To think if you are doing a childcare apprenticeship..

[LycheeBubbleTea]

That you should be prepared to do nappies and not refuse to do soiled ones?

Who's pissed you off?

🤔yep

No one pissed me off but I have been shadowing an apprentice and they refuse to do any soiled nappies. But it's got to me thinking, surely if you want to work in childcare you need to be prepared for this

Of course you do! Your apprentice is chasing the wrong job.

Hmm. Is this a 16 year old? I wouldn’t throw them in the deep end.

Oh, and more to the point, how are they getting away with it?

Totally. If they won't change a nappy they won't make it in childcare.

Absolutely not acceptable at all. That apprentice would not be able to continue in the setting where I work.

The whole point of learning any trade is to find out the shit parts (literally in this case) as well as the good.

The apprentice should be considering another career if they can't bring themselves to do all the job.

Ah, ok. Maybe if they’re 16 they could be mentored and given some less sticky ones to do to start with 😂

What stage of their course are they on - is there a module in hygiene and nappies and stuff they have to do first?

They are 17, will be 18 in a few months. They have been here a few weeks now so didn't start off with nappies straight away, but they just pull faces and shake their head if it comes up for them to do one

Also, of they don't have children, maybe they aren't confident in what and how to change a nappy? Apprenticeships are about teaching and learning.

Has the apprentice given you a reason for refusing to change nappies?

Yes so I would always stand besides and help if needed and they have actually been shown how to do one but since then, they just won't do any now and refuse and pull a face. When the topic of nappies first came up they said 'can't wait' in a very sarcastic way

This is the point of apprenticeships - you are training a (usually) teenager in their first job.

Yeah they will need to do nappies but they might need a lot of support at first.

Well, they pull like a disgusted kind of face and shake their head, I think they're just put off by the thought of the poo etc

Sorry but you’re totally right- no matter what the age of the apprentice shitty nappies are essential!!!

Yes, so we would never let them do them alone and would always stand at the side to help but they don't even want to do that

When my daughter did her L3 early year’s qualification, she wasn’t allowed to change nappies until her DBS check had been done. Does your apprentice have this in place?
if so, she will (under guidance where necessary) need to fulfil all aspects of the role and be able to evidence this in her coursework for her qualification.

We've had an apprentice for nearly 2 years (mid 20s) and she's only now doing wee nappies. I don't think she was confident but we've given her space and she's getting there. When she's confident with wet nappies we can move into poo.

At what point did apprentices decide what they do and don't want to do at work and not just do as they are told (and make the decision to leave and find another job if this one isn't what they want)?.

We have apprentices at work - they do what we tell them to do.
My son is an apprentice - he comes home and moans about stuff but at work he does what they tell him.

Have you told this apprentice that this is part of their job and they don't get a choice of refusing?

A few years ago a mner posted about wanting to be a cleaner but refusing to clean toilets!!
Some people are odd.

They need to observe an experienced member of staff a few times, then assist, then practise on some just wet ones.

Of course they balk. It’s unpleasant.

Yes, they’ll have to do it eventually but there’s no need to be nasty about it.

The best way to support anyone, child or adult, to do something new, is to scaffold it and encourage and not force an unrealistic pace, nor condemn them because they can’t do the hardest thing from the get go.

Do either of you actually speak words? 😳

Just tell her she needs to do it.

This is such a weird question for you to have to ask the internet.