Lauren Stock – Acorns Nurseries, Newport

“I enjoy all aspects of my job and I enjoy having fun with the children”

Meeting the demands of your employer, parents and their children can be quite a challenge. But that’s exactly what you have to do when you work as a Nursery Nurse. And you need the right person for a job like that – someone like Lauren Stock.

Excellent progress

When she was first interviewed for her job, Lauren who has mild learning difficulties, made a strong impression. She impressed managers with her enthusiasm and with her personality. Two years later, she is making excellent progress at Acorns Nurseries in Newport, Wales. The positive feedback Lauren regularly receives from parents and from her managers about her work, proves that she is successfully meeting the demands of a very challenging role.

Employer’s story

On paper, Lauren seemed to be a strong candidate for the vacancy at the nursery. She had childcare qualifications and had submitted a good application. Kate Goodenough from Access Supported Employment at Newport City Council helped Lauren prepare for the interview. However, Nursery Manager Chris Sheldon, believes there’s more to meeting the requirements for a job in a nursery than qualifications. “Some people have all the qualifications in the world but still can’t relate to people” says Chris, “But Lauren has a natural ability to relate to people and that’s something you can’t buy. She is an asset to the nursery.”

Trial period

Lauren’s personality made all the difference to her being offered a job. But the interview wasn’t the end of the selection process, it was only the beginning. The nursery operates a 13 week trial period which gives managers and potential employees the opportunity to assess whether a job is suited to both parties. Lauren performed just as well during her trial period as she did during her interview and was offered a permanent post. Chris says: “She is very thorough. Give Lauren a job to do and she’ll do it. She also takes a huge amount of pride in her work. She’s thought of very highly by parents.”

Lauren doesn’t need any specific type of support to do her job but Chris gives general support if required. For example, she checks that Lauren understands important issues raised during team meetings. “I’ll also do whatever I can do to reinforce Lauren’s self-belief” says Chris. If she needs to, Lauren can also access support from the Supported Employment service within Newport Council.

Employee's story

“I’ve always wanted to be a nursery nurse” says Lauren. And to make sure she had all the qualifications she needed, Lauren studied childcare at college before completing a NVQ Level 2 childcare qualification.

Play is an important part of the child development process and an important part of Lauren’s job. She works with a colleague to plan and organise different types of play activities for children such as ‘messy play’, sand play and water play. She also has to monitor the progress of children and to produce progress charts which are sent to parents. Although she works across all age groups and with all children she is a ‘key worker’ for two specific children. “It’s a big responsibility to look after someone else’s child” says Lauren.

Job satisfaction

She enjoys all aspects of her job but particularly likes the teaching part of the job. Lauren says: “I like teaching children. When you teach them nursery rhymes, sometimes parents will tell you that their child has been repeating the rhymes at home. It’s nice to know that.” Lauren enjoys the regular interaction she has with children and also likes to meet their parents at parent evenings. She also gets a lot of satisfaction from observing the progress children make as they learn and develop.

Since she started to work at the nursery, Lauren has added more qualifications to her portfolio of achievements and has so far completed a First Aid Certificate and a Food Hygiene Certificate. She also has the option and the support from the nursery to aim for a higher level childcare qualification. For now though, she is focussing her energies on doing the best she can in her job.

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