The Grange & Walton Cottage - Rising to the top

After leaving full-time education with seven GCSEs and a BTEC National Diploma in Business and Finance, Parveen Akram set her sights on qualifying as a social worker. Initially she worked as a care assistant in a residential home for the elderly and in 1998 moved to The Grange & Walton Cottage, a home for 15 adults with learning disabilities outside Woking, to gain experience of clients with special needs.

As the home had no vacancies for care support staff, Parveen took on a part-time role driving clients to daytime activities. Within six months, Ken Thilaganathan, owner of The Grange & Walton Cottage, recognised Parveen’s potential and promoted her to a full-time support worker.

Training

Parveen says: “I’d already started working for NVQ level 3 in care in my last job and I was keen to continue with it at The Grange & Walton Cottage. As I was then under 25, my studies were funded through the modern apprenticeship programme and nine months later I not only achieved the qualification, but was also promoted to senior support worker.”

Keen to progress further, Parveen approached Ken Thilaganathan for support in acquiring management skills. Despite the fact that the home was at an early stage in establishing systems for continuing professional development, Ken agreed to fund Parveen’s day release studies for an Advanced Management Diploma in Care at NESCOT. Within a year, she completed the programme, moved up to become Deputy Manager at The Grange & Walton Cottage and inspired two other members of staff to begin working for NVQ level 2.

Parveen explains: “When a new Manager joined the home, Ken encouraged me to continue developing care planning systems and a staff development programme for our team of ten employees. He not only taught me a great deal, but also motivated me to want to become a care home Manager.”

Aiming Higher

When the Manager’s position became vacant, Parveen was keen to be considered for the role. However, still in her early 20s, Parveen’s age threatened to jeopardise her chances. After careful consideration, Ken Thilaganathan put Parveen forward for an interview with the local Inspection & Registration Unit (now the Commission for Social Care Inspection). He wanted to be sure that they would accept her as meeting the regulation requirements for the registered manager’s position, before appointing her to such a responsible role.

She passed the interview with flying colours, with the Unit approving her appointment and also recommending that she studied for more advanced NVQ qualifications.

Taking to her new role enthusiastically, Parveen set about implementing the comprehensive care planning strategy that she had begun to develop while Deputy Manager. She explains: “This called for a completely different approach. In the past, we’d recorded how clients had been cared for and how they had spent their time each day.

Under our new system, we created individual care plans for each client and introduced a structured programme of assessment and review of their care.”

At the same time, Parveen created induction and staff development programmes and introduced appraisals. “Today that is part and parcel of what all care homes should be doing, but four years ago, before the new national care standards were introduced, few homes were making that level of investment,” explains Parveen.

Results

Today all employees at The Grange & Walton Cottage are offered the opportunity to work towards NVQ levels 2 and 3 with Godalming College. They also study for the Learning Disability Awards Framework (LDAF) qualification. The home has already met the government’s target for 50 per cent of employees to hold a minimum of NVQ level 2 in care and hopes to raise this level further.

Parveen is now close to completing her studies for the Registered Managers Award with Surrey training provider, THK. Thanks also to Surrey’s Care Sector Development Project, a joint partnership between Surrey County Council and Surrey Learning and Skills Council, Parveen also takes part in networking events that enable her to share ideas with care sector colleagues.

Parveen says: “In the last two years, there has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of care we offer. I have learnt how best to support my team and they have learnt to become better carers showing greater understanding of our clients’ needs. The NVQ programme has helped our people to become more professional, focused and confident.”

The Grange & Walton Cottage is also benefiting from improved staff retention and its reputation for providing high quality care to adults with learning disabilities has helped to ensure it has run at full capacity for the last three years. Its achievements were recognised in 2003 when the home received the Investors in People Award.

Next Steps

As a business, The Grange & Walton Cottage is expanding and will shortly open a day centre.

Parveen says: “This presents opportunities for all our staff to progress yet further. Our senior support workers are currently working towards NVQ level 3 and then we are keen to encourage them to progress to level 4 and ultimately the Registered Managers Award.

NVQs are theory as well as competence based and for some people, they can be daunting at first. However, together with good hands on experience, they are an excellent way of developing staff knowledge and skills. A high percentage of my time is spent mentoring staff. I believe that as a Manager, it is vital you give your team the practical and emotional support they need to gain confidence and competence in their roles as carers.”