Snapdragons Academy Ranked No 21 in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers

Snapdragons Academy is proud to announce that it has been ranked 21st in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2026, placing it among the UK’s leading organisations for apprenticeship opportunities and workforce development.

Compiled by High Fliers Research, the prestigious annual rankings recognise employers that demonstrate outstanding commitment to apprenticeships, based on factors including apprenticeship starts, diversity, achievement rates and investment in developing future talent.

The recognition reflects Snapdragons Academy’s dedication to creating high-quality career pathways, supporting professional growth, and developing the next generation of skilled childcare and early years professionals.

“We are delighted to be recognised as one of the UK’s top apprenticeship employers,” said Liz Fletcher, Academy Manager. “This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our apprentices, mentors and teams across the organisation, who are committed to nurturing talent and creating opportunities for people to build rewarding careers.”

The ranking reinforces Snapdragons Academy’s position as a leading employer in the education and childcare sector and highlights the organisation’s ongoing commitment to investing in people through apprenticeships.

The journey from apprentice to graduate at Snapdragons

This month, Ashaya at Snapdragons Keynsham, appeared in EYE Nursery World magazine in a Spotlight feature. Writing about her experience learning on the job as an apprentice, she did a great job of explaining the reality of studying and working side by side. Ashaya started with us on a Level 3 Early Years Apprenticeship and has since gone on to complete a Level 5 Early Years Lead Pracitioner qualification and a BA Hons in Early Childhood and Education Studies.

Thanks to Ashaya for this insight into studying and progression in the Early Years profession.

Remembering Nicky

A Mourning Cloak butterfly rests on Nicky’s throne

Today marks a year since our much loved colleague, Nicky Hall, died after a short illness. Nicky was a friend to us all, adored by the children and a wonderful team member who brought love and joy to every day. She had been part of our lives at Snapdragons for over 20 years and was due to retire this summer - an event we were hoping to mark with a party to say thank you for all the years she devoted to team and the children at Weston.

To commemorate Nicky’s life, we placed a storytelling chair - Nicky’s Throne - in her favourite spot in the garden. It’s somewhere we can sit and remember her, and somewhere we find joy sharing stories with the children in her honour.

Today we released a flutter of Mourning Cloak butterflies in the nursery garden while holding onto our precious memories of Nicky.

Snapdragons Academy Launches

L to R: Siobhan Luker, Apprenticeship Tutor; Liz Fletcher, Academy Manager; Jessica Lennox-Gordon, Apprenticeship Tutor

We’re delighted to announce the launch of our new training academy for early years apprentices marking an exciting new chapter in our commitment to developing the next generation of childcare professionals. Our first cohort of Snapdragons Academy apprentices started with us in April.

Snapdragons Academy will initially provide training for Level 2 and 3 qualifications using a blend of practical nursery-based learning and theoretical teaching in training rooms based at Horner Court, our new building adjacent to Snapdragons Horfield, Bristol. Apprentices will be able to come together away from their nursery settings to attend project sessions, take part in training and sit their exams in a dedicated learning environment designed specifically to support their development. 

The new Snapdragons Academy follows the successful approval of our application to the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR) in November. The academy team at Snapdragons has developed and finalised its training offer, with delivery beginning in April. Sophie Collard, as the Director of Training, will be overseeing the Academy when she returns from maternity leave. The team is headed up by Academy Manager, Liz Fletcher, with Jessica Lennox-Gordon and Siobhan Luker as Apprenticeship Tutors. Annaleise Berry has joined us as Academy Administrator.

 Over the past few months, they have been designing and building apprenticeship programmes for both the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner and Level 3 Early Years Educator qualifications. By creating our own curricula, we’ve been able to embed our vision and values and distinctive approach to early years education directly into the training. With their roles as mentors supporting our current apprentices, as well as previous experience teaching in schools, lecturing in colleges and working for external qualification providers, the team have the extensive early years academic and practical knowledge needed to launch this latest development.

The programmes have been shaped using feedback from Nursery Managers, Heads of Early Years Practice and current Apprentices across the organisation, ensuring the courses reflect the real needs of the apprentices, the business and the day-to-day practice of working in an early years environment. The result is an apprenticeship that is strongly practice-based, helping learners connect their training directly to their work in the nursery.

