I commenced as a Support Worker with Cherriton, on the Wirral, on 24th September 2012, and since then I have really enjoyed getting to know the people who live there and the very personalised ways in which they like to be supported. The staff at Cherriton gave me a great insight into MacIntyre’s way of supporting people and how to provide best practice.
MacIntyre is different from my previous employer. I came from a large organisation and it was nice to come to a smaller setting, where more quality and purposeful time can be spent with people.
I found the ‘Introduction to Great Interactions and Facilitation’ e-learning module really beneficial. I enjoyed identifying the skills used in the clips and discussing these with my Senior Support Worker, but the best bit was thinking about how I use the skills to have a positive impact on the people I support. I like the phrase we use; ‘it ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it’, this makes absolute sense to me.
I am very impressed with the support which is provided at Cherriton, as the interactions with the people who live there are fantastic. I’ve observed that some of the team are naturally good at interacting, but I know that I’m building on my own skills all the time.
My confidence and practice has improved since coming to Cherriton, as the amount of help I have received has been better than I could have expected. This guidance and support has helped build my self esteem and belief in myself and I now feel I can work to the best of my ability and use my initiative in doing things.
I owe a lot to the people at Cherriton and thanks to MacIntyre for allowing me to settle into this Support Worker role and keep developing my skills.
Craig Dougan
Support Worker, Cherriton