Modern Apprentice Amy’s dedication earns her a place at University

@BordersCollege student Amy Simpson recently completed a Modern Apprenticeship in Social Services Children and Young People at SCQF level 7, enabling her to progress to a BA in Childhood Practice. Her tutor Andrea Scott talks about Amy’s journey.

Amy and I met two years ago when she began her studies. From the start Amy proved herself to be an eager candidate, willing to dedicate herself and deliver work of a high standard. Together we planned ways of gathering evidence- due to the service that Amy worked in this proved tricky, as the clients she supported required complete privacy and absolute certainty of safety and security that direct observation would be unethical.

Amy was always proactive in seeking support and we would regularly discuss work and areas for Amy to develop. Together we formed a good working partnership – Amy refers to this now as the “dream team.” Amy pushed me as her assessor in delivering units that I had never before and to think of ways of assessing that was outside of my comfort zone – this in turn made me a better assessor.

Amy completed this award before the deadline and in some of our discussions mentioned moving into childcare. I encouraged this career shift and suggested a Modern Apprenticeship in Social Services Children and Young People at SCQF 7. Amy started this soon after the completion of her Social Services and Healthcare award.

I assessed Amy through this award also. I was aware from working together previously where Amy’s strengths were and how well we communicated. I used this to our advantage. From an assessor point of view, it was very rewarding to see a candidate develop and succeed. Amy started her first award lacking in confidence but, by the time she had successfully completed her second SVQ, she had developed in so many areas, her confidence being one of them.

Upon successful completion of her Modern Apprenticeship, Amy contacted me to let me know that she had been retained in her workplace and offered a permanent position and not only that but had been successfully accepted into university to study Childhood Studies, starting into her second year based on the strength of her application and qualifications. Amy’s dedication and desire for learning did not surprise me. She excelled and thrived on the work we planned for her SVQ’s.

As an assessor, it is good to see a candidate progress and further their learning. Working with Amy has been an absolute pleasure and I wish her all the best.

Amy commented on her time at College, saying:

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at College and would encourage anyone who’s thinking of furthering their qualifications to go for it, as there’s load of opportunities out there.

“Andrea and I had a fabulous working relationship and worked together brilliantly over the two years. I am delighted to continue on my pathway with my learning and have gained such valuable experience and support, with Andrea’s help.

“We needed to work creatively in some of the units and evaluate the challenges presented, however, this was never a setback for either of us and we worked fabulously together to make sure we overcame these.

“Andrea has been a great help to me over the last few years and I am so grateful to have been able to work with her for this time.”