Meet Ellie-Mae, the Home Manager of Grange Court. Ellie-Mae was kind enough to share her experiences with us and how she creates the positive and inspiring atmosphere she has within her home.
“I started with Achieve together four years ago and have since worked at many different levels, eventually leading me to my current Home Manager position. My career with Achieve together has presented me with many challenges, which I have loved rising to, as well as many opportunities, such as completing my Level 3 QCF in Adult and Social Care. This has helped me improve my confidence and management skills.”
What are you most looking forward to in your role at Grange Court?
“I implement a person-centred approach to the support I provide, and I look forward to further developing this within the home and adding my personal touch. I want to ensure my support team feel supported and empowered to develop themselves within the organisation.
I always strive to push the limits on the support we provide and make what seemed like impossible positive outcomes for people supported a reality”.
What do you most enjoy in your role at Grange Court?
“I enjoy the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the role and environment. Each day is different; no two days are the same. I never feel stagnant in my role, and the role naturally pushes me forward continuously to keep progressing”.
What do you see as challenges right now?
“I have a large and incredibly capable team, and my challenge is to ensure that I keep everybody happy and on the same level. The social care sector offers its own challenges, which has a knock-on effect on my team as I know their roles are sometimes pressured. I make sure that when they feel tired, they all get an even amount of my time and support”.
What motivates you in this role, Ellie-Mae?
“Both my personal goals and the goals of people we support. I am always striving to push myself further and further. People we support motivate me every day to get out of bed, to ensure they always receive the support they deserve”.
Tell us about your greatest achievements with those you support.
“I think my greatest achievement was encouraging someone we support to have an x-ray. They feared hospitals and had only previously been to them once or twice in their life. As a team, we supported this individual with minimal distress to the hospital for the x-ray. This was because of the prior planning and teamwork we implemented. I was very happy this person allowed me to support them, as I had not led their support for a time, and the relationship we had previously built and trust had sustained”.
How do you work with family members and relatives at Grange Court?
The relationship between us as a home and people we supports family members and relatives is very strong. I believe this is attributable to the hard work we, as a team and myself, have put in to ensure there is weekly contact and communication. Each family member or relative is updated with the positive news and the occurrences when something has not gone exactly to plan. This bond and trust have developed over time, and I had to work hard to develop these”.
What are your hopes for the future, Ellie-Mae?
“My hopes and aspirations for the future are to complete my Level 5 QCF in Adult Social Care and to continually develop myself in this role. I also plan to progress on my PASS+PORT Trainer Role course and hope to progress into different roles within the organisation”.
What do you implement in your home to get the best out of your team?
“I have always implemented an ‘honesty is the best policy’ approach in the home; this creates trust between myself and my support team, and they feel they can approach me and consult. I have an open-door policy; I would never want anyone to feel like they could not talk to me!
I like to position myself on the frontline on occasions when I can, as it allows me to work on their confidence and reach even better outcomes with people we support”.
“I feel it is really important to show my support team that I am always willing to do whatever task I ask them to do. This helps with motivation, making them feel supported and that I am physically there whenever they need”.
Outside of work, Ellie-Mae is adventuring into and enjoying some DIY as she has purchased her own home. CrossFit is a passion of hers, and she does this four-five times a week.
When she can, Ellie-Mae enjoys reading, cooking, and napping.
Find out more
To find out more about Grange Court here.
If we can support you or someone you know, let us know by contacting us.
