Meet Paige

Paige worked in nurseries and then as a nanny, but wanted to learn more and develop her career to make a bigger difference to children’s lives.

How did you start working in children’s homes?

I started working in children’s homes by having some background of working with children in nurseries and then I went to become a nanny. I wanted to continue my learning and to find what differences there are to give children, and then I stumbled upon a children’s home. I had no experience coming into it, but it’s one of the most rewarding things that I have done.

I didn’t have too much knowledge of children’s home before I started, but then coming into it I see how broad they are and how much of a necessity it is to have children’s homes.

What does a day in a home for you look like?

We try to ensure that the children follow a normal routine of getting themselves ready, getting themselves dressed, showered, before heading out to school. When the children then come home from school we’ll have activities for them, games, making sure that we follow their own individual interests as well. We’re out in the garden a lot of the time. We take them to local parks, places, beaches, to ensure that we’re providing loads of fun and that the children are enjoying their time.

We have meals together. Luckily our home has a chef, so the young people are involved in that process as well. They get to choose what meals they want and what they would like, and then we all sit round the table together – like a family home, to encourage the children and prepare them for when they are able to move out of residential and into foster care.

We help them to manage their emotions, to be able to regulate themselves and to prepare them to move into a foster family, and to progress even further when they get into adulthood.  

What do you think the children and young people need that children’s homes provide?

The main needs for children that come into a children’s home are to feel safe and to feel loved and cared for, which some of the children may never have experienced before. We need to build that positive relationship with them and ensure that they have the best quality of life that we can provide.

The children we care for have usually been through quite a traumatic past. They have had struggles with nurture, and that’s why we are here to support them, to build that trust up, to show them what positive relationships are, and to continue that in their lives so that they can offer that to others around them in their lives.

The children can find it hard to manage their emotions, to regulate themselves, to express how they feel. That’s because they haven’t been able to do that before. That’s where we will step in and support them, for example through therapeutic life story work to give them that one-to-one support so they understand what their emotions are, what they are feeling, and feel comfortable expressing that.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

The most rewarding part about working in a children’s home is being able to see the children grow and develop. Seeing the change from when they first started, not being able to express their feelings with words, to when they’re leaving, being able to do just that – being able to communicate and being able to go on to make another family just as happy to have them as we were.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

I would say the most challenging thing about working in a children’s home is the fact that the children do find it hard to say how they feel. We find that quite often the children struggle with ‘endings’ of situations – that could be ending of meals, ending of play, bedtimes. The can find it hard to adapt to that because of how they have grown up. A simple ending could previously have been quite a traumatic experience that they’ve had. So endings are always difficult but we try our best to continue to support them, to show them that they are loved and just because there’s an ending of one thing doesn’t mean that’s the ending of everything.

One of the children that I have been lucky enough to see transition through our care would often have a ‘fight or flight’ response in situations – whereas now they’re able to take themselves away, have that moment that they need, then come back and make a laugh about it – “I can’t believe I just did that!” and we’re able to support them in that way.

What are you career plans for the future?

My career plans at the moment are to stay within a residential children’s home. I came into it having no knowledge at all. I then progressed to becoming a Shift Leader and I’m now currently doing a Social Work degree. After I’ve done that, I still continue to want to work within a children’s home and progress there to always be able to support the children in what they need.

What would you like to say to someone watching this who is thinking about working in a children’s home?

I would say to anyone that wants to come into a children’s home is that once you’re here, you will love it. It is one of the most rewarding jobs and it is something that you do love, and you do end up wanting to be here even when you’re not meant to be here. You just want to see the children grow and to continue to care - to the point where they contact