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Working in Care Stories: Kim

Posted on by Angeline Westley

Kim is a Team Leader at Progress’s Children’s Short Breaks service, Stourbridge House.

This is her story.

It was Kim Williams’ younger brother who inspired her to work in care. ‘He is autistic and I grew up caring for him,’ she says. ‘I love him to bits, he is such a character and I wanted to help people in a similar situation.’

Kim was just 18 when she became a volunteer for Progress, helping out with activities in the community to gain experience before she started studying for a social work degree. When she went to university, she was a support worker for Progress in her spare time. She then decided to focus on moving forward with her career full time.

‘Progress is a lovely company to work for. I think you are really valued as an employee,’ she says. ‘My line manager identified I had the ability to progress and supported me. I feel that support has been ongoing ever since.’

Kim went on to a senior position in The Hub, helping young people to develop their independence.

Now, at 22, she is team leader at Stourbridge House, which provides short breaks for children aged 5 to 18, giving families a break from day-to-day care. Stourbridge House provides a range of activities like trips to the seaside and theme parks, as well as supporting children and young people to move towards independence and grow in confidence.

Kim’s role involves managing and supervising staff, helping to run the home and supporting the young people. ‘No two days are the same,’ she says. ‘We have 40 different families, so every day different combinations of children come in. It’s really enjoyable to work with children with a variety of needs. Some days we have a child with severe challenging behaviour, other days it’s a child with severe learning difficulties and physical disabilities.

‘It’s lovely to see the children make progress and to see the families being able to have a break, with confidence their children are being well looked after. The children make a lot of progress here.’

Kim has encouraged others to follow in her footsteps and work for Progress. ‘Progress provide such a variety of support,’ she says. ‘It gives you the chance to find your niche and see what you enjoy. I was able to pinpoint where I wanted to be.’

She is hoping to continue moving forward in her career with Progress and one day she would like to manage a home. ‘At the moment I’m really happy in the role I’m in,’ she says.

Kim says it is more a way of life than a job. ‘I absolutely love it,’ she says. ‘It’s a homely environment and you are coming to support children. The children are all absolutely amazing. They are such a joy to work with and every single one of them has their own qualities. You build relationships with them. When I have annual leave and I have been off for a couple of weeks I miss it. I can’t wait to get back and see the kids. It’s a really rewarding role.’

Are you inspired by Kim’s story? A career in care awaits you. Start your journey by clicking here to apply for a job at Progress today.

Working for Progress: Adam’s story

Posted on by Angeline Westley

It was 7am on a cold January morning in 2012 when Adam arrived for his first day as a support worker. He stepped inside what looked like any other house, to a new career and a new life. Within minutes he was answering questions from curious teenagers, finding his way amongst young people whizzing around in wheelchairs and others getting ready for their day.

Adam was working in a short breaks home, helping young people with a range of learning and physical disabilities.

He had worked with young people before and had been a sports coach. But this time he didn’t know what to expect. ‘It was a learning curve straight away,’ he recalls. He set to work helping the young people, preparing packed lunches and taking a couple of young people in wheelchairs to Sandwell Valley for a trip that afternoon.

That evening Adam didn’t know how long he would stay. But Adam is still with Progress now. ‘I enjoyed working with young people, building relationships with them and wanting to see them grow’ he says. ‘Seeing their progress makes it so rewarding. ’

Adam moved on to become a senior support worker, a coordinator then deputy manager in the Hub, before eventually moving into his current role within the Business Development team. Although his work now has more of a corporate and commercial focus, the purpose is still the same; ensuring the best outcomes for young people.

‘It has been quite a quick progression really,’ he says. Along the way he received ongoing training and has a Level 3 NVQ in Health and Social Care and a level 4 NVQ in Leadership and Management. He has completed a range of training; from safety and medication through to project management.

His career with Progress has had many special moments, like the day he took a teenager in a wheelchair to his first ever football match. The young man loved watching football on television and so Adam took him on a train to a West Bromwich Albion match. ‘He loved it,’ Adam recalls. ‘He still remembers it every time I see him now, years later.’

Then there was the summer he organised for 16 young people to go on holiday to the seaside. They went swimming and to theme parks. ‘All the young people loved their time away,’ he says.

