I graduated from University of East London with an LLB Law degree and it is of no doubt that the law degree comes in handy, especially with the way that social care is heavily regulated. As managers we always have to keep up to speed with compliance issues in relation to meeting the requirements of CQC (Care Quality Commission) inspections, housing related support requirements, health and safety assessments and employer/employee related matters.

One of the main things that attracted me to Creative Support is the way the service is service user driven, rather than corporately driven. Service users are fully supported to live their lives as independently as possible and are involved at all levels, including shaping staff training and planning and organising local service user activities. I am pleased to be the Personalisation Champion for Camden and involved in the Equality and Diversity Action Plan initiatives, which means I am at the centre of service user involvement.

I am also passionate about ensuring that staff are given the necessary tools to be able to perform their role with confidence and skill and Creative Support takes staff development seriously. I am now involved in training staff in London and the South East having attended the Train the Trainer course. This is so exciting for me and we also have service users who have been trained to deliver training to staff with the support of other trainers. I am involved in recruiting and interviewing new starters and it is always rewarding to see staff grow after they have been fully inducted.

I have also enjoyed taking an active role in driving the business forward by attending tender meetings with Anna Lunts the Chief Executive; from which we have secured a floating support service in Harrow. It is very interesting to see how the organisation is expanding. Best of all, it is always exciting to be part of a team that puts service users first and also cares about staff development.

I graduated from Coventry University with a BSC in Mental Health Studies. In addition to this I hold a Higher National Diploma in Education coupled with some English Legal studies.

I have extensive experience in the health and social care sector having worked in the NHS, special needs schools, private sector and across national charitable organisations. I have  been involved in hands on care, as well as the operational and strategic management of services. With Creative Support I have gained experience of multi project management.

Since joining Creative Support, I have been involved in and committed to the procurement and development of quality services in London and the South East. I have been given the opportunity and experience of managing and monitoring contracts. I continue to work with teams and commissioners across the area in further developing the services and I am proud to announce that Creative Support has successfully set up the South East Regional Office in the Reading Area.

I am glad to be at the heart of an organisation which has total commitment to the improvement of service users’ lives. Since working with Creative Support, I have been involved in and see others show, a total commitment to improving the lives of our service users by focusing on quality outcomes. This has included adding value to service users’ lives by offering person centred care and support, improving the home environment and enhancing their quality of life.

Creative Support gives high priority to staff development, using its own resources and also working in partnership with other training consortium across the country. We have invested a lot in training our staff teams in London and the South East. The training has ranged from NVQs to management training programmes for all our senior staff teams. We are really proud to have moved quickly with these initiatives considering that we have only been here since April 2008. It has added value to all our services across London and the South East.

I am proud to be part of an organisation with such diversity. I am dedicated to strengthening the company’s existing diversity and inclusion initiatives among employees and clients and look forward to putting these in place across the South East region.

I have known of Creative Support throughout my career and have worked alongside members of the staff team at networking, funding and training events. I have been aware that the organisation has grown dramatically over the years, as has its reputation. Whilst attending college to work towards my NVQ 4 in Health and Social Care, I met staff members who were always talking positively about Creative Support’s ethos, values and principles and how, as an organisation, it invests in its staff team. This encouraged me further to make my application to them. I am grateful and happy to say that I was successful in my application and am now a proud member of the team.

Since starting with Creative Support, I have met many staff members who I have previously crossed paths with, over the years, in different organisations. They, like me, have become members of the Creative Support team and developed their careers with Creative Support. I am delighted with my new role.

I began working for Creative Support in 2006 as a Senior Support Worker at one of the supported living schemes purposely built for people with complex Learning Disabilities. I really enjoyed my role and found it very rewarding supporting individuals to live independently in their own homes and accessing the local community.

During my time as a Senior Support Worker I attended training relevant to my role to gain more awareness, knowledge and experience to further develop my skills. I was also encouraged to acquire an ITQ (National Vocational Qualification in IT) which I have found to be very beneficial professionally.

After gaining the ITQ qualification a position became available for reception duties, which I felt would be the ideal opportunity to develop my Administration and IT skills.

I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to change direction but still remain working for Creative Support.

