SS&L Employer of the Month – October 2025

We are thrilled to announce that October’s Employer of the Month is Explorers’ Pre-school in Henstridge!

Having only signed on with us just a few months ago, Explorers’ have proven a dedication to their apprentices and have a keen interest in supporting further education opportunities to make their preschool the best it can be.

We caught up with manager Debbi to find out what she loves about Explorers’, and why supporting staff with additional training is so important:

‘My favourite thing about Explorers’ is everything!! The children, the families, the wonderful staff team, the support from the committee and the community. Our lovely environment is something we are so proud of and have worked hard to ensure this is a safe, engaging, supportive, and positive environment for everyone.

‘We pride ourselves on training and extending our knowledge to meet all the individual needs of our children. We are a strong team who develop each other’s skills and interests and, as we all love what we do, this comes across in our practice.’

Not unusually, it was a member of the Explorers’ team who had previously trained with SS&L who recommended Debbi reach out to us.

‘We are still in the early days of working together but have been pleased with the positive and professional contact and information we have received. We are excited to currently have two of our team undertaking training courses, and a further staff member considering a Level 3 qualification.

‘In our experience, apprentices are an important and valued addition to our team. They bring new skills and are passionate, which helps us to enhance our overall opportunities for our children. Having proactive apprentices who are supportive, and having a further pair of hands is great, especially when out and about in our local community, which we have been doing a lot of lately! I have an added interest in supporting further education opportunities as I previously worked as an Assessor and IQA.’

And what does the future look like for Explorers’ Pre-school?

‘Our plans are to continue to grow, provide the best care and support we can for our children and families, and to develop our environment to provide greater opportunities and learning experiences. We will be supporting and encouraging our apprentices to achieve their qualifications and on successful completion, support any further training they would like to achieve in the future.’

So join us in celebrating Explorer’s Preschool winning Employer of the Month! If your preschool or nursery would like to learn more about upskilling your existing team or taking on apprentices give our friendly team a ring on 0330 332 7997.

Interested in finding out how an apprentice could help your business? Read our guide and step-by-step simple process here!