HAWK TRAINING: SUCCESS STORY

Children and Young

Peoples Workforce
Employer:
Fennies Under Fives Nursery
Croydon and Beckenham.

Success
Story: Fennies
Under Fives
Nursery

Sarah Fenn founded Fennies Under 5 Day Nurseries in

1992 with one nursery offering 10 places. Fennies now
comprises 5 nurseries offering 357 childcare places.
Fennies future plans include an increase in the
number of nurseries from 5 sites to 10.
Part of their strategic plan is to ensure that all staff
have achieved or are working towards a relevant
childcare qualification, and then continual
professional development.
Fennies started working with Hawk Training
in July 2009 to recruit for for 10 positions.
They introduced a 3 year apprenticeship
programme within the local community
of Croydon and Bromley.

To find out more or to get involved, please

contact Hawk Training on 0203 664 7258
www.hawktraining.com

The Apprenticeship
scheme has created
a talent pool of
staff, trained to our
standards, utilising
the apprenticeship
framework as a
foundation for
learning.

Fennies have offered apprenticeships

in every subsequent year. During this
period they have recruited a total of
52 apprentices.

At the Christchurch Road nursery in

Purley, 9 of the 19 staff were recruited
via Hawk Training and are fantastic
ambassadors for new apprentices when
they join.
Since recruiting apprentices in 2009,
Fennies have supported 52 people into
employment in their local area, 40 of which
are still with Fennies.
The apprentices have increased their
flexibility of staffing across all 5 nursery
sites. They have the knowledge and
transferable skills of policies, procedures
and systems enabling them to work
effectively in an alternative site. This has
reduced reliance on agency and temporary
staff, and consequently costs, due to hiring
a more adaptable workforce.
As a result of hiring apprentices, Fennies
has been better able to recruit from the
local community creating local jobs for
16 24 year olds in an area of high youth
unemployment.

To find out more, please contact

Hawk Training on 0203 664 7258
www.hawktraining.com

Success
Story: Fennies
Under Fives
Nursery

Apprenticeships benefit their business

by providing young people wanting a
career opportunity. They are trained and
moulded them to become professional
practitioners within the childcare
industry. This in turn helps to provide a
better service for the parents and children
in Fennies nurseries.
At the London finals of the
Apprenticeship Awards 2012, Fennies
won Medium Employer of the Year.
The prestigious ceremony was held at City
Hall with Mayor Boris Johnson opening the
ceremony. Hawk Training was delighted to
share the successes with Fennies Under
Fives. They are now progressing to the
national finals in November.