Celebrating our apprentices – it’s National Apprenticeship Week! | Meet the team
Meet the team
We employ around 170 staff across our care homes, housing schemes and support office. With so many diverse roles, we would like to introduce you to some of our team. Just click on the roles below to find out more.
Care Assistant
Care Home Administrator
I support the Care Home Manager with all the administration at the home. This includes for example completing forms for new residents and staff, collating the residents’ activity calendar, paying invoices, helping to manage the budget, completing and submitting payroll and liaising with support services in Seaford.
I’m the first point of contact for everyone who walks through the door so I welcome friends and families of residents, doctors, nurses, tradesmen and I take care of all the telephone calls. Some of my colleagues say “I’m the glue that holds the home together!”
This is a very busy role and I have the freedom to complete my work, be with the residents and interact with staff. We’re a good team here.
Jessica at Oakwood Court care home, Haywards Heath.
Maintenance
I take care of the day to day maintenance of the building making sure all the checks have been done, including fire and gas safety and electrical testing. My role also includes tasks such as unblocking shower wells, checking light bulbs and cleaning the bins. There is generally a lot of cleaning involved and ensuring everything is in working order. I also decorate rooms when they become vacant.
I enjoy spending time talking to residents when I’m working in their rooms and supporting the care team. I may have my week planned out but sometimes my work can be very reactive, you never really know what you’re going to walk into in the morning, this is why I love working here.
I have enjoy the opportunity to do activities with residents such as gardening, indoor play and dancing. Outside of work, DIY is my main hobby.
Martin Bradley, Maintenance at Saxonwood care home in Battle
Scheme Manager
I love working with older people and hearing their life’s experiences. I enjoy supporting residents to live independently and enriching their lives.
I support residents who live in our rented and leasehold housing. I take care of the health and safety of my sites and support residents to access benefits and support.
I enjoy providing a high standard of service to residents and putting residents at the heart of everything I do.
Chloe, Scheme Manager.
Celebrating our apprentices – it’s National Apprenticeship Week!
It's National Apprenticeship Week and we're celebrating the apprentices we have at Sussex Housing & Care!
Louise Walker, Care Home Manager at Woodlands Care Home in Crowborough, completed an apprenticeship to study a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care through East Sussex College.
Louise said: "I was fortunate to complete my diploma whilst I was Deputy Manager and I found this apprenticeship extremely informative. The course was an eye opener, and I could learn the difference between the Deputy Manager and Manager roles. It meant I could comfortably dip my toes into the managerial role as I had greater involvement, this was especially helpful for when I needed to step up and cover the role.
I never thought I'd complete the course because I have an illness which affects my life every day, so it was a big achievement for me to obtain this qualification. There didn't feel like a good time to take on extra learning, while I juggled daily life and family, but I'm so pleased I did. The apprenticeship most definitely wasn't as daunting as it seemed, there was always support around, whether from colleagues or college assessors, they were all there for me.
In practice, it took me a couple of years to complete. I used to stay in the evenings and come in the weekends to study the 10 units of work. I also had 20% of my contracted hours towards studying. My NVQ assessor, Maria, would visit every couple of months and was always on the end of the phone or email if I needed her. The diploma was coursework based, and I'd relate the learnings to my work experiences. I wrote my final essay on "the effects of dementia and sleeping patterns of adults in social care" which hugely interested me.
I think it's good that Sussex Housing & Care give us different opportunities regardless of our roles. We never know what's round the corner, I didn't think I'd be in the position of taking on the registration of the care home and I'm thankful for having had the relevant training and qualifications.”
If you’re interested to find out more about our friendly team please click here to visit our jobs page.
Click here for more information about the national apprenticeship week, including career advice information.