staff.
Many of the students who took part in the pilot have gone onto positive destinations. Two of the students completed their HNC in Childcare and secured posts within a West Lothian Council ELC setting, Some of the students took up permanent pupil support worker positions after they left school and others have gone onto university and are on ELC supply list for holiday cover.
The pilot provided students with real life experience of the job application process before leaving school and supported West Lothian Council in the delivery of 1140 hours of funded ELC provision to eligible children.
It helped build my confidence and communication skills.