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Jessica, Deputy Manager for Westfield House and Fitzwilliam Lodge in Rotherham shares her experience of progressing with Priory Adult Care.

Jessica joined Priory in January 2018 as Support Worker and quickly progressed to a Team Leader role within 6 months. Following her return from maternity leave, Jessica was appointed as Deputy Manager in April 2022.

Jessica said: “I always want to strive to better myself to improve the lives of my family and I knew I wanted to progress into a management role.

“I completed my Leader Adult Care Worker Level 3 apprenticeship with Qube learning in July 2021. I discussed this with my manager during my Personal Development Review (PDR) and she showed me exactly how to apply via Career Pathways and The Academy.

“I am currently undertaking my Level 5 Leader in Adult Care Apprenticeship, with a planned completion date of November 2023.

“The learning included on the course is so relatable to my current role and they literally go side by side, I know that I will be able to apply all of my learning into my role which will enable me to be even more successful and overall a better manager for the benefit of my team and the people that I support.

“My tutor is really helpful and sends me useful resources to use. My manager is extremely supportive of my development and allows me protected time whilst in work to focus on my qualification. This is so important and helpful to me as I have a busy home life with two children. The qualification itself can be completed in many formats – I find that completing units via voice recording/Dictaphone really helps save time and keep the balance. Not only that, I personally find this style of learning and completing work so much easier than completing written tasks.

“Studying alongside work can be challenging at times however it is achievable to maintain a good balance of work and home life and still be successful in my studies. The main challenge is  finding time to complete the work, or research that is required for the units.

“If you are thinking of starting an apprenticeship I would say go for it 100%, there is nothing to lose. You will feel more confident in fulfilling your role and also any qualification will stand you in good stead when one of the many opportunities for development and progression comes along.

“There are pre-course tools which will identify the need for any additional academic support which will be provided in the form of a personal tutor, they can discover your unique learning style and tailor your qualification to this. Not only are there all of these benefits for you individually but the positive impact on your service, the wider staff team and people you support will be equally as rewarding.

“As I am now in a managerial role I support my team through their qualifications using my own experiences and have lots of involvement with their tutors; I support by completing witness statements, testimonies right up to the final sign off and end point assessments.”