He has been involved in setting up activity groups in the community, everything from arts and crafts to dance, drama and sport. He was also involved in starting a young club for older teenagers.

Adam, now 30, describes himself as a caring person who enjoys what he does. Outside of work he likes football and is a devoted dad who enjoys spending time with his family, including his young daughter.

His advice for anyone thinking about working for Progress is: ‘Come and try it even if you have never done this type of work before.  Give it a go. Meet our young people and you probably won’t want to leave.’

Would you like to work for Progress? Click here and apply through our website today

 

 

Supporting Young People

Posted on by Angeline Westley

We want to be able to share with your the amazing things Progress carers experience in their job every day.

Mark is a Progress carer and has been supporting Jay for nearly three years.

This is his story:

Jay is very high on the spectrum of autism and has minimal vocabulary.

Despite this, Jay’s Mum really wanted her son to take part in activities that benefited not only him but also the wider community.

I did some research and found a program that was looking for volunteers to help maintain and preserve parks in the West Midlands.

It was with much anticipation that we arrived on the first day alongside the other volunteers. Jay was delighted to see so many people he was going to be part of a team with. Something was said on the first day that stayed with me.

The person running the program suggested that Jay being in the park alongside other people, may not work. However, he was willing to allow Jay to stick around. When you hear things like this, it saddens you. I knew that Jay would show that he is more than capable of participating despite all his disabilities – after all, we are all able by our abilities.

Volunteering brought out so much in Jay, it’s incredible. He’s making friends, working hard and giving back to the community, which is what he and his Mum wanted.

Sadly, it was during this period that his Dad passed away. Being such a strong person, Jay carried on working even though it must have been difficult for him. He also had the added pressure of this being the first year since he finished school.

The moral of the story is that nothing is impossible. Jay has achieved great things despite others saying he wouldn’t. Whenever I see him working, I always look on in amazement to what he has achieved.

I feel so proud to support Jay and have no doubt in my mind that he will carry on achieving a lot more throughout his adult life.

Q&A: Why foster care?

Posted on by Angeline Westley

Lola is currently going through an assessment to become foster carer. Having been through the process before, we spoke to her about her experiences and the big question: why foster care?

What is your day job?

I currently work as a senior social work assistant in a ‘Child in Care’ team in the West Midlands.  As part of my position, I support a group of social workers by arranging contact for looked-after children and their families.

How long have you been fostering?

I first became a foster carer 20 years ago for a private company and went on to foster 14 children from ages 1 to 16. I loved having young people in my home and supporting them in the best way I could. I always try to offer support that helps young people to eventually live independently and become responsible adults.

From budgeting, cooking and cleaning, to CV writing, it gave me a lot of personal satisfaction seeing young people gain life skills.

You took a break from fostering. Why?

Fostering had been my only focus and when my last young person left in 2013, it was time for a change.

I wanted to achieve other things, but the active nature of being a foster carer had not given me that. However, this was always going to be a break and not an end to fostering. I enjoyed bringing positive change to the lives of children and young people too much to stop.

What made you want to foster again?

During my break, I moved home, travelled and spent time with family and friends. Reflecting on this period and having had enough rest, I am in a place now where I can once again commit myself to giving a child unconditional support.

Why did you choose Progress?

Once I decided to return to fostering, I wanted to join an agency where I knew what they stood for and had values much like my own.

In 2005, I had worked for Progress as a social work assistant. I liked their focus on improving a child’s self-esteem, helping them gain valuable life skills and ensuring that each child achieves their full potential.

The staff and carers were friendly and approachable and they were as passionate about wanting to enhance a child’s life as myself.  So, when it came to approaching an agency, they were my first choice.

At Progress, there is a sense of commitment to the carers and children and a unity that is hard to come by. I have the emotional security and support needed to do my job well.

How has the process changed from the last time you applied?

The difference between when I first became a carer to now is time. For example, 20 years ago, the whole process took about 9 months.

Having a good relationship with an agency is important. In my previous experiences as a foster carer, there was no relationship building or set routine for the assessor to visit me. It felt like I was fitting into their schedule. I would have no idea how I was progressing in the evaluation and was never invited to panel or my yearly appraisal.