Snapdragons Academy will offer a blended learning approach designed to suit different learning styles. Apprentices will begin with a dedicated induction week before continuing with a programme that combines face-to-face learning, online modules and virtual classrooms. Throughout the year, apprentices will also take part in project sessions that allow them to explore key topics in greater depth and apply their learning in practical ways.

One feature that sets Snapdragons Academy apart from many other training providers is its cohort model. Apprentices will start in monthly groups, enabling them to progress through their training together, support one another and build a strong learning community.

With the first in-house academy apprentices on board this April, Snapdragons Academy aims to strengthen career pathways within early years education while investing in the skills and confidence of its growing workforce.

Meet the team

Sophie Collard, Director of Training

While on maternity leave, Sophie is keeping up to date with the Academy developments and is excited for this next phase at Snapdragons! She knows the new Snapdragons Academy apprentices are in capable hands!

Liz Fletcher

Liz has worked in Early Years for 20 years, initially for a large nursery group for 7 years, where she started as unqualified, completing her level 3 and 4 qualification and progressing to Toddler Room Head. She then worked for Learn Direct, a national training provider, where she completed her Assessor Training and first started working with Snapdragons as the external assessor at Keynsham.  Liz progressed to a role at another provider, Lifetime, as an apprenticeship trainer and assessor, for level 2, 3 and 5 apprenticeships. Alongside this challenging programme she also completed a degree in Childhood Studies. Having built a relationship with Snapdragons while delivering apprentice training for us, Liz was delighted to join us four years ago as an Early Years Mentor, taking the opportunity to gain Early Years Teacher Status along the way.

Siobhan Luker, Apprenticeship Tutor

Siobhan has 20 years’ experience in Early Years including 14 in nursery settings where she progressed from Nursery Practitioner to Manager. She then worked for six years as a college lecturer and apprenticeship tutor delivering the level 2, 3 and 5 qualifications to a variety of different early years settings, including Snapdragons. Her knowledge and appreciation of Snapdragons’ vision and values drawn from her experience is what drew her to her new role in the academy.

Jessica Lennox-Gordon, Apprenticeship Tutor

Jessica is a qualified teacher and taught in primary schools for 12 years before moving into the Early Years sector. Starting as a Head of Pre-School, she soon progressed to Head of Early Years Practice, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Co-ordinator and Manager roles. For the last one and a half years, Jessica has been an Early Years Mentor supporting Apprentices through their practical and theoretical learning at Snapdragons.

Annaleise Berry, Academy Administrator

Annaleise’s career before joining Snapdragons showed her natural talent for enhancing the lives of children and young people. She worked with girl guiding, was a drama teaching assistant, a children's party host and an athletics teaching assistant. After studying Childhood and Youth Studies at university, she worked up to become a Media Day Centre Manager for adults with learning disabilities. This role, “where every day was different”, combined her organisational and nurturing skillset, making her a great fit for Snapdragons Academy Administrator.

Sophie Collard, Director of Training, says, “We're very excited to welcome our new Snapdragons Academy Apprentices. We are confident that our specially designed modules, blending practice-based and theoretical learning, together with an in-depth induction week that introduces our vision and values, will result in a truly inspiring learning experience. The monthly cohort intakes will foster a truly collegiate environment that will enable apprentices across the group to bond and share their experiences. Good luck to our Academy team and welcome to our first Snapdragons Academy Cohort!”

Work begins on our new Snapdragons Nursery in Southville, Bristol

Architect’s image of the finished conversion

We’re really pleased to announce that planning permission has now been granted for Snapdragons Southville, meaning work can soon begin to transform the former Holy Cross RC Church on Dean Lane into a new Snapdragons nursery.

The church itself dates back to the 1920s and is a historic local building, so it’s important to us that the plans treat it with care and respect. The proposals, designed by StudioLime, take a sympathetic approach that restores the building while adapting it for its new use as a modern early years setting.

Inside the main church space, two new floors will be carefully installed within the large volume of the building. This makes the most of the generous height of the church while keeping the character of the space and preserving the exterior that people recognise.

Next door, the existing priest’s house will be demolished. In its place, we’ll build a new, smaller extension attached to the side of the church, providing the additional space needed for the nursery while sitting comfortably alongside the historic structure.

We’re excited that this project will give the building a new lease of life, bringing it back into active use and creating a fantastic nursery environment for families in Southville, Bedminster and the surrounding area. Now that permission has been granted, we’re looking forward to starting the renovation work and will be updating you with the progress.

The nursery is expected to open in summer 2027 and will have places for up to 160 children.