Increase staff capacity.
Gain specialist knowledge.
Give children positive role models.
With up-to-date training, fresh energy and lots of ideas, hiring an apprentice is an excellent way to bring in additional support for your team.
- Apprentices are employed for at least 30 hours a week for the duration of the apprenticeship (or on a part-time basis with extension of the training programme).
- There’s no obligation to employ an apprentice on a permanent basis, although many of our schools choose to do so!
- You can use levy funding to cover the training costs.
- Hiring apprentices is a great way to offer diverse role models to pupils.
Teaching Assistants
PE and Sports Specialists
Early Years Specialists
Our free apprenticeship hiring service
With ESF Apprenticeships, hiring an apprentice couldn’t be easier! We take care of advertisement drafting, placement, and initial applicant screening.
STEP 1
Levy status check
Speak to your school bursar or business manager or Local Authority to find out whether your school, college or nursery qualifies and how much is left in your Levy pot for the year.
STEP 2
Consultancy call
Browse our apprenticeships then jump on a consultancy call with ESF experts who will explore your requirements. Remember, if you are part of a MAT we also offer bespoke training.
STEP 3
Advert creation
We take a brief and create the job advert for your apprenticeship vacancy. Once you’re happy, we post it across various platforms, including the gov.co.uk website.
STEP 4
Initial Applicant Screening
We’ll screen all apprenticeship applications with an initial contact call and check our database for suitable matches, to check they are good fit for your setting.
STEP 5
Candidate shortlisting
We brief shortlisted candidates on your school’s context and ethos, including key logistical information. We’ll then send you candidate Application Forms for you to review before interviews are arranged.
STEP 6
Arranging and conducting interviews
Your school/setting will be responsible for arranging and scheduling all in-person interviews, notifying candidates of the outcome, and updating ESF.
STEP 7
Offers and pre-recruitment checks
You will need to offer your apprentice a formal fixed term contract, the same way you would do any other staff member.
Find out more about your employer commitments here.
STEP 8
School and ESF Apprenticeshipsh onboarding
We ensure a smooth onboarding process, aligning with school processes. We’ll arrange an initial virtual meeting between tutor, in-school mentor and learner to get their apprenticeship journey off to a good start.
Types of apprentices available as new hires
- PE & sports professionals
- Teaching assistants
- Early years practitioners
- Release time: 4 hrs per fortnight
Level 3 Teaching Assistants with a SEND focus can work with teachers to support classroom learning as well as delivering targeted & small-group instruction
- Additional floating classroom support for your teachers
- A team member who can carry out group/one-to-one interventions for children with SEND
- Staff will be trained in assessment and feedback
- Additional help adapting resources to meet diverse learning needs
- Support for extracurricular activities and wider school events
Level 3 Early Years Educators can count towards your staff to child ratios
- Can be included in the staff-to-child ratio as a Level 2 practitioner and then as a Level 3 practitioner after they have finished their apprenticeship (at the discretion of the nursery manager)
- Gain a staff member who can plan and deliver activities, in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements
- Upskill an apprentice who can mentor others in your team
- Staff will be trained in assessment and feedback, as well as holding a paediatric First Aid qualification
- Bring up-to-date knowledge of SEND support into your setting
- Release time: 4 hrs per fortnight
Level 3 Teaching Assistants with a SEND focus can work with teachers to support classroom learning as well as delivering targeted & small-group instruction
- Additional floating classroom support for your teachers
- A team member who can carry out group/one-to-one interventions for children with SEND
- Staff will be trained in assessment and feedback
- Additional help adapting resources to meet diverse learning needs
- Support for extracurricular activities and wider school events
Level 3 Teaching Assistants with a SEND focus can support classroom learning, as well as delivering targeted and small group instruction
- Additional floating classroom support for your teachers
- Another member of staff who can lead group/one-to-one interventions
- Support staff trained in latest thinking around supporting SEND
- Extra support with adapting resources to meet diverse learning needs
- Staff will be trained in formative assessment and feedback
- Extra support with extracurricular activities and wider school events
Level 2 Community Activators can support PE curriculum delivery and promote national sporting and wellbeing initiatives
- Support pupils’ development by taking on an apprentice dedicated to promoting sport, physical activity and leading healthy lifestyles
- Increase opportunities and capacity for extra-curricular sporting provision
- Gain additional role models for PE, school sport, health, and wellbeing
- Create a ‘National Agenda Ambassador’ to lead initiatives such as Mile a Day, and Change for Life clubs
- Facilitate active lunchtimes
- Expand your capacity to deliver the PE curriculum
- Support teams and individuals at community and School Sports Partnership events