Like all our managers, my clients’ wishes and needs are of the highest importance. Our entire team is very proactive and always look for ways to assist our service users to live a life full of choices and fun. In the last six months we have had clients (with staff support) go on various holidays, including a memorable trip to Turkey. We are in the process of getting a passport for another client who wants to go to Disneyland, Paris in the summer of 2009. The service regularly organises parties and theme nights, such as a Halloween night, Summer party, etc. Service users are welcome to pop into the office for a chat and a cup of coffee. By the end of the year we will move to bigger offices where our service users can come and spend more time – playing games or doing other interesting activities like painting, clay modelling, etc.

I have a very supportive Line Manager who empowers me to take decisions and encourages me to work with other members of our organisation. By pooling our experience and skills and learning from one another, I feel I am able to run a more efficient and quality service. I have also had the privilege and pleasure of working with our Chief Executive, Anna Lunts, who is a true leader ~ passionate, charismatic and inspirational.

I have received training in various areas, such as Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Recruitment and Selection, and now I actually provide induction training to new starters, giving them an insight into the company. Within Creative Support, we believe that leadership exists at all levels – the 35 team members in my service are leaders in their own right, whatever their position in the organisation. Everyone is encouraged to contribute to the development of our services and the organisation as a whole; knowledge flows freely and everyone’s comments are equally valued. The entire team is genuinely helpful and when I took over in April 2008, I was encouraged and assisted by my colleagues to establish myself in the role. If you are looking to kick start or progress your career and assisting people is second nature to you, then I strongly suggest you apply to Creative Support.

I absolutely love my job and I am certain that if you are looking for work and you join us, you will too!

I may need to arrange to meet up with potential new service users and their families/carers as my role includes making initial introductions to our Agency and supporting new service users throughout the referral and transition period. This is a part of my job I thoroughly enjoy, as I feel I am very much a “people person”.

A few of our service users will invariably call in to our drop-in centre during the course of the day for a coffee and a chat. If we have a baking class or one of our other activities things can become a little hectic.

The phone will ring throughout the day and each of us often has to think on our feet to address whatever the day brings. I have my paperwork to catch up with, updating care plans and risk assessments and covering any changes in the weekly rota. There can be quite a few changes, usually service user led.

I also have my regular service users and generally spend some part of each day supporting somebody.

We have a large staff team so I try to book in at least two staff supervisions each week. These are informal sessions and also give staff a chance to air their views.

We maintain strong relationships with our local social work team and keep in close contact regarding the people we support.

My day does not usually end at 5pm, it’s not that sort of job. We do what we have to do and sometimes that means working till much later. If I am on-call I can expect to receive phone calls for advice from staff and service users throughout the day (and night!) and have to deal with any situations as and when they occur. This gives reassurance to staff and service users as they know that a Creative Support Manager is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

This is just a brief description of my daily routine and although it may seem demanding to some people, I have tremendous job satisfaction and love working for Creative Support. I get full support, encouragement and motivation from my line Manager and Area Manager and there are ongoing opportunities to develop my skills and my career.

The move to Creative Support was exciting and welcomed by staff and service users. Almost immediately things began to happen and change for service users. Rights, choice and independence were the main focus. It was a confusing time for some service users because they had never experienced this level of control over their own lives; but as time went on the confusion turned into happiness and a sense of achievement for the service users.

Staff had to change their own working practices and with Creative Support’s training, began developing skills which helped us to work in a more person centred way.

Service users began developing their own skills, from domestic tasks to cooking skills. They had more control and a better understanding of their finances. They had new responsibilities of their own, such as understanding the security of their own belongings. For the first time they had their own front door key! These were all new experiences and each and every one was exciting for the service users.

Eighteen months on and looking back at the changes made in our service, they have been phenomenal. The service users are reaching their goals and aspirations, from going fishing to going on holiday, or even getting married. Their lives are filled with the things they like to do, which makes them very fulfilled.

From a support worker’s point of view, I have seen exciting and wonderful changes in the service users. I have seen a service user who hardly spoke more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’ make verbal choices of his own, putting full sentences together. This has come about by working with newly developed support plans and promoting service user choice and independence.

‘Sign Here’ training has been given to staff so we can offer positive non verbal communication to service users who communicate this way. The has changed the service users’ lives, as they can now communicate their choices and staff can relate to their needs and wishes and provide better support.

With Creative Support I have seen the positive effects to service users’ lives of working in a person centred way. The changes have been rewarding, not only for the service users but also for the staff. I am happy to come to work every day and enjoy being part of a company who values people’s lives and works together with people to make a difference.