Today, the process is much shorter. There is better continuity of visits and the assessor and I have sat together regularly to complete assessments.

How have Progress helped you during the process?

So far, I have found working with Progress to be swift, stress-free and engaging. Although I have my assessor, I also know I can talk to any team member as and when I require it.

I think it’s vital that foster carers and the agency have effective communication because this ensures that children will benefit the most. Because Progress has already made me feel like part of the team and have always kept me updated to my status, I’m confident that working with them will improve my skills as a foster carer.

How do you feel about the future?

I am really looking forward to returning to fostering. It is a rewarding career and seeing young people laying the foundations for their futures gives me a lot of joy.

Do you feel you too could become a foster carer?

Click here if you want to change a childs’ life

Working for Progress: Roma and Vicky’s story

Posted on by Angeline Westley

Careers in Social Care

The memories of a day at Reading Festival still stay with Roma and hold a special place in her heart.  She had taken a teenager from Wellcroft House to the festival, and Roma could see the joy on her face as the young girl got out of her wheelchair and danced. ‘It was brilliant,’ she says. ‘She now goes every year.’

Wellcroft House provides residential services for young adults with learning disabilities and Roma Cantello has been a manager since 2015. She started there as a chef- she had studied catering at college and worked as a chef for 17 years.

Within months of arriving at Wellcroft House in 2009, she started getting involved with young people and going out on activities with them.

She gave up her job in the kitchen to become a support worker and she hasn’t looked back since. She went on to become a senior support worker, then deputy manager and finally the manager. ‘If it hadn’t been for Progress giving me that push I wouldn’t be where I am now. They always believed in me,’ she says. ‘I never thought in a million years that I would be where I am.’

At her side is Deputy Manager Vicky Turton. Vicky started at Wellcroft House as a support worker in 2010.

‘I think we work great as a team and we give the best we can,’ says Roma.

Roma and Vicky have received training while they have been with Progress. Both have Level 3 NVQ in Health and Social Care. And in 2018 they both stepped proudly onto the stage in their caps and gowns at their graduation after gaining a Level 5 diploma in care leadership and management for health and social care.

‘It was out of this world,’ says Vicky who was 48 when she graduated. ‘I have done more with this company than I have ever dreamed. I never thought at my age I would get anything like that.’

Vicky says she is passionate about her job. ‘’If you don’t care then it’s not a job you can come into,’ she says.

Wellcroft House in Wednesbury focuses on enabling greater independence for those with moderate to severe learning difficulties and complex disabilities.

‘I’m passionate about the young people getting what they need,’ says Vicky. ‘We are striving for their independence as much as we can. We are here to teach them new skills and get as much potential out of them as we can.’

She is also passionate about leading a good team.

Occasionally Roma still helps out with the cooking at Wellcroft House when she is needed. As well as running the home and supervising the staff she takes the young people out for activities.

She has built a special bond with them and Wellcroft House feels like her second home.

‘I just love what we do for our young people, I really do.’ she says.

‘We give them new experiences all the time.’

If you too would like to develop your skills and build a career in social care, please click here to apply for one of our roles today.

Find out more about Nightingale House

Posted on by Angeline Westley

Some parents have asked “what should I expect from my son/daughter’s stay at Nightingale House?” Here is a little insight…

Nightingale House is our newest residential home for 18-25 year old’s with complex disabilities or acquired brain injury. We offer any length of residence; whether that be utilising the short break services or longer term accommodation. We designed Nightingale House to be a fantastic opportunity for teenagers and young adults to live in surroundings that fit in with their age and stage of development. By embracing new technologies, the facility itself is designed to give the best level of care, but our team go beyond that by personalising fun activities and developing strong bonds with those in their care through tactile play.

When we first meet young people who will stay with us, there is an initial assessment by sitting down with them and their families and seeing what they like to do. Then once our key workers get to know them when they stay and learn little nuggets of information, we use those to further build upon the support and activities we offer them.

