Feb
In the summer of 2022, I took over Classic Carehomes (CCH) which had two homes, Summercourt and Pottlescourt, as a part of its portfolio. Summercourt had a CQC rating of overall good with a rating of outstanding for the category of care. Pottles had an overall rating of outstanding making it to the top of just 3.5% of all care homes in the UK. While meeting the staff members of Summercourt, George Coxon, the owner of CCH from whom I was taking over these homes, introduced me to Megan. She had joined the company at 14 years old as a tea-time assistant and wanted to train in the care sector. George described her as a “shining star”. She was only 17 when she worked her way up to be one of the youngest care assistants working for the company.
My first question to Meg was what she would like to do to grow her career further and she asked if we could support her to do her Level 5. That was music to my ears, and I knew why George would call her a shining star. But above all, I was slowly gathering the secret recipe of what made a care home unique and outstanding. It all had to be the people who made the care home outstanding in care and for the care home to be safe. For it to be well-led, the leadership team need to motivate the staff to go for more training, and arouse their aspirations that have been dulled by a general belief of care being a low-skilled and dead-end job.
On 14th Feb 2025, Meg changed it all for our company. She became a role model for others to follow when she was informed that she had passed her level 5. The news set her on a path to new roles and ever-higher aspirations. It is these staff who become the catalyst for change, become the beacon of hope for others, and shatter the glass ceilings that have stifled our industry. Way to go Meg, way to go. You fought it big and made it big; not just for yourself but for everyone looking to break these negative “circles in our minds”.
Here is link of this article on LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/rnNT6