Last year, after nearly 20 years in the catering industry, Jess decided that she needed a change. She was thinking of leaving and spoke to her manager, who suggested that she apply for the position of Support Worker in the Breakthrough service as she was already involved, knew the service users and had shown herself to have the essential personal characteristics. Jess applied and was successful.

When she took on the role Jess attended training to ensure she had the right skills and knowledge to provide the support needed. She completed the Mental Health Induction, Learning Disability Induction, LDQ (Learning Disability Qualification) and is currently doing her NVQ II. She has also completed a number of in-house courses such as First Aid.

As a Breakthrough Support Worker, Jess meets and greets new members introducing them to the activities and sessions that are available and delivering the Health and Safety induction; she provides practical assistance to all the Breakthrough members, such as completing forms and accessing the internet; assists in the art sessions and provides cover in other sessions, such as cookery, creative writing and drama; and participates in the evening sessions and day trips. Jess also provides emotional support when needed and, if appropriate, feeds back to the service user’s regular support team to ensure service user is provided with the care and support they need.

Jess has ambition for personal development, but does not yet know what direction that will take and feels it will depend on how the service itself progresses and develops. She enjoys having direct contact with the service users, so whatever she does, she would like to keep that. The first step, when she has completed her NVQ II, is to start on the NVQ III.

‘Creative Support encourages people to develop their skills and knowledge and keep up with changes in policy and practice. To do this they provide a lot of training that we can access. The training is provided by a well qualified and experienced team.’

Jess feels that she is 100% supported by her manager and that this role has filled a gap that existed in the service before. She feels the team is now stronger; everyone gets on well and works well together.

‘Creative Support is a good place to work. It is not always about how much you earn, it’s also about job satisfaction and you get that here. […] There are a lot of experienced people here, who are all working for the service users, it’s not just a job, it is the service users that matter and it is important that they are the focus and are supported as individuals.’

‘Creative Support is a vibrant and exciting company. People are stretched and challenged, in a good way. My manager looks out for me, but also pushes me to develop my skills and responsibilities.’

Now, as well as providing direct support to service users, Gary works part-time in the Blackpool office, provides Person Centred Planning (PCP) training and facilitates Person Centred Planning with service users throughout the projects in the Blackpool area:

‘I enjoy working with the service users in my project in Fleetwood; they are a great bunch of lads. Facilitating Person Centred Planning also enables me to meet all the service users and families in the area, which is great.

It is really good when a service user takes up Person Centred Planning and owns it. One of our service users who has just been introduced to it, now uses it to plan her future and take control of her life. ’

Ray decided he wanted a career change so got more involved in training. He started at Creative Support in 2004 as an NVQ assessor and the Training Coordinator. Over the past 4 years he has gradually got more involved in the corporate side of training and has achieved his Assessor Award Update, Internal Verifier’s Award and the NVQ IV in learning and development.

‘I was promoted to the role of Training and Development Manager in March 2008. In this role I:

• Advise, support and coordinate training in relation to national domiciliary care standards. I work with Creative Support’s managers in all the geographical areas we cover, to ensure we are meeting the required standards.
• Build up relationships with the Training Partnerships (government bodies who access funding for training for care staff) in all the regions we work in, to provide our staff with even greater training opportunities.
• Oversee the corporate training calendar to make sure our internal training meets national legal requirements and standards.
• Personally deliver a range of training including: promoting healthy lifestyles, personal care, dementia awareness, elder abuse and safeguarding vulnerable adults, duty of care and accountability and infection control.

My role is very fulfilling as Creative Support is highly focused on staff training, as a skilled and knowledgeable workforce leads to high quality services and better lives for our service users.

Ever since starting with Creative Support, I have received fantastic professional support and have been given every opportunity to develop my knowledge and skills and progress my career within the organisation.

I feel that Creative Support is incredibly service user focused and that we also support our staff to reach their full potential. As a non-profit we do not have to focus solely on targets and can therefore look at our service user and staff needs more holistically.

Since I first started working in social care, the way that service users are supported has changed dramatically. In the past, service users were treated as patients and the care industry focused on their illness and treatment, rather than their abilities. Now we look to enable service users to live fuller, more independent lives; we empower them to direct their individual care needs and advocate and encourage social inclusion. I see Creative Support at the forefront of this change.’