Meet Karen
How did you start working in children’s homes?
My care journey started when I was 15. I started volunteering back when you could volunteer at that age. I was asked at school when I was in my final year, “Would anyone be willing to give up their summer to work with children with disabilities in a summer playscheme?” And I was the only person in my year that volunteered to do that.
I did that for a few years each summer and then I got asked to work in a respite home for children with learning disabilities, and my career just grew from there. I’ve worked in various care settings from children with high end learning disabilities, autism, to emotional behaviour homes with high end challenging mental health.
I then managed my own children’s home. I was a Registered Manager with a children’s home, and then I went on to be an Operations Manager for up to seven children’s home. Anything from crisis, which is 12 week homes. I’ve also overseen CTC with 16 to 25s supported living homes and then now I’m a director of a new company of one children’s home for children with learning disabilities. So it’s been a whole journey.
What do you think the children and young people need that children’s homes provide?
I think to be heard. The main thing for me is that children get listened to, that they’re understood. The perception of children is that they’re attention seeking, especially when they show some challenging behaviours, whereas for me they’re not attention seeking. They’re seeking connection, they’re seeking attachment, to be heard, to be understood. They’re seeking to belong on the whole, for me. It’s just a misconception that they’re naughty children when that’s not the case at all.
Tell me about the needs of the children you care for.
It’s hard to say because every child is different, so young people that come into our care really vary. They’re all so different. Care really has to be individualised for them. We get young people who have high behaviour that can challenge. We can get young people with high learning disability needs. Young people that have suffered quite significant harm or abuse. Young people that are quite lost on the whole, but again each young person is so different.
What does a day in a home for you look like?
I’d love to say there was an average day in a children’s home, but that just isn’t the case. I think that’s what makes it so exciting. Yes, there are routines. Yes, there are rituals that we build into every day, but every day is different and every day is exciting, and every day comes with its new challenges. Care workers are corporate parents. We are everything that a parent or a family member would be.
An average day in a children’s home, I’d love to say there was a normal, I’d love to say there was an average day but every day is different, and that’s what makes it exciting. We are corporate parents. The most important thing is that we have fun. I think that’s forgotten a lot of the time, but we do everything that a parent would do. So from getting people up in the morning for breakfast, to getting ready for school, to going on activities, to dealing with difficult things, family time. Education can be difficult. Around the table at meal times, putting young people to bed, taking young people to meetings, to therapy. Every day can be so different. So it varies for every care worker.