Richard Luscombe Last week we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week, to give those considering an apprenticeship a chance to connect, learn and dive into the world of apprenticeships. Hear below from Jack Ryan, an Argyle Community Trust apprentice who has just completed his Level 4 Sports Coach apprenticeship.
My name is Jack Ryan and I work at Elburton Primary School. In my role, I support a wide variety of PE across the school – delivery, planning and resourcing. In addition to this, I also support children in the classroom setting. Outside of work, I have a keen interest in football and have had an extensive sailing career in which I’ve been fortunate enough to compete at a high level.
Thinking back to 2020, like any 16-year-old, I started to have a serious think about options for future careers. I attended a range of career events and spoke to career advisors too, through my school. After much thought, I decided to pursue my sailing career further, with the ambition of making this my full-time professional career. Unfortunately, due to injuries and a range of sponsorship and financial problems, this was not possible. This is a common issue for a range of aspiring athletes. So as you can hear, my ‘Plan A’ failed.
But don’t worry, I had a ‘Plan B!’ I decided to pursue a career in the Navy. I had completed all of my entry tests and assessments.
Then, COVID hit.
The Navy had paused all recruitment and deferred my potential entry by one year.
Right, so my Plan A and my Plan B had failed. There weren’t many options left, the whole country was in lockdown. I knew that I wasn’t interested in going down the conventional A Levels route, this just wasn’t for me. My Dad decided to point me down the apprenticeship route – suggesting I find something to do for a year until the Navy comes back to me.
I used the government’s ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service to look for apprenticeships in my local area. Due to COVID – there weren’t many options! Although, there was one.
‘Level 2 Sports Coach apprenticeship at Elburton Primary School’. Right. ‘Working with kids?’ I thought to myself. No thanks.
Like everyone, I then entered a period of ‘hibernation.’ Lots of Xbox, eating and some VERY dodgy haircuts. The more I pondered, the more I considered working in a school to be an option. Anyway – what harm would a year do before I moved on to the Navy?
Just before the deadline, I applied for the job. After an interview process, I was fortunate enough to receive the job. Plan C it is.
I’ll be honest, I found it incredibly daunting walking into the school for the first time – after all, I was 16 years old and had quite literally just left school. Now on the flip side, I was the one with the responsibility. I was quickly introduced to Dave, Darrel and Tim as the people who would support me, and the school, during the duration of my apprenticeship.
Once every half term, I attended theory days based here at Argyle. These gave me the knowledge to support me on my journey. All of these sessions were delivered in a fun, engaging way. This included safeguarding, teaching practices and first aid. Additionally, we received CPD from external companies to support our workplace practice.
Just as an example, this has included Skip2BFit and Speed Stacks. This is all through the Trust’s solid networking links. Along my journey, I was encouraged to shadow and learn from fellow teachers. On top of this, I was regularly supported in the workplace by Darrel who came in to observe my sessions. Darrel would give constructive feedback on how to improve my practice.
Months followed and I quickly found myself at the Level 2 End Point Assessment. Thankfully, due to being well prepared and having good support behind me, I passed this with a good grade.
Now the time came when I had to make a choice. Stay at the school where I had developed, built relationships and worked – OR – progress onto the Navy.
To me, this was an easy choice. From standing here right now, you can probably guess what option I made. I stayed at Elburton. I was enjoying my learning and didn’t want to stop.
To continue developing in my role, my apprenticeship cohort was offered to progress onto the Level 4 Sports Coach course. This lasted for 2 years and did push my professional development to the max. I chose to do this as I am always keen to develop myself and become the best I can be at anything. It gave me the skills to be a competent deliverer, but also a planner. We studied the National Curriculum in detail, coaching strategies and workplace practices – giving us the knowledge to effectively become experts in our field.
With any course like this, you’re going to face challenges. If I think right back to the start, entering a professional workplace for the first time was very daunting. However, I was welcomed instantly and supported from all angles – whether that was from staff at my school or my apprenticeship tutors.
At times the content was challenging, but in a good way. We were encouraged to be very open about anything we were finding difficult, so we could be supported. Building a trustworthy, open environment is something the Trust were great at. I felt comfortable for every minute.
If I’m asked about career highs, I genuinely have too many to list. Of course, winning tournaments and going on trips are great. However, positively impacting children’s lives has to be the one. The relationships I have built with children, and seeing the impact of my practice, cannot be compared. Throughout the duration of my apprenticeship, I have developed a passion for getting children to be active – the benefits are endless.
In terms of what’s next for me – I have just finished my Level 4 Sports Coach and I am currently progressing into my Level 5 Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship, to enhance my practice and development. If I was asked where I see myself in 5 years? I want to be carrying on coaching or teaching but who knows! I’ve equipped a good set of skills which can be used in any walk of life.
If any of you are considering taking on apprentices, I cannot recommend it enough from my perspective. I have developed so much over the last 4 years, and this has contributed to my development, but I hope the development of my school too.
This has been a provider that I have been proud to be affiliated with and has aided my professional development massively. This has been partnered with a great school that I’m very thankful to be a part of. In terms of advice to prospective schools, remember the sky’s the limit for your apprentices. They can develop massively over a short space of time and will hopefully become competent members of staff quickly, thanks to good guidance and training.
To summarise, I have enjoyed my apprenticeship journey and it’s one I’m proud to have done. It’s worked out pretty well for a ‘Plan C.’ I quite literally fell into this, but have loved every aspect of it and regret nothing.
Do you want to be part of our apprenticeship scheme? If you are interested or would like more information please contact dave.shurmer@pafc.co.uk.