Level 3 Teaching Assistants with a PE, Health and Wellbeing focus help engage all pupils in sport, as well as providing additional classroom support
- Gain a fun, engaging role model for PE, school sports, and health and wellbeing
- Create a ‘National Agenda Ambassador’ to lead initiatives such as Mile a Day, and Change for Life clubs
- Additional support for PE curriculum delivery and to lead activities for targeted groups (high performing or disengaged pupils for example)
- Improve opportunities and capacity for sports-based extra-curricular provision and wrap-around care
- Support with administration for inter-school competitions, events, and festivals
- Additional classroom-based support where required and someone to assist with active learning
Level 2 Early Years Practitioners can help expand your nursery provision
- Additional member of staff who will be trained in planning, assessment and creating an enabling environment for babies and young children
- Additional training to support special educational needs
- Staff will be taught about safeguarding, child protection and promoting wellbeing
- Additional member of staff with a paediatric First Aid qualification
- Create a mentoring culture within your nursery
- Offer a development pathway and reduce likelihood of staff turnover
Level 4 Sports Coaches can develop whole-school sports programmes and ramp up your PE offering
- Create your own PE lead with the knowledge and skills to plan and deliver whole school high-quality Physical Education
- Enhance your whole school approach to health and well-being
- Gain access to resources to develop a PE curriculum and assessment package designed by the PE leader
- Opportunities to gain a lead for new activities such as outdoor pursuits, gymnastics, as well as inclusive sports such such as Boccia
- Gain a school lead for extra-curricular programmes, competitions and community events
- Opportunities to cover school PPA
Feedback from schools
See all >
Case Study
Manor Fields Primary School
“The support we’ve had from ESF has been so positive and so worthwhile. They have really gone the extra mile for my staff and care about them as individuals – the impact on staff confidence has been transformative.”
Case Study
Knebworth Primary and Nursery School
“When we were looking for a training provider to support us with upskilling current staff, ESF Apprenticeships seemed the perfect choice! They came highly recommended by other primary schools in the area. It has been so rewarding to see our staff engaging in such a high-quality qualification.”
Case Study
Melbourn Primary School
“I’d definitely recommend the course to other Headteachers. It’s been an excellent way to give staff an opportunity to develop their skills when they’re still in school. We are seeing the benefits every day for our children.”
What are my responsibilities as an employer?
Contract of Employment: Like any other employee, your apprentice must have a formal contract of employment for the duration of the apprenticeship (which must be at least one year). Apprentices are employed at least 30 hours a week. Part-time employment is possible but the duration would need to be extended.
Release time: As a guideline, we advise half day release time per fortnight to be set aside. This covers the live fortnightly workshops and time for one-to-one tutor feedback, as well as termly progress reviews. In addition, the apprentice will work their way through online learning at their own pace. They may also need additional release time if they wish to attend our optional SEND Masterclasses, or if they have to sit Functional Skills exams.
School mentor: One of the reasons people choose to do an apprenticeship is the opportunity to learn from a school mentor. The mentor should attend progress reviews which happen every 8-10 weeks, about six times a year. At the end of the apprenticeship the mentor will need to complete the Employer Review that evidences the key behaviours associated with this apprenticeship. Some apprenticeships also require mentors to carry out observations.
On the job training: Delegates will need to carry out tasks and research projects. Most of this will be done in-class and is aligned with the day-to-day tasks of a skilled teaching assistant or community sports professional.
End-point assessment support: Mentors will need to join the gateway meeting and support with the planning for the day. This probably equates to a few hours of work.
“We are proud of our thriving school sports provision, which has grown since we have employed PE apprentices. As they have grown in confidence they have been able to take on more responsibility and enabled us to create a broad and balanced extra-curriculum PE provision. They have even led whole-staff training to develop their colleague’s confidence when delivering PE!
Levy funding
The Growth and Skills Levy (formerly known as the Apprenticeship Levy) is essentially a fund set up to support the training and development of staff through apprenticeships. Funds are collected and put into a digital account for employers.
- Who pays it? Anyone with an annual wage bill over £3 million.
- How does it benefit your school? The money in this account can be used to pay for apprenticeship training for both your existing staff and any new apprentices you hire. Apprenticeships are available for anyone aged 16 and over, from Level 2 right up to Level 7, covering a wide range of skills.
Do you have an existing member of staff you would like to upskill instead?
Complete our short online form and we’ll be in touch with information and application instructions.