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Enhancing lives through professional development

Young man leaning on his support workerAny business development course will tell you how important professional development is to motivate individuals and teams. At Brandon, it’s more than that. The better trained our teams are, the better the support they can offer. Put simply, training enhances lives.

Director of People and Organisational Development, Gareth Thomas, explains:

“We know that our colleagues who feel valued stay longer, which makes a huge difference to the consistency and quality of support. People we support benefit from having a fulfilled team around them, so we do our best to provide opportunities for professional development for all our colleagues at Brandon.”

Locality Manager, Tammy Perchard, who won a Great British Care Award in 2019, has recently completed a university course for a Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) Level 5 Professional Diploma. Her manager, Kim Whelan, said: “Tammy has worked extremely hard to achieve this qualification which fits with her role as a PBS lead and Positive Behaviour Management trainer. It has been a very challenging time and I am just so impressed with Tammy’s ability to manage all aspects of her role, whilst at the same time taking on a demanding qualification.”

Learning more to support people better

Individuals like Tammy are committed to learning as much as possible to be able to help people live life the way they choose. Boosting skills gives colleagues the confidence to provide the people we support with choices and opportunities to take risks.

Team Leader, Lorna Wood, explains: “I consider what it is people I’m supporting want to achieve; I meet with them and find out what their goals are. I enable them to make measured risks. In everyday life we can all do that, so why not the people we support? The world would be boring if we didn’t take risks, and it is how people learn. If they make mistakes we will be there for them. No question.”

Jumpstarting a career in social care

For some, working at Brandon is a kick start for their own career. Support worker, Bethany Westlake, has been inspired to begin a Learning Disability Nursing Degree.

Her team leader, Mattine Jones, said: “Bethany had never thought of going to Uni and her experience at Brandon is what gave her the confidence and drive to go back to college and apply, so it’s a massive compliment for Brandon, hopefully she’ll be an LD nurse in Gloucester so we can benefit from her new position!”

#Togetherwecare

At the heart of Brandon’s ethos is a desire to care, whether that is about our colleagues or people we are supporting. Our commitment to learning is testament to that.

As our organisation grows and develops, we’re always expanding our team and developing skills to enable the people we support to live freely.

Joely Kitson, Head of Recruitment says: “For anyone thinking of a career in social care, I’d recommend they watch the videos on our website. They give you a real understanding of what it means to work at Brandon.”

Find out more about working at Brandon.