We see the value in creating memories and participating in activities that our residents love. We have the capacity to ensure that their physical needs are met. Exploring hobbies that they are passionate about can be an incredible way to break down any barriers with that person. By earning trust and creating a fun environment, you can de-escalate any behaviour which may challenge and build a great relationship with them. Providing positive, unforgettable experiences can encourage communication and allows the opportunity to open up. For example, one of our residents adores horses, so we took them horse riding. Seemingly insignificant events can make a profound difference to an individual and transform the way they interact and ultimately, increase happiness. That in itself is extremely important to their quality of life and well-being.

Some examples of trips this year include holidays to Blackpool, days out at a safari park and travelling down to Essex to see family. Nightingale House is centrally based, so the young people have access to the local facilities in the evenings and weekends, such as cinema, ten-pin bowling, nail salons, local parks, etc. July was a big month for us for birthdays, so the individuals had BBQ parties shared with friends from school. We played games and hired bouncy castles. They absolutely loved it.

Another thing we enjoy doing is creating a ‘life-story box’ with the people in our care. As they move from children’s services to adult’s services, it can move along their journey with them. It provides something invaluable that they can keep, treasure, and look back on fondly.

The quality of support we can provide for each and every individual we look after is paramount. A huge factor of this is daily activity and we are always questioning what we can do to improve lives. We’d love to discuss how we can tailor experiences for your son or daughter, be that at Nightingale House, in your home or in the community, so we’d love to hear from you.

Please call us today on 01332 343 882 and arrange a time to pop in for a coffee and a chat.

Priceless moments – E’s story

Posted on by Angeline Westley

In August 2016, 17-year-old E first joined us in one of our residential homes. She has Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a malformation that affects brain development, primarily of the cerebellum; the part of the brain that coordinates movement.

We have been so blown away with the incredible transformation she has undertaken with the support of our team over the year, so we wanted to share her story.

E is just one of the many residents we have been proud to support to improve their quality of life. We knew she had the potential to develop and achieve with our team working with her collaboratively and intensely and with the further support of her external professionals.

In the beginning she would stay awake for days, refusing to get out of her wheelchair. When she did go to sleep, it would be in her chair for small periods of time at random hours. Recognising that a decent night’s rest is a hugely important factor to general mood and well-being, her sleep patterns were one of our first focus points. She didn’t want to be up high on a regular bed, so we began with a mattress on the floor which was a satisfactory compromise. Once we’d overcome the resistance to staying in bed as opposed to her wheelchair, we built up a routine so she would wake up at the right times and not spend the day asleep. In a short space of time, she decided she felt comfortable enough to move into a bed rather than a mattress on the floor. We swapped her single for a double which she loves.

E is a fantastic young lady who has come so far. When she first moved in, it took around two hours to get from the house into the car and now she’ll happily tell you if she wants to go out and does so without much fuss. She now communicates effectively and calmly with the team and tells us when she’d like help, or if she is hungry, tired, or thirsty, which was not possible at the beginning. As well as better interaction with the staff she also spends a lot more time playing with other residents.

Although her GP is local, E is funded through a different Local Authority which caused some initial complications but our perseverance ensured we got what she needs.

Perseverance has been consistent throughout the last year, we’ve been able to make some fantastic changes with lots of little successes along her journey. E’s significant achievement has been her starting to walk. When she arrived, she spent most of her time in her wheelchair. She progressed over time to standing more and more frequently and eventually, with the help of a walking frame, she managed to move around independently. She now attends school full time without support. It was an emotional day for us when mum came to visit and E walked to the door with support staff to meet her. The expression on her mum’s face was priceless.

It is personal journeys like this we strive towards for all our residents along with those we support at home and in the community. If you’d like to know more about what we do, please get in touch today.

Ingenuitive Technology; Helping Residents Sleep Soundly

Posted on by Angeline Westley

The development of our new residential short breaks and transitions to independence service in Wolverhampton, has provided an excellent opportunity for us to integrate systems to improve the level of care we offer. One of the features we are excited to unveil is the acoustic monitoring technology we are installing. This equipment is only currently being utilised in adult services but we are proud to be the first business in the UK to include this innovative and life changing technology in our offer for young people.

