What we can achieve by working together

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...

Are you thinking of working in care? With many jobs in care on offer, what makes Progress a great company to work for? 1.   We value the opinions of our staff As an organisation that works for children and young adults, the quality of services we provide is vital to our existence – therefore our...

Claire Rogers speaks from the heart about her role as Managing Director of Progress. She talks with passion about her values, her aims for the staff and the children.  “I give everything to what I do,” she says, “I love it.” Claire moved into care from a career in retail, starting work at a school...

“I can talk with passion about what I do because I fully believe in it” says Phil McDonald who is at the helm of The Hub, which helps children and young adults with disabilities to get the absolute most from life. Phil started his working life at the tax office, but feeling unfulfilled, took a...

Deciding which foster agency to choose can be hard. There are so many factors to consider. Charlotte is currently waiting to become a foster carer for Progress and spoke to us about the process she went through in deciding which foster agency to choose. What is your day job? I am an assistant headteacher in a mainstream...

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...

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...

To foster care you provide a family life for children who are unable to live with their own parents. Across the UK, foster carers open their hearts and homes to children in need of love, care and attention. Sara has been a long time foster carer for Progress and spoke to us about what foster care means for her....

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...

The names of the foster children have been changed to protect their identity. ‘We are happy because they are happy,’ says Ashley who gave up his job to foster twin boys with autism. ‘We say this is our family and we feel really close to them. We call them our boys.’ The twins came into...