Samantha Francey is a Level 3 Care Worker employed by the Belfast Central Mission in a Residential Care Home. Samantha works in the Memory Lane unit, a small dementia unit, and has responsibility for medication.
Social Care Journey
Samantha has worked in the social care sector since December 2020. She originally qualified as an archaeologist in her early 20s, but due to the recession and a decline in construction, work opportunities dried up.
She then moved into childcare, working her way up to deputy manager until the nursery closed during COVID-19. She was furloughed for eight months before being let go. Three days later, she heard about a position in the Residential Care Home as a social care worker and applied.
Samantha found the social care job online while searching for childcare roles. Her mother, who also works in social care, encouraged her to apply. Despite having no experience with older people—only children—she applied. Initially thinking she would return to childcare, she decided against it as she had settled into her new role and enjoyed working in the Residential Care Home.
“I find working with adults requires similar values and skills to working with children.”
She has even found that her background in history and archaeology helps her connect with some of the adults she supports.
Learning and Development Journey
Samantha has completed all required mandatory and refresher training, including:
· Manual Handling,
· Safeguarding,
· Challenging Behaviour,
· Food Hygiene,
· Diversity and Equality,
· Confidentiality,
· COSHH,
· Fire Training,
· First Aid & AED,
· Infection Control,
· Safe Administration of Medicines.
This training was completed online via Social Care TV during COVID-19 but is now transitioning back to face-to-face delivery as part of in-house training.
At the time of the interview, Samantha was undertaking the Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care, which she began in August 2024. The course, delivered by Rutledge, offers flexible learning that allows her to continue working full-time while studying from home. She attends monthly in-person sessions and receives ongoing support from her tutor via email and Teams sessions. She undertook the course to support her new role as Level 3 Care Worker, which includes responsibility for medication.
Samantha was appointed to the Level 3 Care Worker role in July 2024 and completed training for the position. She passed an online iCare assessment, completed a Safe Administration of Medication course via Social Care TV, and underwent a final assessment in August 2025. Her manager observed a medication round and signed her off as competent to administer medication.
She has discovered a passion for developing her knowledge and skills, and the Level 3 course has added value to her practice, covering topics such as communication and information sharing, health and wellbeing, principles and values, and continuing professional development in the context of Health and Social Care.
Other Learning and Development
Samantha has also completed an eight-week Dementia “Best Practice Programme”. One of the senior managers, accredited by the University of Stirling, delivers this course weekly to staff. Samantha found it highly beneficial in deepening her understanding of dementia and the experiences of individuals living with it.
“I found the bookcase analogy used to describe dementia very useful – as the dementia progresses, the person loses a shelf of their bookcase. The analogy is that every shelf represents a decade of life—0–10, 10–20, 20–30, etc. Dementia can mean a person shifts between different shelves. For example, a lady thinking she has to go out to work may be on her 30–40 shelf. Dementia can also result in the complete loss of a shelf, where a person may forget they are in their 90s but vividly remember earlier years.”
While Samantha had previously received basic dementia training, this was her first in-depth course, and she has found it invaluable to her practice.
Career Progression Goals
Samantha hopes to progress to a managerial role in social care in the future, once she gains more confidence and experience. She enjoys her current role and is committed to continuous learning and development. Her manager supports her ambitions.
“I was anxious to take up the role of Level 3 Care Worker initially, as I felt I didn’t have the confidence or experience, but my manager encouraged me. I’ve realised I don’t need to know everything to move up—as long as I’m prepared to continue learning and developing, which I am happy to do.”
Although Samantha lost confidence when she was laid off from her childcare deputy manager role during COVID-19, she now feels empowered and passionate about her new career path. She enjoys working with adults and getting to know their needs and preferences.
“I feel that one of the main strengths of our Memory Lane unit is that it is quite a small group. This allows me and the other staff members to really get to know the residents in our care and connect with them on an individual level. Knowing them well means we can often tell if they are upset, unwell, or just need a bit of extra support and TLC that day.”
The Care in Practice (CiP) Framework
“I had seen reference to it through NISCC email communications but admit I did not fully understand what it was. After this meeting and having seen the accompanying graphics, I understand its purpose a lot better. The ‘tube network’-style layout is easy to follow and shows that social care progression doesn’t have to be linear. The skills we develop in care roles can allow for job mobility across the sector. It also highlights how transferable skills from other industries are valued and applicable to health and social care roles.”