The equipment listens out for concerning sounds and triggers an alert to the relevant bodies, replacing the standard practice of periodic manual observations; where staff hourly visit resident’s bedrooms. This manual process is not only disruptive but also impractical. If an incident were to take place in-between hourly checks, staff may be unaware.

By measuring a baseline noise level in the individual rooms, the technology can detect when a sound exceeds the tailored threshold. This could be an excessive cough or a seizure that would otherwise go undetected. Knowing in real-time when there is a problem as well as preemptive alerts allows us to work proactively. With the reliability of the discrete monitoring system, residents will have a better quality of life with the dignity and respect they deserve — with staff notified when assistance is necessary — the residents are left in peace for an uninterrupted night’s sleep.

To integrate this revolutionary technology, we partnered with Adaptive IT, CLB’s 2017 reseller of the year and below is a statement from them.

“Working with Progress has been a fantastic experience. They were easy to talk to and had a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve. They challenged us (in a good way) by questioning each aspect of our solution, they really had their residents at the heart of all of their decisions.

We have been working within the public health sector (NHS) for many years mainly dealing with estates and IT departments. The move into private care has brought us closer to the front lines of care and we really appreciate the work these organisations do. It is a pleasure to be able to provide a level of support to those who are directly influencing these young people’s lives in such a positive way.

Progress has taken a leap forward for young people’s services in the UK by implementing acoustic monitoring. It is crucial for these young people to feel supported but independent at the same time. Using the acoustic monitoring technology allows them to gain confidence in themselves and their independence in a safe and supported way, by reducing unnecessary care interventions which could potentially undermine feelings of individual achievement.”

Want to know more about any of our support services in the Black Country or beyond?
Please contact us now.

Coming soon – Stourbridge House

Posted on by Angeline Westley

A word from the Managing Director 

Welcome to the first newsletter about the latest developmentfrom Progress, my name is Claire Rogers the Managing Director. Over the next few months we will be keeping you up to date with the developments at Stourbridge House and counting down to its launch. So, what’s it all about you may ask?

Well, I shall tell you!

The service, partly commissioned by Wolverhampton Council will provide a brand new short breaks provision for children with disabilities following the closure of Windmill Lane and Stow Heath. Alongside this, the council wanted families to be able to get support in their homes as well as being able to have overnight stays. For those of you with little ones, the outreach service will help you to get a bit of time out too. That’s where we come in, we offered the council the right mix of skills and creativity and were awarded a contract to deliver this.

Progress has been supporting children and young people with disabilities for 17 years now. Our focus is to provide high quality community support, activity groups, short breaks, residential care and fostering services across Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

We have a wide range of experience to meet the needs of young people, we are creative in our approach, offering the right service at the right time and ensuring that we respond to the changing needs of children and families. Ourservices don’t stop at 18, our offering continues on into early adulthood, ensuring continuity and consistency of support and care for as long as needed. In the design of this project, we wanted to take it a bit further than the original brief as our aim is to help young people ‘progress’ and develop into confident young adults. Stourbridge House will be a three-storey building, (you may have seen this peeping above the boarding around the site).

The Ground floor will have 6 beds and will provide short breaks for children with all types of disabilities. The first floor will be for young adults aged 16-25, again offering short breaks but with a greater focus on developing independence and building on friendships and relationships. Finally, the second floor will have 5 flats where young adults can try out what it’s like to live independently.The young people who visit Stourbridge House will be taken on a safe and supported journey into adulthood and will be able to start planning for their futures. We are all very excited about this new project and look forward to sharing it with you and getting you involved along the way.

The Big Build

So, the actual building is about finished, what a challenge that has been! For those of you that don’t know, we are on the Stourbridge Road. The site used to be an old petrol station, so the ground works were a bigger job than expected and it took longer to get it off the ground than we thought. This caused us a bit of delay! We have had multiple tradespeople working round the clock to get the building up which has made up a bit of lost time, but we are still about 6-8 weeks behind schedule because of this.

The underfloor heating is in on the ground floor (we have found over the years that the kids love this!)and the first fix is going in as we speak. Our owners Bal and Raj personally project manage every aspect of the build and Bal has exacting standards when it comes to interior design. She personally chooses all the materials and décor to ensure that it feels like a Progress home. Bal has recently met with suppliers to commission the hoists and bathing equipment, looking for quality, resilience and a non-clinical appearance. The end result will look like somewhere you would want to move into yourself,so I can’t wait to see what she does here!

