The Team Leader at Oak Cottage, on the benefits of working together, his life experience, and being yourself at Progress.

I grew up in challenging circumstances. I was brought up in care and was in foster care too. So, I can relate to the young people I care for and empathise with them.

I can be myself at Progress. Working in care is better than working in an office. I have done both, and I can honestly say that working in care has allowed me to be myself. You will not be thrown into the deep end at Progress. I was given plenty of time to do all my training and got to shadow senior staff too.

Working collaboratively is important. One of the things that I love about Progress is that all the staff are open and accessible. I am pretty curious by nature, and I ask many questions because I want to do well. When I first started working here, the staff helped me gain more confidence in my role.

I have experience to share. For example, if a young person has sensory overload, I can show my colleagues what triggers they need to avoid or what activities they should engage the young person in. If someone is unsure, I am there to help. Providing support is what we do.

Supporting my team is part of my job. As Team Leader I make sure a proper handover has been done. This means the night staff know what has happened in the day with the young people and what they need to look out for. I can then relax knowing the young people are safe and happy, and I have made sure all staff know what they are doing.

This is a career for life. I have a lot to learn, but I would love to be a manager or foster carer. So many children across the UK need some extra support. If you want to change a child’s life – this is for you.

If you want to make difference in the lives of others, visit our recruitment page and apply for a role at Progress today.

 

My name is Harry.

I am a teenager with Autism.

After suffering several losses within my close family, I could not understand and control my feelings, which led to my behaviours hurting those closest to me. I lacked confidence and did not like leaving the house. My home is where I feel comfortable and safe. The thought of any activities outside gave me anxiety, and it would take 30 minutes to coax me out of the house.

Progress matched me with a Support Worker, Julian.  We clicked and talked about working together to explore ways of increasing my confidence.

Julian and I

As Julian started to visit me once a week, I felt my confidence grow. I was able to open up to Julian about gaming and other things that are important to me. We would go for a walk down the canal and talk about things in my life. I could use these conversations and create scenarios in my head that would help me overcome personal hurdles.

I love gaming, but Julian knew nothing about PlayStation or Xbox. I took it upon myself to educate Julian about the games I play. Julian is getting better, but I still win every time we play!

Julian is not just my ‘carer’; he is somebody I can talk to and take guidance from.

Getting out of my comfort zone

I now do activities I had never regularly done before. For example, for the first time, I went out to eat and paid the bill myself. A year ago, I would never have had the confidence to speak to someone and ask for anything.

Remember when I said it used to take 30 minutes to coax me out of the house? Now I am happy to leave straight away.

Happier than I have ever been

I recently made the transition from secondary school to college, and I enjoy learning.

I have also started going to the gym and have taken an interest in health & nutrition. Progress has helped me gain further knowledge about health & nutrition with online training to stay fit and eat well.

Being able to manage my feelings has now helped me become a happier and more active person!

The lockdown has been challenging for all of us. With our daily routines changing – and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future – we are now living different lives.

We spoke to two young people on their lockdown experiences, how they have coped and their hopes for the future.

“I have felt I felt a few mixed emotions during the lockdown. Not being able to see my family or hug them has been hard. However, I have remained connected with them and my friends by using video chat. This has made me less anxious and much happier. I have used video chat so much!

When the lockdown began, I was dreading the thought of being stuck indoors. The support workers have helped keep me entertained, by playing board games like Monopoly with me – this has been so much fun. I have also watched many different TV programmes and films and played on my Xbox.

I cannot wait until this is all over, so I can carry on doing the things that make me happy.”

Alex

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“Although I have not been able to go outside, my family have visited me regularly. I speak to them through my bedroom window, as we must keep socially distant. Because of this, it has not been so difficult.

I do miss my friends. Hopefully, when this is over, we can meet up.

From completing my schoolwork to playing on my PS4, I have been doing a lot. The support workers have helped me draw, bake cakes and cook. I especially enjoyed making curries and buffalo wings.

I have also been watching Manchester United games on the TV with the other young person I live with.

If we listen to the advice from the experts then hopefully, this will be over soon.”

Sami

“The young people I support are the reason why I am a support worker.”

We love to hear about the success and achievements of our young people. In their own way, they all make us proud of them. It’s also important to note the hard work our Support Workers do working with young people. They help them live life to the full! Here are few stories from Donna, a Progress support worker who says life is never dull working at Progress.

J.B

J.B used to lack confidence and often found it hard to interact with staff and other young people. His difficulty with freedom of movement meant he was sad and despondent. Going to college or being amongst people was always a negative experience for J.B.

However, over the last few months J.B has made huge changes and improvements in his life. For example, encouraged by Progress staff he took up climbing and recently passed his Level 2 course in rock climbing. J.B now has the confidence to go for his level 3!

By working hard on his team working skills and developing a trust with his climbing partners J.B has grown in confidence. He can now be in a room without protecting himself from people and speaks more positively when discussing college.  

J.B has come a long way.

S.C

K.B has raised hundreds of pounds for charities over the last 12 months. He always strives to do more at every opportunity and is always thinking of others. He is happy to help anyone and puts his all into everything he does.

Last year, he also passed his level 2 in sports leadership surpassing even his parents’ expectations!

TT

TT has had a difficult year including losing his father. Despite this he has worked with his family and support workers to regularly volunteer at a local park. He is always on time and ready to help others. His tasks include clearing walk-ways of unwanted trees and holly and at the allotment, he litter picks the perimeter. TT works hard to get a job done.

M.L

M.L used to be supported by six members of staff. As you can imagine he had very complex needs. His team of support workers worked hard to ensure M.L needed less support so he could live a life with more independence.

The support workers listened to his needs and allowed him to take the lead to make his own decisions and this has worked wonders. M.L now interacts with all staff and handles being in the community and rarely has any frustrating moments. He no longer uses challenging/ harmful behaviour to get his point across.

He has totally changed to such a point that people we meet in the community from his old placements are shocked that he is only 2:1 now down from 6:1!