Beverley Cragg is a Care Co-ordinator with Harmony Community Care Services and has been working in the social care sector for approximately five and a half years. She has been employed as a Care Co-ordinator for one year and works part-time to fit around her family responsibilities. She is married with four children.
Beverley left school in January 2003 with no qualifications, as she lacked confidence in her ability to pass exams and disliked school. She had her children and, in her 20s, completed Essential Skills in English and Maths, delivered by the Belfast Metropolitan College at a local women’s group in 2013.
When her youngest child started school, she decided to look for a job. Her grandad had died when she was 11 years old, and he had said to her, “When you grow up, you should become a nurse so you can look after me.” This stuck in her memory and inspired her to apply for a Care Assistant role at Harmony Community Care Services. She had not previously been aware of the care assistant role but wanted to do a job that would make a difference. She saw her grandad in many of the older people she supported and realised this is what he had wanted for her – to look after him so he could stay at home and not go into a care home.
Social Care and Learning and Development Journey
Beverley started as a Care Assistant with Harmony Community Care Services in March 2019 on a bank contract and later took on a part-time contract. She completed induction and mandatory training, which included; Moving and Handling, Safe Administration of Medicines, and the Northern Ireland Social Care Council Induction Programme.
· The Moving and Handling training was delivered as a half-day in-person course that supported Beverley in understanding how to safely move and position people and follow relevant guidelines.
· The Safe Administration of Medicines course was delivered in-house and helped Beverley to understand how to administer medication safely.
· Beverley completed the Northern Ireland Social Care Council Induction Programme workbook over a 4-week period in her own time, with support from her line manager. This allowed her to reflect on her role and understand the Standards of Conduct and Practice and guidelines.
During the COVID pandemic, a lot of training was undertaken via eLearning on Social Care TV. Beverley was able to do this in her own time around her childcare responsibilities, and while she appreciated the flexibility, she missed the interaction with the tutor and other staff.
In January 2022, Beverley completed Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults – an online course that helped her understand the importance of safeguarding vulnerable adults effectively.
In March 2022, Beverley completed First Aid and Dementia training. The First Aid training was delivered in person and helped her to learn CPR effectively. The Dementia training was an online course that helped her understand how to care effectively for people living with dementia.
In November 2021, Beverley started her Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care (NI), completing it in May 2022. This course was delivered online by the South Eastern Regional College and supported Beverley in gaining a wealth of knowledge and further developing her skills, competence, and practice in areas such as communication and information sharing, health and wellbeing, principles and values, and continuing professional development in the context of Health and Social Care. While undertaking the course, she discovered a love for learning.
Beverley wanted to apply to become a Team Leader at Harmony, but she needed to be able to drive and could not. She decided to leave Harmony Community Care Services in July 2022 and applied to work with an agency, starting as a Senior Nursing Assistant with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. This role involved working within mental health services, and Beverley stayed there for a few months. While the role provided her with more experience and confidence, Beverley was unable to fully commit to it due to childcare responsibilities.
While working for the agency, Beverley completed Anaphylaxis and Dysphagia training in September 2022. This training was delivered online and supported her in understanding speech and language therapy (SALT) guidelines.
Beverley returned to work at Harmony Community Care Services in 2022 as a Care Assistant. When a post for Care Co-ordinator became available, she applied and was successful. Beverley had been encouraged to apply by her line manager and has found that she really enjoys learning and developing. She loves completing qualifications.
Beverley started her Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Health and Social Care (Adult Management) in January 2024 and finished the last unit in October 2024. This qualification has provided her with more knowledge to support her current role and future development. It has helped her to understand both RQIA and Northern Ireland Social Care Council guidelines. The qualification has been invaluable to her role, helping her to embed standards and guidelines into her daily work and practice.
Other Learning and Development
Beverley has also completed the following additional learning and development:
- Spreadsheets – An online course between January and May 2024 to learn how to use spreadsheets.
- Supervision and Appraisal Training – Delivered online, this has supported Beverley to carry out these processes with staff more confidently.
- Having Difficult Conversations – Delivered by the Labour Relations Agency as an online webinar. Although Beverley had previously completed training in Managing Conflict and Complaints, she felt she needed more training and attended this webinar to support her in better managing staff and having difficult conversations.
- Level 3 Safeguarding Course – At the time of the interview, Beverley was booked to attend this course in January 2025.
Beverley hopes to become a manager or deputy manager one day when she has gained more experience.
Care in Practice (CiP) Framework
Beverley is aware of the Care in Practice Framework and feels it applies to people like her who started out with little to no qualifications, as it provides the opportunity to continually learn and develop through both training and formal qualifications.