Vicky Richardson

Nursery Assistant

The old showbiz adage 'never work with animals or children' doesn't apply to Vicky Richardson. She's training to be a fully qualified nursery nurse. 'I work at the Pumpkin Patch in Dunbar, Scotland,' says Vicky, 'and do everything - from working with the children to speaking with the parents.'

Vicky says you need to be happy and friendly to work with children all day long. 'And very patient!' she laughs. 'Sometimes the kids play up. They all have their moments. That's probably the worst thing about this job.'

A childhood spent working several baby-sitting shifts for her Auntie made Vicky realise she was good with children. 'I really enjoyed it so it seemed an obvious choice for my career,' she says.

Vicky is currently studying for her City & Guilds SVQ Level 3 in Early Years Care. 'After I left school I did a pre-SVQ with Training For Care,' explains Vicky. 'I did two placements, one working with special needs children and one in a primary school. Both of them lasted eight weeks. I decided I preferred working in a private nursery. Special needs was just a bit too intense.'

Vicky, who's originally from Co. Durham, finished her Level 2 course in 7 months, instead of the usual 12. She studied for a couple of hours every other night. Her Level 3 course will take about ten months. Being able to work while training is a huge advantage over something like A-Levels says Vicky. 'Yeah, I'm getting paid at the same time. It's different from school. The assessors and the tutors I had on the course were great. They gave me any help I needed and I think I could relate to them better than I did to the teachers at school.'

In the next five or 10 years Vicky hopes to be managing a nursery. 'I want to go on and do a management course,' she says. 'I'd like to end up managing a nursery and I think I'll probably move back to the north-east as well.'