Our People

We have been doing loads of recruitment locally for our new team to support families and children at Stourbridge House and in the community and were thrilled when we made 19 offers of employment at our last recruitment day, we look forward to welcoming the new staff into the Progress Family. For those families whose children will be transferring from Regis House or community support, you need not worry as some of the existing staff will be transferring over to the new service to provide consistency and make sure that children settle in well.

Registration 

Our Registered Manager for Stourbridge House will be Phil McDonald, who many of you will know as he is our current Manager at Regis House and supports many families with his community based services and groups. Both Phil and I are in the process of theapplication to Ofsted to get the home registered and we hope this process will go smoothly, with the support of our colleagues at Ofsted.

Highlights 

We wanted Stourbridge House to embrace modern technology so it will be packed full of assistive technology to make people’s lives easier, provide better health monitoring and give young people greater dignity during their time with us. We will tell you more about this next time.

Keep it Wolverhampton  

Progress is a family owned business and is proud of it’s Black Country heritage. We like to do business locally and employ local tradespeople. We will introduce some of our local partners in the next few publications. If you know any local suppliers or businesses, who may want to be involved whilst we are kitting out the home and getting ready for launch, please get in touch.

News and events

We are hosting an ‘Afternoon of Fun’ on 31st August as part of the local consultation for our new service Stourbridge House. The family fun day will be held at the Mercure Wolverhampton Goldthorn Hotel between 2:30pm – 6:30pm. It’s sure to be a great day with lots of exciting activities and a goody bag for your children. It helps with our planning if we know you are coming, please click here to register. We are pleased to announce that our lovely CEO Bal will be attending this event. If you would like to meet her she will be available between 3-4pm. We all look forward to seeing you soon!

We will also be launching a competition to name each service at Stourbridge House,to get involved, follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest news.

View this blog as a pdf here.

View the flyer for our ‘Afternoon of Fun’ here.

Mayor of Derby opens specialist care facility

Posted on by Angeline Westley

A PIONEERING facility dedicated to the care of young adults with acquired brain injuries or complex disabilities opened its doors on Friday April 15, 2016.

Specialist care facility. The highly anticipated Nightingale House in the heart of Derby was officially opened by the mayor of the city, Councillor Paul Pegg.

The former private nursing and midwifery hospital and later a Macmillan unit on London Road, underwent a £1.5 million renovation project to transform the property into a home offering residential and short breaks services for young adults with complex needs.

Developed by award-winning established care providers, Progress Solutions has a portfolio of specialist residential facilities across the West Midlands and has now added Nightingale House to the East Midlands region.

The home boasts spacious communal areas and outside space with a sensory garden and a city living feel appealing to the younger client, state-of-the-art sensory room and specialist hydrotherapy bathing facilities. It has eight residential suites adapted and designed to meet individual requirements along with four additional rooms for clients wanting a short break stay.

specialist care facility

Claire Rogers, Managing Director at Progress, said: “With Nightingale House, we want to create a unique environment designed to provide support and rehabilitation for young adults looking to progress in their lives and work towards living independently, whilst giving them the opportunity to build friendships and relationships with others who face similar challenges in life.

“Nightingale House is beautifully designed to create a comfortable home from home atmosphere for our clients rather than having a clinical feel.

“As part of the rehabilitation programmes for many clients, it is important that they feel very much a part of the community and the location is ideal, being in walking distance of Derby mainline railway station, Intu Shopping Centre and a host of local amenities that you would expect of a city location.

“We are delighted to have officially opened our doors to provide a well needed and exciting service in the Midlands and thank the mayor of Derby, Councillor Paul Pegg for doing the honours.”

Progress Solutions also operates other care homes across the Midlands including specialist residential and fostering services for children and young adults with complex or disability needs.

Progress Solutions operates outreach support services to families in the local community helping to keep families together, and a range of community-based activities and social groups for both children and young adults, all of which are focused around leading a normal life.

Find out more about our established residential homes here.