Our team at
Cavell Court

I was looking for a change in career and Care UK’s focus on providing the best quality care whilst fulfilling the lives of older people encouraged me to work at Cavell Court, which is a beautiful home.

I first joined as a Care Assistant, having never worked in the care industry before, and have received an incredible amount of support, encouragement and training which has enabled me to develop and become Deputy Manager in five years. I have never looked back and would not have achieved all that I have without a fantastic team to work with.

To be a successful Deputy Manager you need to care about what you do and about the residents that you provide care for. You also need to be organised and have a structured approach, leading by example and supporting your team to provide person centred care.

My favourite part of the day is interacting with the residents. When you work in care it is not just a job, but you become part of a family and developing relationships with the residents is the reason I do what I do.

I am looking forward to continuing to develop in my role and to improving the care that we provide for our residents. I love that there is always something to learn, and every day presents new challenges which allow us to make changes that improve the lives of the residents.

When I’m not working, having two children doesn’t leave much time for unwinding and I’ve always been useless at sport. I enjoy cooking, walking the dogs, films, reading and listening to my extensive collection of music.

I think it’s important to be a good listener in this role, never make assumptions and ask the right questions, in order to understand what people are looking for in a care home. I really enjoy meeting new residents and welcoming them into our beautiful care home. My favourite part of the day is getting to know each resident and learning about their life experiences.

At Cavell Court, I’m keen to dispel the myths and misconceptions that many people still have about care homes, and to let people see for themselves the expertise of our team, the high standards we all adhere to and the quality of activity based care that we provide. Our aim is to promote independence and support residents to lead happy and fulfilled lives.

I also supported mentally and physically ill offenders of all ages. Arthritis in my hands led me to seek other care-related roles, and, when I saw the advert for this role, I knew it would suit me brilliantly.

To be effective as a Lifestyle Lead it’s important to have a good imagination and to be able to think outside the box. Residents all have different needs but they all need to be included in what we do, so a knowledge of the residents interests and personality is vital.

Social media is a new area for me, so one of the biggest challenges for me in this role has been learning how it all works! It’s so important that residents families and the wider community can see the great things we do – including fulfilling residents wishes, that has given me the incentive to learn quickly.

In my spare time I enjoy doing arts and crafts, including glass engraving and upcycling.

I’ve even commissioned and run a small residential home. I also worked in the Family and Children department at Norwich Crown Court.

I joined Cavell Court in May 2018. I enjoy the atmosphere of care homes, and getting to know residents and their families, and I was keen to work in a new home that was doing great things.

Day to day, I love welcoming visitors and new residents to the home and helping them to get settled quickly. I enjoy spending time with residents and learning more about them. Seeing the people we care for looking happy, making new friends and enjoying their life at the home brings me a huge amount of job satisfaction.

My background has always been in construction, but recently it has been focused on property and garden maintenance.

To do well in this role, you need to be adaptable, knowledgeable, kind, and considerate. I always recommend to new starters to ask plenty of questions when they join, as there is so much to find out.

So far, my biggest challenge has been getting all our compliance checks and tests completed as well as any repairs that crop up.

The best part of my day is when the hot trolleys come off the suites, it’s then my time for some extremely nice food as our chef create some fantastic meals at Cavell Court.

When I’m not working, I enjoy the countryside and nature. I’ve also been a Beaver Scout leader for over 25 years.