Staff stories

What does a day in your role look like?

My day is varied with no two days being the same. However, in general it could incorporate several of the following:

• Planning of my diary to accommodate home visits to new families and undertaking initial assessments
• Multi agency early help asssessment plans (EHAPs)/reviews to attend
• Chairing and/or taking minuting of meetings
• Reflective practice to facilitate
• Supervision to attend
• Team meetings
• Facilitating parenting group
• Direct work supporting families and numerous telephone calls and emails to undertake
• Lastly but not least there are various case notes to record

What do you enjoy most about your work?

My work enables me to use my skills and way of being to support children and their families and to facilitate and enable positive changes within the identified areas. I very much believe we all have the capacity to change and relationships are key to this. Therefore, the relationships that I foster with families are significant and it is this aspect of my work that motivates, inspires and is my passion. Being congruent, having empathic understanding and unconditional positive regards enables me to see another's experiences from their frame of reference. Being honest and transparent within my communication, accepting  and valuing of another, I feel, are profound elements of my interaction with families. Seeing families and/or individuals flourish and acquire autonomy, move to another mindset and to provide a different experience for themselves that leads to improved outcomes for their children, is my satisfaction within my work. Working with my colleagues in delivering parenting groups also brings enjoyment and satisfaction for the same reasons.        

What has your experience of career progression in early years been and what support did you receive?

My experience of career progression within early years was overall a positive and enriching experience. This enabled me to further my skills, whilst acquiring new ones and harnessing a way of being, that I feel, is conducive to supporting, facilitating and enabling change. My progression to working in a family centre in a diverse London borough was enriching and I was supported within this transition by training in various aspects of areas of my role.

For example:

• Writing court reports
• Attending child protection case conferences
• Diversity and inclusion
• Working with interpreters
• Life story work
• The Children's Act and writing reports

There was also extensive training with the Tavistock and Portman Foundation NHS Trust where I undertook in depth child observations and supporting adolescents with the marlborough family service respectively. There was also collaborative working with the Marlborough Centre delivering various services such as family support group, using systemic family therapy and infant feeding group with a psychotherapist. All of which were enriching and positive experiences.

In terms of progression there were also two different bandings for family support workers and I progressed to the upper band after applying for this and undertaking a formal interview with a panel that consisted of HR, chair of safeguarding and a manager.    

What would you say to someone looking to join the service?

I would say working with children and families can be one of the most rewarding and worthwhile jobs, where you are able to use many skills and competencies, enabling positive outcomes for children. I would also say that the role requires:

• Resilience - coping with difficulties
• Being reflective - looking beyond the surface
• Tenacity - to stay with families
• Courage - to bring the unspoken into awareness
• Enjoyment - taking pleasure in small but significant changes